Around the Refuge

Upcoming Events

There are events year-round at the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Check out our program calendar to find one near you!

RI Complex Program Calendar

Piping Plovers are Back

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service needs your help this summer to protect threatened piping plovers, their nests and chicks on Rhode Island beaches. These rare migratory birds have returned to Rhode Island and will spend several weeks establishing territories and beginning to nest on the state’s beaches. To help protect and encourage piping plover nesting, the Service ropes specific areas to protect the breeding birds from pedestrians, pets and vehicles, since disturbance can cause the birds to abandon the site or could result in eggs being unknowingly crushed. This year the Service will continue to rope off National Wildlife Refuge beaches at the Mean High Water level to protect nesting and foraging areas for adults and chicks.

News Release

Visitor Activities

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There are activities for the whole family year-round at Block Island National Wildlife Refuge including fishing,hunting, wildlife viewing, environmental education and photography. Check out our Visitor Activities page to learn more!

Visitor Activities
What's Happening

Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge Approved!

In October 2016, Dan Ashe, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), and Wendi Weber, Northeast Regional Director of the Service, approved Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge (NWR)—a new refuge dedicated to managing shrubland habitat for wildlife in the Northeast. The Service can now start working with partners and willing-seller property owners to identify opportunities to acquire priority lands in fee simple or conservation easement within the designated focus areas of Great Thicket NWR.

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About the Complex

Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Block Island National Wildlife Refuge is managed as part of the Rhode Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

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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
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