73 Weir Hill Road
Sudbury, MA 01776
(978) 443-4661

Welcome!

Situated along the Atlantic Flyway in Massachusetts, the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge Complex is comprised of eight ecologically diverse refuges. The eight individual refuges include inland and coastal wetlands, forests, grasslands, and barrier beaches that provide important habitat for migratory birds, mammals, plants, reptiles and amphibians. Assabet River NWR in Sudbury, Stow, Maynard and Hudson; Great Meadows NWR in Sudbury, Wayland, Lincoln, Concord, Carlisle, Bedford and Billerica; Mashpee NWR in Mashpee and Falmouth; Massasoit NWR in Plymouth; Monomoy NWR in Chatham; Nantucket NWR in Nantucket; Nomans Land Island NWR off Martha's Vineyard in Chilmark; and Oxbow NWR in Harvard, Ayer and Shirley.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages these areas to maintain a vital and diverse environment for the areas inhabitants. Refuges are managed to conserve and protect a diversity of native wildlife habitats and species. The refuge complex encompasses several threatened and endangered species, the only federally designated Wilderness Area in southern New England, one structure on the National Register of Historic Places and a National Wild and Scenic River.

Complex headquarters is located at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, 73 Weir Hill Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts, 01776. Phone: (978) 443-4661, Fax: (978) 443-2898.

Road / Trail Conditions:

Winterberry Way in open but very wet. Contruction of a new boardwalk is anticipated in June. Updates will follow.

Upcoming Programs:

May 2012 (pdf - 145KB)

June 2012 (pdf - 130KB)

Attention Hunters:

The application window for all hunting seasons is typically July 1st - August 31st. Please visit http://www.easternmapermits.com to apply online during this time. All lottery applications (shotgun & muzzleloader deer) need to be submitted by July 31st.

The application fee is $5.00 and the fees for each permit range from $10.00 to $30.00. All active military, persons 62 years of age and older, and those with a permanent disability receive a 50% discount on all permit fees. All applicants must pay the $2 - $3 processing fees per each individual season.
A non-refundable application fee must be included with your application. There are no fees for anyone age 17 years old or younger; youth hunters are also exempt from the lottery process, but still need to select each hunt he or she is applying for. If you are selected, you will be notified and at that time you will need to send in the appropriate amount of money for each permit. If money is not received within fourteen calendar days from the time of being notified, the lottery portion of your application will be withdrawn and we will go to the next applicant that was in the lottery. Checks or money orders must be made out to the Kinsail Corporation. Cash will not be accepted. Credit cards will be automatically charged if you are selected.

Applications that are missing any of the required information, including your application or processing fees, will be discarded, as well as multiple applications from the same hunter.

Applications which are illegible will also be discarded. The lottery is usually held by August 5th and notifications are made by August 12th. To apply online July 1-August 31, visit http://www.easternmapermits.com If you are inquiring about a permit outside of this application window, please contact Susan_J_Russo@fws.gov or call 978-443-4661 x34

2011 Hunt Brochure for Assabet River, Great Meadows and Oxbow National Wildlife Refuges (pdf - 1.02MB)