As one of Georgia's barrier islands, Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge provides protection to the coastline and habitat for a diversity of wildlife, including summertime nesting sea turtles, and year-round shorebird activity.

Visit Us

Surf fishing on Blackbeard Island NWR

National wildlife refuges offer us all a chance to unplug from the stresses of daily life and reconnect with our natural surroundings. Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge offers a variety of opportunities to explore and enjoy the great outdoors. You can play in the surf, observe and photograph wildlife, hike or bicycle miles of forest trails, fish or, during the season, hunt white-tailed deer. Open daily from sunrise to sunset, the barrier island refuge is accessible only by boat. Transportation is not provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, therefore visitors must use personal watercraft or a local charter service.

Location and Contact Information

      What We Do

      Wildlife conservation is at the heart of the National Wildlife Refuge System. It drives everything on U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and waters managed within the Refuge System, from the purposes for which a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
      A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

      Learn more about national wildlife refuge
      is established to the recreational activities offered to the resource management tools used. Using conservation best practices, the Refuge System manages Service lands and waters to help ensure the survival of native wildlife species.

      Our Species

      Blackbeard Island NWR supports a wide diversity of wildlife, including about 240 species of breeding and wintering birds, at least 20 species of mammals, and an undetermined number of reptiles, amphibians, and fish.  The refuge is within the range of several listed threatened or endangered wildlife species.