Delta National Wildlife Refuge

There are eight National Wildlife Refuges in the SELA Refuges Complex. This is the Delta National Wildlife Refuge home page. It is accessible from all the pages in the Southeast Louisiana (SELA) Refuges Complex web site in the menu on the left.

Each of the programs in the SELA Refuges Complex also has a page. Each of the programs is accessible from all the pages in the SELA Refuges Complex web site in a menu on the left side or near the bottom of the page.

Contact information for all the refuges can be found on the Contact Us page.

Aerial photo of the marsh, passes and bayous at Delta NWR

Credit USFWS

The mission of these refuges and the National Wildlife Refuge System is to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

Delta National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1935. Its 49,000 acres were formed by the deposition of sediment carried by the Mississippi River. This area combines the warmth of the Gulf and the wealth of the river. Its lush vegetation is the food source for a multitude of fish, waterfowl and animals. Delta is the winter home for hundreds of thousands of snow geese, coots and ducks.

The legislative purposes for the refuge are to serve as a breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife, and to serve as a migratory waterfowl refuge.

Directions to the Refuge Office: The refuge sub-headquarters office is located near the mouth of the Mississippi River. The office is located in Venice, LA, on Highway 23 south. There is no vehicular access to the refuge. It is accessible only by boat.

Endangered and Threatened Species on the Refuge: The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is listed as endangered and may be observed using mudflats and deltaic splays on the refuge. The Western Gulf Coast population of Brown Pelcans (Pelecanus occidentalis) was delisted in 2009. The brown pelican is a year-round resident of southeast Louisiana. To learn more about the brown pelican and our programs to support them, go to our Pelican Web. The American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) was de-listed as an endangered species in 1987 but remains listed as threatened due to similarity in appearance to the endangered American crocodile.

Other Wildlife Species:Delta NWR supports a wide variety of wildlife species. Tens of thousands of wintering waterfowl take advantage of the rich food resources found in the delta. Large numbers of other bird species can be found on the refuge, with numbers peaking during the spring and fall migrations. Large numbers of wading birds nest on the refuge, and thousands of shorebirds can be found on tidal mudflats and deltaic splays. Numerous furbearers and game mammals are year-round residents, and the marshes and waterways provide year-round and seasonal habitat for a diversity of fish and shellfish species.

Photo of avocets and a black-necked stilt resting on a sandbar

Thousands of shorebirds use the refuge as a wintering area and also as a resting and staging area during migration. Commonly observed species include greater and lesser yellowlegs, long-billed dowitchers, dunlins, western sandpipers, avocets, black-necked stilts, Wilson's plovers, killdeer and willets.

Raptors are a common sight on Delta NWR. The most commonly observed species include American kestrels, northern harriers, red-tailed hawks and turkey vultures. Black vultures, Cooper's hawks, merlins, red-shouldered hawks and sharp-shinned hawks have also been seen on the refuge. Ospreys are common winter visitors to the refuge.

Untold numbers of passerine birds (songbirds) utilize the refuge as a resting and staging area during the spring and fall migrations. Deer are frequently observed on the natural pass banks, manmade spoil banks, and the marshes associated with these features. Swamp rabbits are found over much of the refuge, and populations appear to be stable. A number of furbearing species make their homes on Delta NWR. The most abundant of these is the nutria.

The marshes and waterways of the Delta NWR support a diversity of fish species. Speckled trout, redfish, flounder, blue crabs and shrimp are important saltwater species found on the refuge. Catfish, largemouth bass, and various sunfish species are found in the freshwater areas of the refuge. Delta NWR is an extremely important nursery area for both fresh and saltwater fish species.

The refuge has partnered with Cornell University and Google to provide a gadget link below for bird sightings on the refuge.

Credit USFWS

Habitat Description: Delta NWR was established in 1935 in the active delta at the mouth of the Mississippi River. It comprises approximately 48,800 acres of marshlands and open water in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

The marsh habitat on Delta NWR is classified as Palustrine Emergent Wetlands. Two basic marsh zones occur within the marsh habitat: fresh marsh nearest the main tributaries and brackish marsh near the Gulf of Mexico.

The fresh marsh is located primarily on mineral soil and to a very limited extent, flotant marsh (i.e., floating mats of emergent vegetation). Approximately 60% of the refuge consists of the fresh marsh zone. The predominant plants are delta duck potato (Sagittaria platyphylla), elephant ear (Colocasia antiquorum), wild millet (Echinocloa crusgalli), delta three-square (Scirpus deltarum), and roseau cane (Phragmites sp.). The marsh is tidally influenced and water levels fluctuate from a few inches to a foot or more. The fertile soils, vegetative composition and shallow water environment create a highly productive habitat for fish and wildlife.

Managment Goals: Managment Goals: Waterfowl habitat management, marsh restoration and management and oversight of oil and gas development and production.

A Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for Delta and Breton NWR's may be downloaded from the FWS Southeast Region web site here. Note: the full document is 4 megabytes in size and will take some time to download.

Opportunities for Public Use: The refuge lands are accessible only by boat. Despite this limitation, the area has a long record of public use. The majority of this public use has been in the form of consumptive uses such as hunting and fishing. Other public use includes wildlife observation, canoeing and kayaking and photography. Camping is not allowed on the refuge.

All hunters must read, sign and have in their possession a Refuge Hunting Permit as found on the front of the Hunting and Fishing Regulations brochure. See the documents below for additional information, maps and brochures.

Documents, maps, aerial photos and brochures related to the refuge can be found here.

Document Name	Description	Size
Refuge Fact Sheet	Additional facts about the refuge	116k
Refuge Hunting, Fishing and Camping Regulations	Hunting and fishing regulations, hunting permit and map of hunting areas. Note: No camping is allowed.	69k
Refuge Boundary File	This File will load on your Google Earth TM software While the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service makes every effort to represent the data shown on these maps as completely and accurately as possible (given existing time and resource constraints), the USFWS gives no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of these data. In addition, the USFWS shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Graphical representations provided by the use of this data do not represent any legal description of the data herein and are provided only as a general representation of the data.	10k

Last Updated on March 12, 2013