U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Edwin B. Forsythe

National Wildlife Refuge

Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge

Great Creek Road

P.O. Box 72

Oceanville, NJ 08231

609/652 1665

609/652 1474 Fax

E-mail: forsythe@fws.gov

http://forsythe.fws.gov

Federal Relay Service 

for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

1 800/877 8339

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

1 800/344 WILD

http://www.fws.gov/

Photo © Clay Myers

September 2004

U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Welcome to the 

Edwin B. Forsythe 

National Wildlife 

Refuge, where 

more than 46,000 

acres of southern 

New Jersey coastal

habitats are actively 

protected and 

managed for 

migratory birds.

photo by John Matteoni
Forsythe Refuge’s Brigantine and 

Barnegat Divisions were originally 

two distinct refuges, established in 

1939 and 1967 respectively, to protect 

tidal wetland and shallow bay habitat 

for migratory water birds. In 1984 

they were combined under the 

Edwin B. Forsythe name, in honor of 

the late conservationist Congressman 

from New Jersey.

The refuge’s location in one of the 

Atlantic Flyway’s most active flight 

paths makes it an important link in 

the vast network of national wildlife 

refuges administered nationwide

by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 

Its value for the protection of water 

birds and their habitat continues to 

increase as people develop the New 

Jersey shore for our own use. 

More than 82 percent of Forsythe 

refuge is wetlands, of which 78 

percent is salt marsh, interspersed 

with shallow coves and bays. These 

are important resting and feeding 

habitats, as abundant marsh plants 

provide food and cover for water birds 

and other wildlife. The quiet tidal 

waters serve as nurseries, spawning 

and feeding grounds for fish and 

shellfish which are important in the 

diets of many wildlife species––and

of people!

At the Brigantine Division, refuge staff 

have used the management technique 

of “diking” to create 1,415 acres of 

impounded fresh- and brackishwater marsh habitat in the heart of 

naturally occurring tidal salt marsh. 

We created these wetlands to support 

a wider variety of wildlife than could 

native salt marsh alone. Water levels 

in the impoundments are managed to 

enhance the resources on which wildlife 

depend. In spring, refuge staff draw 

the water down to maximize growth

New Jersey coastal wetlands have 

long been the preferred habitat of 

large numbers of Atlantic brant and 

the American black duck––a species 

which has suffered major population 

declines over the years. Refuge salt 

marshes provide important nesting 

habitat for rails. 

 

While the refuge’s primary concern 

is to meet the habitat needs of these 

species, we manage refuge habitats to 

support a wide variety of water birds 

and other wildlife. Special emphasis is 

also placed on protection and habitat 

management for the endangered and 

threatened bird species which nest here.

Overview

Wildlife and 

Habitats...

Diversity is 

Critical 

 

 

Marshes and 

Water Birds 

Atlantic brant

© Clay Myers

Great blue heron

© Clay Myers
of plants beneficial to waterfowl. 

The drawdown also provides mud 

flat feeding habitat for shorebirds 

and wading birds. We reflood the 

impoundments just in time for the 

arrival of fall migrants.

Each spring and fall tens of 

thousands of migrating ducks and 

geese, wading birds and shorebirds 

concentrate here. They linger to

rest and feed on the rich resources

provided by our managed impoundments, thus providing Wildlife Drive 

visitors with spectacular viewing 

and photo opportunities. Several 

migratory species, including the 

clapper rail, willet, and black duck, 

remain at the refuge through

summer to nest and raise their

young. Atlantic brant and black

ducks also overwinter here.

 

Peregrine falcons and ospreys 

frequent refuge wetlands and take 

advantage of the nesting platforms 

erected for their use.

Bald eagles use refuge habitats along 

the Mullica River, and occasionally 

forage over refuge impoundments.

More than 6,000 acres of the refuge 

are designated as a National 

Wilderness Area. This includes 

Holgate and Little Beach, two of 

the few remaining undeveloped 

barrier beaches in New Jersey. They 

provide essential nesting and feeding 

habitat for the rare piping plover, 

black skimmer and least tern. These 

birds, along with other beach-nesting 

species, have suffered drastic 

population declines as human beach

developments and recreational uses 

have eliminated the habitat they 

need. Forsythe Refuge is one of their 

last strongholds. 

 

The dunes, prime nesting habitat, 

constantly shift and change as the 

forces of wind and wave action mold 

them. Beach grasses, which trap 

blowing sand and stabilize the dunes, 

provide important cover for wildlife, 

especially developing young birds. 

