The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife conservation area along the coast of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

(USA), south of the towns of Sweeny and Brazoria, Texas. It encloses a bay behind a barrier island at the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

. The refuge is located in southern Brazoria and eastern Matagorda counties. San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1969 and provides quality habitat for wintering migratory waterfowl and other bird life. Viewing the rippling

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found ...

es and ponds of the refuge gives an image of Texas as it was before settlement. Three national wildlife refuges on the Texas coast - Brazoria, San Bernard and Big Boggy - form a vital complex of coastal wetlands harboring more than 300 bird species.

Notes

References

* Protected areas of Brazoria County, Texas Protected areas of Matagorda County, Texas National Wildlife Refuges in Texas Wetlands of Texas Landforms of Brazoria County, Texas Landforms of Matagorda County, Texas Protected areas established in 1969 1969 establishments in Texas {{Texas-protected-area-stub