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Welcome!

Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is comprised of 11 units that are stretched across Connecticut's shoreline. The headquarters is located approximately 45 minutes south of Hartford and 30 minutes east of New Haven in Westbrook, CT.

The refuge was established in 1972 under the name Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge. It was redesignated by Congress as the Connecticut Coastal National Wildlife Refuge in 1984. The refuge was then renamed again in 1987 to honor the late U.S. Congressman Stewart B. McKinney, who was instrumental in the establishment of the refuge. The 11 units of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge span 70 miles of Connecticut coastline.

Located in the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge provides important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Adjacent waters serve as wintering habitat for brant, scoters, American black duck and other waterfowl. Overall, the refuge encompasses over 800 acres of barrier beach, tidal wetland and fragile island habitats.

Salt Meadow Unit, in Westbrook, CT, and Falkner Island Unit, three miles off the coast of Guilford, CT, have both been designation as an "Important Bird Area" by the National Audubon Society. Falkner Island Unit is home to over 124 pairs of nesting Federally Endangered Roseate Terns and over 3,000 nesting pairs of common terns. Salt Meadow Unit is used by over 280 species of migrating neotropical birds during the spring and fall migrations.