The Sayville National Wildlife Refuge is a
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 ...
(NWR) located in
West Sayville, New York
West Sayville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, New York, United States. It had a population of 5,011 at the 2010 census.
Geography
West Sayville is located on the South Shore of Long Island in the Town of Islip. I ...
about inland from the
Great South Bay
The Great South Bay is a lagoon situated between Long Island and Fire Island, in the State of New York. It is about long and has an average depth of 4 feet 3 inches and is 20 feet at its deepest. It is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Fire ...
. Sayville NWR is managed by the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a sub-unit of
Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge
The Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge is located on the south shore of Long Island and is one of the undeveloped estuary systems on Long Island. In 1947, Maurice Wertheim donated on eastern Long Island to the United States government; the donate ...
and part of the
Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It is the only land-locked refuge in the complex.
Sayville consists primarily of oak-pitch pine forests interspersed with grasslands. This sub-unit supports a diversity of migratory songbirds and raptors. The refuge contains the largest population of
sandplain gerardia (a federally endangered plant) in the state of
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
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. Management activities focus on protecting and enhancing habitat for this endangered plant and for migratory birds.
History
The refuge was established in 1992 by the transfer of a parcel of vacant
Federal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...
land. In 1990, Congress legislated the transfer of an additional parcel from the FAA to the refuge. That exchange was to be completed after the FAA had removed all buildings and improvements. Those have since been removed, and the transfer was completed in February 2007.
References
External links
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: Sayville National Wildlife Refuge*
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Islip (town), New York
National Wildlife Refuges in New York (state)
Protected areas established in 1993
Protected areas of Suffolk County, New York