Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
Northeast Region
 
6 Plum Island Turnpike
Newburyport, Mass.
01950
(978) 465-5753

Welcome

Refuge News & Updates

  • Eagle Fest is coming to the refuge on Saturday, February 11th. Click here for a flyer.
  • We will be conducting a Flying Wild educator workshop at the refuge on Tuesday, March 13th from 9:00am to 3:30 pm. Click here for the workshop flyer.
  • The next meeting of the Photographic Society of Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is Saturday, February 4th at 1:30 pm in the visitor center auditorium.
  • Our biologists need help from sea duck hunters for our Common Eider research project! If you would like to donate the digestive tracts of taken Common Eiders, please click here for a datasheet.
  • Explore the refuge with your GPS device! We have a new, GPS-based, self-guided interpretive tour called GeoQuest. Click here for more information.
  • Participate in our January, 2012 public programs! For more information, click here.
  • Click here to access the Winter, 2012 edition of The Wrack Line, our quarterly newsletter.
  • Did you know that Rachel Carson wrote a brochure about Parker River NWR? Well, it's true, she did! Click here to view or download that historic document.
  • Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is currently undergoing the Comprehensive Conservation Planning process. To learn more about this process, and to see newsletters and a schedule of upcoming public meetings, please visit our Refuge Planning website.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1942 to provide feeding, resting, and nesting habitat for migratory birds. The refuge occupies 4,662 acres on the southern two-thirds of Plum Island, a barrier island on the Northeast coast of Massachusetts, and is administered by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, a federal agency. Parker River is one of over 540 Refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System, a national network of lands dedicated to "wildlife first."

Today, Parker River provides pristine coastal habitat for over 300 species of resident and migratory birds, as well as a large variety of mammals, insects, fish, reptiles and amphibians. The Refuge also provides critical habitat for the federally threatened Piping Plover.

In addition to its mission of wildlife conservation, the Refuge provides a variety of excellent wildlife-dependent recreational activities, including surf fishing, wildlife observation and photography, guided nature programs, and seasonal waterfowl and deer hunting opportunities.

Parker River is also responsible for the management of Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Thacher Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Wapack National Wildlife Refuge. Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge also includes a 28-acre conservation easement in Concord, New Hampshire, which is managed primarily for the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly. Great Bay National Wildlife Refuge is in the process of completing its 15 Year Comprehensive Conservation Plan. To find out more about this plan, please click here.

To view a video about Parker River NWR, click here

Enjoy your visit!

Last updated: January 19, 2012