Waterfowl hunting on Bandon Marsh National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) will begin with the regular season opening on Saturday, October 6, 2001. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service wishes to remind hunters that the access point on Riverside Drive is currently closed due to construction of public use facilities at that location.
All state waterfowl regulations apply to hunting on the refuge. Hunters should review the 2001-2002 Oregon Game Bird Regulations published by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife prior to going afield. The southern 1/3 of the Bandon Marsh Unit of Bandon Marsh NWR is closed to hunting as it falls within the city limits of Bandon where it is illegal to discharge firearms by state law. The southern boundary of the open hunting area is posted with signs. Recently acquired lands in the Ni-les=tun Unit of Bandon Marsh NWR upstream from U.S. Highway 101 are not currently open to public access.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 538 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
For additional information contact Roy W. Lowe, Project Leader, Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex at (541) 867-4550.
