Location
Key Information
| 6 km2 | MARINE AREA |
| 7.49 km2 | TOTAL AREA i |
Boundary: NOAA MPA Center (Unmodified)
2.0
November 2023
Feedback and Data Requests
Purpose
Grays Harbor National Wildlife Refuge was established in order to protect a critical shorebird habitat, with hundreds of thousands of shorebirds concentrating on the muddy tideflats of Grays Harbor Estuary on the Washington Coast. Grays Harbor Estuary is one of four major staging areas for shorebirds in North America and one of the largest concentrations of shorebirds on the West Coast, south of Alaska. Shorebirds gather here in the spring to feed, store up fat reserves, and rest for the non-stop flight to their northern breeding grounds.
Species of Concern: Multiple, Western sandpiper, Least sandpiper, Dowitcher, Semipalmated plover, Dunlin, Black-bellied plover
Regulations Summary
Restrictions
1. No fires, fireworks, boating, fishing, or hunting permitted on the refuge.
2. Collecting of any plant, animal, or mineral is not permitted.
3. Collecting and removing archaeological or historic objects is prohibited, as well as removing any natural material such as plants, mushrooms, berries, and antler sheds.
4. The littering, disposing, or dumping in any manner of garbage, refuse sewage, sludge, earth, rocks, or other debris on any national wildlife refuge except at points or locations designated by the refuge manager, or the draining or dumping of oil, acids, pesticide wastes, poisons, or any other types of chemical wastes in, or otherwise polluting any waters, water holes, streams or other areas within any national wildlife refuge is prohibited.
5. The launching, landing, or operating of any aircraft which includes unmanned aircraft (drones) from or on lands and waters administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is prohibited.
Allowed
Only wildlife observation, nature and landscape photography are allowed.