Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge and The Friends

Friends are the people that you count on to be there when you need them or maybe the people in the community who have a common cause and want to give support to something they believe in. Friends of Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is one group with the focus on such an effort that has brought the local community together in the interest and support for the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of the Interior and its administrative agency the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are also very interested in the preservation of this habitat and wildlife. They are assigned to this task here in Seal Beach and at the other National Wildlife Refuges around the country and in territories of the United States.

Partnerships

Friends groups are partnership organizations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and consist of citizens and volunteers that have formed Non Profit 501 (c) 3 organizations, such as the Friends of the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. These organizations have a mission of supporting the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service in management activities and preservation efforts of the Nation’s Refuges. The Friends of Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge are unique with a dual partnership also with the United States Navy. Prior to its present status as a Refuge, The U.S. Navy had originally designated this land as a Navy Preserve in 1969 and recognized the need to preserve and protect the area from future encroachment. The U.S. Navy is the landowner of the area surrounding the Refuge and shares roles of management with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service who manage the Refuge. These partners allow The Friends of Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge to operate as a local community volunteer group assisting in the support and needs of the Refuge. Learn more…

Location of the Friends

On the Map

Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is part of the extensive San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex and located in Orange County, California. The Refuge is enclosed within the boundaries of a military installation, the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. This is just one unit of the over 500 Refuges throughout the United States that are open to the public and there is at least one Refuge available to visit in each state. Learn more…

The Refuge

The Refuge’s tidal salt marsh, encompassing 965 acres of the Anaheim Bay estuary, serves as a wildlife sanctuary on an increasingly crowded coast as well as providing a critical migration stopover and wintering habitat for thousands of birds that migrate up and down the Pacific flyway each year. The protected areas of Seal Beach NWR provide habitat for resident wildlife as well as an excellent venue for environmental education. The Refuge provides a home for the Federally endangered California Least tern (Sterna antillarum browni), the Ridgway’s Rail, (Rallus obsoletus) and the State of California listed endangered Belding’s Savannah sparrow, (Passerculus sandwichensis beldingi).

The Friends are based at The Refuge Headquarters and Nature Center Building, where Public Tours originate and volunteer projects are planned and coordinated. The Friends also support a 3.5 acre California Native Plant Garden at the site. Activities that directly support the U. S. Fish and Wildlife include the following:

♦ Surveys

♦ Monitoring

♦ Outreach

♦ Special Events

Learn more…