Coronavirus (COVID-19) Notice
Although most refuge lands and outdoor spaces have remained open for the public to enjoy, we encourage you to:

  • Check local conditions on this website and call ahead for current information
  • Follow current CDC safe practices by maintaining a safe distance between yourself and other groups
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth
  • Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze
  • Most importantly, stay home if you feel sick


Features

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    Volunteer Spotlight

    The Refuge highlights Keith and Brenda Krejci in honor of National Volunteer Week.

    Why We Volunteer

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    Harriers fly low, miss little

    Strafing the salt marshes at Bandon Refuge is a specialized hunter, hawk-eyed with the ears and countenance of an owl.

    Meet these so-called "marsh hawks"

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    Wildlife Gallery

    Photos of wildlife and scenery found at Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge.

    View the gallery

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    Snake vs. Newt

    Forested wetlands at Bandon Marsh NWR are host to an evolutionary arms race between two common but uniquely adapted critters.

    Learn more about this amazing match-up

About The Refuge

Creature Features

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Browse this collection of writings and photographs by Refuge volunteer Peter Pearsall.

Get a fresh perspective on our Refuges

Sanderlings

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Rachel Carson described the high-energy antics of these shorebirds thus: “[Running] with a twinkle of black feet…keeping in the thin film at the edge of the ebbing surf, where puffs of blown spume or seafroth rolled like thistledown.” Sanderlings race up and down Oregon's beaches and estuaries every winter, gorging on invertebrates.

Learn more about these sprinting sandpipers

Humbling, Bumbling Bumblebees

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As tireless pollinators of plants both wild and cultivated, native bumblebees play an essential ecological role on the Oregon coast. Comprising nearly 30 species, Pacific Coast bumblebees are threatened by maladies introduced by non-native bees; some varieties have all but disappeared.

Get the buzz on these remarkable insects
Featured Stories

Ni-les'tun Marsh Restored

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After more than 10 years of land acquisition, planning, design and preparation, the Ni-les'tun Tidal Marsh Restoration Project at Bandon Marsh Refuge took place from 2010 to 2011, summer to summer. After more than a century of impoundment, tides again wash over the marsh, providing habitat for shorebirds and salmon smolts alike.

Learn more about Oregon's largest tidal marsh restoration project

About the Complex

Oregon Coastal Refuge Complex

Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge is managed as part of the Oregon Coastal Refuge Complex.

Read more about the complex
About the NWRS

National Wildlife Refuge System

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The National Wildlife Refuge System, within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, manages a national network of lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife, and plants.

Learn more about the NWRS
Follow NWRS Online