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


What's Happening

Seabird Islands Closed

Atlantic puffin - USFWS.

Seabird islands are closed to the public during the nesting season, April 1 - August 31, to minimize disturbance to the birds. Commercial tour boats along the coast provide views of nesting seabirds at several refuge and non-refuge islands.

Summer with the Seabirds

Looking through a burough camera - Greg Thompson/USFWS.

Each summer, the Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge employs researchers, many of them college students, to live on remote islands along the Maine coast and monitor seabird colonies. It is an experience like no other. This is their story.

Read the blog

Visitor Center Events & Programs

Visitor Center sign & roses

Our visitor center is open 8am to 4:30pm on weekdays. The center features an introductory film about the refuge and a number of exhibits, including an "on land" island. There is also an art gallery featuring various media depicting nature and coastal themes and a nature gift shop.

Events & Programs
We're a Complex

We're a Complex

Refuge Promo

The Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex is comprised of five individual refuges which span the coast of Maine and support an incredible diversity of habitats including coastal islands, forested headlands, estuaries and freshwater wetlands. All totaled, the refuge includes approximately 8,238 acres of diverse coastal Maine habitats including forested and non-forested offshore islands, coastal salt marsh, open field, and upland mature spruce-fir forest.

Learn about the refuges

About the NWRS

National Wildlife Refuge System

NWRS Logo

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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