Use by humans and their pets can 

result in severe erosion, loss of 

habitat, and harm to beach-nesting 

birds.

The refuge manages its fragile 

beach areas for the rare birds which 

depend on them. In order to minimize 

disturbance to the birds and their 

habitat, this management includes 

limiting or prohibiting public access. 

Holgate is closed to all public use 

during nesting season; Little Beach is 

closed all year except by special use 

permit for research or education.

Almost 5,000 acres of the refuge are 

woodlands dominated by such tree 

species as pitch pine, oaks, and white 

cedar. Fields are maintained in the 

midst of these wooded communities 

to provide habitat for grasslandnesting birds, and to increase habitat 

diversity.

Osprey 

Barrier Beaches

and Endangered

Beachnesters 

 

Forests, Swamps 

and Fields

© Clay Myers
A wide variety of upland wildlife 

species, including songbirds, 

woodcock, white-tailed deer and box 

turtles, frequent these upland areas. 

Waterfowl such as black ducks often 

nest here.

Leeds Eco-Trail: A scenic half-mile 

loop foot path through salt marsh and 

woodlands offers visitors a chance to 

view “life on the edge” of these two 

interesting habitats. Marsh segments 

of the trail are boardwalked, and the 

first 700 ft. is wheelchair accessible.

Akers Woodland Trail: A quartermile easy walking path through native 

woodlands provides many seasonal 

opportunities to see migrating warblers.

Jen's Trail: A three quarter-mile loop 

with a thirty-five foot elevation gain 

provides great views of the refuge and 

is a good place to see forest birds.

Songbird Trail: This one and a halfmile trail through a variety of upland 

habitats is an outstanding hike to view 

migratory songbirds. By returning 

along the wildlife drive, you can choose 

different loop options such as a two and 

a half-mile loop from Jen's trail or a fourmile loop from refuge headquarters.

Headquarters and Auditorium: The 

refuge headquarters building contains 

information and staff offices. An 

auditorium offers an interesting array of 

seasonally changing wildlife displays.

Self-Service Visitor Information 

Area: Provides brochures, as well as 

wildlife sightings and other important 

information.

Environmental Education: Please 

contact the refuge to find out about 

our offerings for schools and groups 

seeking environmental education 

activities.

Woodcock 

Visitors enjoy a wide range of 

wildlife-dependent activities at 

Forsythe Refuge.

Wildlife Observation, Photography 

and Nature Study

Most of the refuge’s public use 

facilities are located at the Brigantine 

Division headquarters area in 

Oceanville, open daily sunrise to 

sunset. This site provides exceptional 

wildlife viewing, photography, 

and environmental education 

opportunities. Accessible rest rooms 

are available.

Wildlife Drive:

The most popular place to view wildlife 

on the refuge is the Wildlife Drive. 

This eight-mile, one-way, unpaved 

road leads you through wetlands 

and woodlands. Look for spectacular 

concentrations of migratory water 

birds in spring and fall, as they stop 

and linger in refuge habitats managed 

to meet their needs. There are no 

restrooms or drinking facilities on 

the drive. Yellow-rumped warbler

At the Brigantine 

Division 

Enjoying the

Refuge 

 

