Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
An Ongoing Success Story
In 2006 and 2008, the Fund worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to add more than 100 acres to Back Bay NWR. The land, located along the Atlantic coast south of Virginia Beach, is bordered by Nannys Creek, a direct tributary to the Back Bay. By closing a critical gap in protected lands along the creek, adding this land to the refuge will improve the refuge’s water quality, increase field and marsh habitat and expand opportunities for wildlife-dependent outdoor recreation.USFWS plans to reforest the parcel with native hardwoods, including black gum, Atlantic white cedar and bald cypress. “The story of Back Bay is an evolving one,” comments the Fund’s Reggie Hall. “Back Bay has matured from one of the earliest national wildlife refuges to an ongoing conservation success story. This represents the kind of conservation teamwork that makes wildlife habitat protection possible, in Virginia and across the nation.”
Conservation Acquisition
