Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S.

National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

on Oregon's coast. It lies in southern

Tillamook County Tillamook County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,390. The county seat is Tillamook. The county is named for the Tillamook or Killamook people, a Native American tribe who we ...

, on the state's northern coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the

Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex The Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of six National Wildlife Refuges along the Oregon Coast. It provides wilderness protection to thousands of small islands, rocks, reefs, headlands, marshes, and bays totaling 371 acres ( ...

and supports one tenth of the world's

dusky Canada goose The dusky Canada goose (''Branta canadensis occidentalis'') is a subspecies of the Canada goose. They are the darkest variant, similar to the Pacific cackling goose. Tagged dusky geese have red bands with white letters on them attached to their ...

population. The refuge contains at least seven types of habitat, including tidal marsh, tidal

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s, grassland, woodland, pasture, forested

lagg Lagg may refer to: *Lagg, Arran, North Ayrshire, Scotland **, see Arran distillery *Lagg, Jura, Argyll and Bute, Scotland *Lagg (landform) *Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG-1, a Soviet fighter aircraft of World War II * Lavochkin-Gorbunov-Gudkov LaGG ...

—a transition between raised peat bog and mineral soil—and freshwater

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s, including the southernmost coastal '' Sphagnum'' bog habitat on the Pacific Coast. The ''Sphagnum'' bog provides habitat for many interesting and unusual species, such as the insect-eating sundew plant and the bog cranberry. Scientists have discovered many layers of sand and peat under Neskowin Marsh indicating a long history of tsunami activity which carries sand from the coastal sand dunes. These might be the best record of tsunami activity within the Cascadia subduction zone. Chinook and coho salmon,

coastal cutthroat trout The coastal cutthroat trout (''Oncorhynchus clarkii clarkii''), also known as the sea-run cutthroat trout, blue-back trout or harvest trout, is one of the several subspecies of cutthroat trout found in Western North America. The coastal cutthroa ...

and steelhead are all native to the Nestucca Bay and River system. November through April, the refuge’s short grass pastures provide winter habitats for the previously mentioned dusky Canada goose and the

Aleutian cackling goose The Aleutian cackling goose (''Branta hutchinsii leucopareia''), is a small subspecies of the cackling goose averaging in weight. It was one of 122 species of animals, birds, and fish first documented for science by the Lewis and Clark Expedi ...

. Notable winged residents include a variety of migrating shorebirds,

peregrine falcon The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falco ...

s and

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

s. The refuge was established in 1991, and is on

Nestucca Bay Nestucca Bay is a bay formed by the confluence of the Nestucca River and the Pacific Ocean in northwest Oregon in the United States. It is near the town of Pacific City, which is in southwestern Tillamook County, about south of Cape Lookout. ...

at the confluence of the Nestucca and Little Nestucca rivers, ranging 3 to 5 miles (5 to 8 km) south of Pacific City. Across the bay to the west is Nestucca Spit and

Robert W. Straub Robert William Straub (May 6, 1920 – November 27, 2002) was an American politician and businessman from the state of Oregon. A native of San Francisco, California, he settled in Eugene, Oregon, where he entered politics. A Democratic politici ...

state parks. The refuge is closed to all public use, except during two special events: one in February and one in October. A viewing area is planned for construction, probably in 2008. In 2010, Oregon writer Matt Love published a book about his experience serving as caretaker of the site for nine years during the restoration of the preserve from a one-time dairy farm back to its natural state. "Gimme Refuge: The Education of a Caretaker" Nestucca Spit Press.

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External links

* {{authority control 1991 establishments in Oregon Landforms of Tillamook County, Oregon National Wildlife Refuges in Oregon Protected areas of Tillamook County, Oregon Wetlands of Oregon Protected areas established in 1991

See also

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External links