© Clay Myers

© Clay Myers

�

� ������

������ ������������

������� ����

�������� ����������� ����

����������������

�������� ����� ������

����������

�����

����������� ������ ����� ���� ����

�

��

� � �

�

�����

����������

�

�

���

�� �

���

���

�

������

�� �������� ������

���

���

������

���� ���� ����

����� ����� ����

����

����

��������� ����

��������� ����

���� ����

������

����

������ ����

����� ����

����

����

��������

����� �������� �����

�������� �����

� � � �� �� �� �� �

����� �����

�������� �����

����� ���������

����� �����

����� ���� ������� �� ������

���������� ���� ������� �� �������

���������� ����

������� �� �������

��������� �����

��������� ����� ��������

��� ���

��� ���

��� ���

��� ���

��� ���

Nature Trails
Scotts Landing

Barnegat Bay

Little Egg Harbor 

Great 

Bay

L AT ANTIC OCEAN

Brick

Toms River

Barnegat

Manahawkin

Tuckerton

Oceanville

Absecon

Brigantine

Atlantic City

Mullica River

Waretown

Ship Bottom

Beach Haven

Atlantic City Expressway

Garden State Parkway

9

9

9

70

72

30 Refuge Headquarters

deCamp Wildlife Trail

Eno's Pond

Barnegat Observation Platform

Barnegat Division Office

Bridge to Nowhere

Cedar Run Dock Road

Parker Run Dock Road

Graveling Point

Holgate

CT NY

PA

MD

DE

NEW

JERSEY

LEGEND

Refuge Headquarters

Boat Ramp

Wildlife Observation Area

Hiking

Accessible

Canoeing/Kayaking

Self-guided Nature Trail Photography

Auto Tour Fishing

Bicycling

Crabbing

Barnegat Division

Brigantine Division

Water

Edwin B. Forsythe

National Wildlife Refuge

N .5 0 Kilometers

Miles

5 1
Wildlife viewing opportunities 

are seasonal in some areas of the 

Barnegat Division, and year-round 

in others. 

The Holgate Unit: a pristine barrier 

beach located at the southern tip of 

Long Beach Island, offers visitors 

seasonal opportunities to observe its 

remarkable living plant and animal 

communities.

 

During non-nesting season––

approximately September 1 through 

March 31––visitors are welcome to 

walk Holgate’s beach front, to take 

advantage of its plentiful wildlife 

viewing opportunities. (Sorry, pets are 

prohibited––they can be harmful to 

both wildlife and this fragile habitat.) 

 

During the nesting season––April 

1 through August 31––Holgate is 

closed to all public access, to ensure 

undisturbed nesting conditions for 

threatened piping plovers and other 

beachnesters. (Holgate is one of the 

last nesting sites still available for 

these birds along the Jersey Shore.)

Barnegat Observation Platform:

From this accessible boardwalk and 

overlook, visitors can see resting and 

feeding migratory birds in freshwater 

wetlands. Platform is located on Bay 

Shore Drive between Ridgeway and 

Edison Avenues east of Route 9.

Eno's Pond: A one-mile self-guided 

nature trail loops its way through 

pine barrens to observation decks 

and a wildlife blind. The trail is a 

partnership between Ocean County 

Parks and Recreation and Edwin 

B. Forsythe NWR. A half-mile of 

the loop, on the county side, is an 

accessible trail.

The deCamp Wildlife Trail: This 

one-mile foot trail, located at 

Mantoloking and Adamston Roads in 

Brick Township, offers visitors yearround opportunities to experience the 

tranquil beauty of refuge woodlands 

and wildlife. Its first 1300 feet are wide 

and flat, with benches––and becoming 

moderately more difficult thereafter. 

Hunting, Fishing, and Crabbing

 

Seasonal waterfowl and deer hunting, 

fishing, and crabbing are permitted 

in designated areas of both the 

Brigantine and Barnegat Divisions, 

under Federal and State regulation. 

Boats may be launched at the 

Brigantine Division’s Scotts Landing 

boat ramp, located at the end of 

Scotts Landing Road, off Moss Mill 

Road, at Leeds Point. 

Please contact refuge headquarters 

for additional information, 

regulations and maps.

 

Best wildlife viewing occurs in spring 

and fall.

Bird checklists, Wildlife Drive 

brochures, and a leaflet describing 

Holgate’s seasonal regulations are 

available.

 

Biting insects abound from mid-May 

through mid-October. Ticks occur 

all year, and are most active during 

warmer months. Some ticks may carry 

Lyme disease, known to be harmful 

to humans. Insect repellent and other 

safety precautions are recommended.

Note:

At the Barnegat

Division 

 Richard Kuzminski

Piping plover chick 
The refuge receives more than

200,000 visits each year. Cumulative

impacts of this many visits on wildlife 

and habitat can be great. To ensure 

that we may continue to fulfill our 

primary mission of protecting and 

managing this refuge to support 

wildlife for the benefit of present and 

future generations of people, visitors 

must comply with these simple 

guidelines and regulations.

The refuge’s public use areas are 

open only during daylight hours 

(sunrise to sunset).

Visitors are urged to remain on 

designated roads and trails, leaving 

adjacent habitat undisturbed for use 

by wildlife.

 

Headquarters entrance road and 

Wildlife Drive speed limit is 15 mph 

or less, as posted.

 

Pets must be on a short, handheld 

leash at all times where permitted.

Pets are prohibited at Holgate.

Disturbing, injuring destroying, 

collecting of plants, wildlife or other 

natural objects.

 

Feeding wildlife.

Picking fruits or flowers.

Entering closed areas.

