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Washington
DC Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
Location: 2145 Key Wallace Dr., Cambridge, Maryland
Washington DC Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, located
12 miles south of Cambridge, Maryland, was established in 1933 as a refuge for migratory
waterfowl.
The refuge includes
more than 26,000 acres, composed mainly
of rich tidal marsh characterized
by fluctuating water levels and variable salinity.
Other habitat types include freshwater ponds, mixed evergreen and deciduous forests,
and small amounts of cropland and managed impoundments that are seasonally flooded
for waterfowl use. Originally established for migratory birds, primarily ducks and
geese, this park is one of the chief wintering areas for Canada Geese using the
Atlantic Flyway.
Geese number approximately 35,000 and ducks exceed 15,000
at the peak
of fall migration, usually in November. Blackwater is also haven for
two of our nation's threatened or endangered species. The bald eagle (which has
been upgraded from endangered to threatened) and Delmarva fox squirrels are regularly
seen on the Refuge. Before its designation as a Refuge, the marshland along the
middle Blackwater River was managed as a fur farm.
Muskrats were the primary species trapped. Most of the
wood lands, including the islands, had been timbered at one time. Remains of old
drainage ditches and furrows which crisscross in some existing woods indicate past agricultural use.
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