Highlights

Refuge lands are home to the second 

largest heron rookery in Maryland 

and the largest rookery in Virginia.

Bald eagles and large concentrations 

of ospreys nest and feed throughout 

the refuge’s islands.

These refuges protect 16 percent of 

the remaining SAV in Chesapeake 

Bay.

Martin NWR supports the largest 

colony of brown pelicans in the 

Maryland portion of Chesapeake Bay.

Refuge islands are important 

breeding areas for American black 

duck, colonial nesting shore and 

wading birds, and diamondback 

terrapins, and support large numbers 

of spring and fall 

migrating songbirds, raptors and 

monarch butterflies.

Eastern Neck NWR is a major 

staging area for migrating tundra 

swans.

Issues

Coastal erosion and shoreline/

wetland loss

Submerged aquatic vegetation 

decline

Black duck nest decline

Invasive species (mute swan, certain 

gull species, red fox, mile-a-minute 

weed and Phragmites)

Chesapeake Island Refuges

Eastern Neck, Martin and Susquehanna 

National Wildlife Refuges

Represented by the following Members of 

Congress:

Senator Paul S. Sarbanes (D-MD)

Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD)

Rep. Wayne T. Gilchrest (R-MD-1st)

Senator John Warner (R-VA)

Senator George F. Allen (R-VA)

Rep. JoAnn S. Davis (R-VA-1st)

Contact

Martin C. Kaehny, Project Leader

Thomas R. Eagle, Jr., Manager

Chesapeake Islands Refuge 

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge

1730 Eastern Neck Road

Rock Hall, MD 21661

Phone: 410/639 7056

Fax: 410/639 2516

TDD: 800/735 2258

E-mail: martin_kaehny@fws.gov

tom_eagle@fws.gov

Administered out of Eastern Neck 

National Wildlife Refuge. The 

Chesapeake Island refuges are located 

on the eastern shore of Maryland 

and Virginia, and comprise a 80-mile 

archipelago in mid-Chesapeake Bay. 

Purpose

The Chesapeake Island National 

Wildlife Refuges were established 

to provide sanctuary and for other 

management purposes for migratory

birds. They represent a unique 

ecosystem component of the 

Chesapeake Bay, providing relatively 

isolated and predator-free critical 

nesting and wintering habitat. A host 

of waterfowl, wading birds, shorebirds, 

terrapins and endangered species rely 

on the island chain.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Public Use Notes

Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge:

n	Visitor contact station and 

bookstore

n Interpretive trails (fully accessible 

boardwalk with observation tower 

and bay view/butterfly trail) 

n Hunting (deer and turkey) 

n Fishing and crabbing

n Public boat ramp (county permit 

needed) 

Martin National Wildlife Refuge: 

n Seasonal Visitor Contact Station in 

the town of Ewell

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

1 800/344 WILD

http://www.fws.gov 

January 2006

Monarch butterfly

John and Karen Hollingsworth/USFWS

Management Activities

n Restoring wetlands and submerged 

aquatic vegetation beds using clean 

dredged material 

n Working to recover populations of 

threatened and endangered species 

such as bald eagle, Delmarva fox 

squirrel and tiger beetle 

n Protecting and managing habitat 

for migratory birds 

n Preserving natural diversity and 

plant and animal abundance 

n Providing nesting habitats and 

structures for a variety of wildlife 

species 

n Controlling exotic invasive species 

n Enforcing federal wildlife laws 

and refuge regulations