Wolf Island National Wildlife Refuge, located approximately off the coast of Darien,

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, in McIntosh County, was established on April 3, 1930 to provide protection and habitat for migratory birds. The

barrier island Barrier islands are coastal landforms and a type of Dune, dune system that are exceptionally flat or lumpy areas of sand that form by wave and tidal action parallel to the mainland coast. They usually occur in chains, consisting of anything fro ...

refuge consists of Wolf Island and two smaller islands,

Egg An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...

and Little Egg. Over 75% of the refuge's are composed of

saltwater marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

. Wolf Island NWR was designated a

National Wilderness Area The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

in 1975 and is maintained as such, with its primary purpose being to provide protection for migratory birds and such endangered and threatened species as the

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around in carapace length when fully ...

and

piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...

. Due to its status as a wilderness area, no public use facilities are planned on the refuge. The refuge's salt waters are open to a variety of recreational activities such as

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

crabbing Crab fisheries are fisheries which capture or Fish farming, farm crabs. True crabs make up 20% of all crustaceans caught and farmed worldwide, with about 1.4 million tonnes being consumed annually. The horse crab, ''Portunus trituberculatus'', a ...

, but all beach, marsh, and upland areas are closed to the public.

References

Refuge website
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Georgia (U.S. state) Protected areas of McIntosh County, Georgia Protected areas established in 1930 Wetlands of Georgia (U.S. state) Landforms of McIntosh County, Georgia Islands of McIntosh County, Georgia Islands of Georgia (U.S. state) 1930 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Barrier islands of Georgia (U.S. state)