Use of bicycles or motorized vehicles 

on trails.

Camping, swimming, kite-flying, fires.

Horses, off-road vehicles, 

unregistered motorized vehicles.

Although migratory and other 

seasonal wildlife events are described 

below by month for easy reference, 

actual timing can vary from year to 

year due to weather conditions and 

other factors.

 

White-tailed deer and other resident 

species may be visible in refuge 

habitats in virtually any season.

Limited wildlife visibility. Best during 

thaws. Possible sightings of black 

ducks, snow geese, Atlantic brant, 

diving ducks, raptors (perhaps a bald 

eagle). Cold weather may freeze 

refuge waterways, forcing waterfowl

southward to find open water. The 

season’s first killdeers and red-winged 

blackbirds may arrive in February.

© George Hall

Red-winged blackbird 

Important 

Information

for Visitors

The following 

are prohibited 

on the refuge:

A Guide to 

Seasonal Wildlife

Activity

Year-round

January and

February 

 

White-tailed deer in velvet 

© George Hall
Northbound waterfowl migration. 

Spring peepers and other frog 

species begin their courtship calls in 

freshwater wetlands. Beach-nesting

birds, including piping plovers, arrive 

on refuge beaches. (Holgate closes to 

all public entry April 1.)

 

Wading birds and shorebirds begin to 

arrive; glossy ibis numbers peak in 

late April. 

Greatest diversity and peak numbers 

of warblers in refuge uplands, 

coinciding with the seasonally 

increasing insect populations which 

are a major part of their diet.

Horseshoe crabs spawn on refuge 

bay shores and beaches. Migrating 

ruddy turnstones arrive to forage on 

the crab eggs. Turtles may be seen

laying eggs in the soft dirt along 

refuge roadways, or sunbathing on 

roads and wetland edges. Drive 

carefully.

Peak of duckling hatch. These 

young birds will migrate with adults

this fall.

Best opportunities to see shorebirds 

and warblers heading south. Wading 

birds gather for migration.

Ducks gather in large flocks. 

Blue-winged teal will be the first to 

migrate this month. 

Snow geese begin to arrive in refuge 

wetlands.

Spectacular concentrations of ducks 

and geese in refuge impoundments; 

numbers can exceed 100,000!

Peak snow goose and Atlantic brant

numbers. Ducks and geese moving 

south. Bald eagle sightings most 

likely in December.

Cedar waxwings 

Snow goose 

© Clay Myers

© Clay Myers

March 20 to

April 15

April 20 to

May 30

Early May

May and June

Mid-June to

Mid-July

August

September

October

Early November

Mid-November

through 

December
Volunteers assist biologists, staff 

the headquarters information desk, 

guide tours, conduct environmental 

education activities, and maintain 

trails and facilities. For more 

information or an application, call 

609/748 1535.

An entrance fee is required to access 

the wildlife drive and its associated 

foot trails. Those visitors carrying a 

Forsythe Annual Pass, Federal Duck 

Stamp, Golden Age, Golden Eagle, 

Golden Access, or a National parks 

Pass with upgrade stamp are not 

required to pay the entrance fee.

Refuge officers routinely conduct 

compliance checks, and individuals 

entering the refuge without a valid 

entrance pass will be cited.

 

Remember, your entrance fees help 

to protect wetlands, support refuge 

management programs for wildlife, 

and wildlife-dependent recreational 

opportunities for you! 

Open weekends in the spring and fall, 

the gift shop offers birding supplies, 

gifts, and binocular rentals. Entrance 

passes are also available. 

 

The Friends of Forsythe NWR is a 

non-profit group established in 1998 

to provide support and services to the 

refuge. For more information or to 

join the Friends, write 

Friends of Forsythe NWR, 

P.O. Box 355, Oceanville NJ 08231 

or phone 609/641 4671

or visit the Web site at

http://www.friendsofforsythe.org/

In response to the staggering loss of 

wetlands in the United States, in 1986 

Congress authorized the U.S. Fish & 

Wildlife Service to charge entrance 

fees at some national wildlife refuges. 

The monies are used to support 

refuge operations––especially

wildlife-dependent public uses––and 

to purchase wetlands for inclusion 

into the refuge system. Great egret

 

Refuge Entrance 

Fees––Enacted to

Help Wildlife 

 

Refuge Volunteers

© John Matteoni

Friends of 

Forsythe NWR 

Gift Shop: 

Friends Group 

Nick Kontonicolas

Black skimmer