About Us

The Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuges Gateway Visitor Center was a long-time dream for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and many refuge and wildlife supporters on the Outer Banks and in eastern North Carolina. The building opened in 2012 and is LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certified and energy-efficient, with features including solar panels, low-volume toilets, and a highly energy-efficient heating and cooling system. The visitor center houses a 130-seat auditorium, an educational classroom, and outdoor exhibits. The pollinator garden in front of the refuge is filled with native North Carolina plants that support pollinators.

In addition to receiving the public, the building houses the administrative offices for Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges.

Our Mission

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the primary federal agency responsible for the conservation, protection, and enhancement of the Nation’s fish and wildlife populations and their habitats. Although the Service shares some conservation responsibilities with other federal, state, tribal, local, and private entities, it has specific trustee obligations for migratory birds, threatened and endangered species, anadromous fish, and certain marine mammals. In addition, the Service administers a national network of lands and waters for the management and protection of these resources. As part of its mission, the Service manages more than 540 national wildlife refuges covering a total of more than 93 million acres. These areas comprise the National Wildlife Refuge System, the world’s largest collection of lands and waters specifically managed for fish and wildlife. The majority of these lands, 77 million acres, lie in Alaska. The remaining 16 million acres are spread across the other 49 states and several island territories.

The mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, as defined by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997, is:

"... to administer a national network of lands and waters for the conservation, management, and where appropriate, restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats within the United States for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans."

Other Facilities in this Complex

The Gateway Visitor Center serves as an introduction to the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuge Complex, as well as two other refuges and a national fish hatchery in the area: Great Dismal Swamp NWR, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Edenton National Fish Hatchery. A National Wildlife Refuge Complex is an administrative grouping of two or more refuges, wildlife management areas or other refuge conservation areas that are primarily managed from a central office location. Refuges are grouped into a complex  structure structure
Something temporarily or permanently constructed, built, or placed; and constructed of natural or manufactured parts including, but not limited to, a building, shed, cabin, porch, bridge, walkway, stair steps, sign, landing, platform, dock, rack, fence, telecommunication device, antennae, fish cleaning table, satellite dish/mount, or well head.

Learn more about structure  because they occur in a similar ecological region, such as a watershed or specific habitat type, and have a related purpose and management needs.  

There are 9 national wildlife refuges in the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuges Complex. The Project Leader for the Complex supervises the Refuge Managers who are responsible for managing these refuges.  However, there are five distinct and separate administrative offices.  Alligator River and Pea Island National Wildlife Refuges are administered from the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Manteo, NC.  An administrative office at the Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in Knotts Island, NC manages both Mackay Island and Currituck National Wildlife Refuges. An office at Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge administers Mattamuskeet, Swanquarter, and Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuges. Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Edenton National Fish Hatchery each have separate administrative offices.

All of the Coastal North Carolina National Wildlife Refuges, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge, and Edenton National Fish Hatchery are open to public visits for nature-based recreational enjoyment. Priority public uses are hunting, fishing, wildlife observation, wildlife photography, environmental education, and interpretation.

A young black bear looks back on a gravel road surrounded by forest
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge
Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Albemarle Peninsula in eastern North Carolina. The refuge was established in 1984 to protect the rare pocosin wetlands and their associated wildlife. Pocosin wetlands grow on thick layers of peat and have stunted, shrubby vegetation. The...
National Wildlife Refuge
Manteo,NC
A flock of black-and-white shorebirds with upturned beaks rest in perfectly still water
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 to provide nesting, resting, and wintering habitat for migratory birds, including the greater snow geese and other migratory waterfowl, shorebirds, wading birds, raptors, and neotropical migrants; to provide habitat and protection for...
National Wildlife Refuge
Rodanthe,NC
A flock of hundreds of snow geese taking off from an agricultural field
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge conserves a rare type of wetland habitat, known as "pocosin," derived from a Native American word meaning "swamp on a hill." The refuge encompasses vast acres of natural wetlands, including the unique southeastern pocosin peat wetlands, open water on Pungo and...
National Wildlife Refuge
Columbia,NC
A calm lake surface reflects a band of clouds and a line of cypress trees in the water
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge
Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge features the largest natural freshwater lake in North Carolina, Lake Mattamuskeet, as well as marshes, swamp forests, and upland forests. The refuge supports large numbers of wintering waterfowl, as well as a variety of breeding songbirds, mammals such as black...
National Wildlife Refuge
Swan Quarter,NC
A grassy marsh with open water in the foreground and a pine forest in the background
Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge
Congress established Mackay Island National Wildlife Refuge on December 30, 1960, to protect migratory birds and their habitats and conserve endangered and threatened species. The refuge is located on Knotts Island in Currituck County, North Carolina, and includes lands in Virginia Beach, Virginia...
National Wildlife Refuge
Knotts Island,NC
A calm river bordered by bare baldcypress trees
Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge
Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge, in Bertie County, North Carolina, is named for the Roanoke River, which runs through the refuge. The refuge was established in 1991 to protect the forests in the Roanoke River floodplain, considered to be the largest intact, and least disturbed, bottomland...
National Wildlife Refuge
Windsor,NC
A forest fringed by grassy marsh is bordered by a partially submerged rock wall
Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge
Swanquarter National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1932 and protects an extensive coastal brackish marsh on Pamlico Sound in Hyde County, North Carolina. The refuge is composed of both forested wetlands and open marsh and features thousands of migratory waterfowl during the winter, including...
National Wildlife Refuge
An open marsh landscape with bands of different species of grasses and rushes, colored bright green, brown, and gray
Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge
Cedar Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1964 and features an extensive, relatively undisturbed coastal marsh, along with pocosin and woodland habitat. The marsh and surrounding waters provide wintering habitat for thousands of ducks and nesting habitat for colonial waterbirds and...
National Wildlife Refuge
Cedar Island,NC
A forest with an open understory, scraggly oak trees, and tall, straight pines
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge
Currituck National Wildlife Refuge was established to preserve, protect and maintain healthy and viable populations of migratory birds, wildlife, fish and plants, including federal and state endangered species and trust species. The refuge restores, enhances and maintains the natural processes and...
National Wildlife Refuge
Knotts Island,NC
Underside of lake sturgeon, barbels and mouth visible.
Edenton National Fish Hatchery
The Edenton National Fish Hatchery is located in the historic port town of Edenton. Since 1898, Edenton National Fish Hatchery staff have produced warm water fish for public use, restoration, and/or threatened/endangered species recovery. All of our current fish programs are in cooperation with...
National Fish Hatchery
Edenton,NC
Large cypress trees emerging from open water
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge
Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge contains some of the most important wildlife habitat in the mid-Atlantic region. At near 113,000 acres, the refuge is the largest intact remnant of a vast swamp that once covered more than one million acres.
National Wildlife Refuge
Suffolk,VA
A gold and orange sunset reflects on the still waters of Back Bay. A line of trees denotes the horizon.
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located in the southeastern corner of the City of Virginia Beach. The refuge was established in 1938 to protect and provide habitat for migrating and wintering waterfowl. Diverse habitats, including beachfront, freshwater marsh, dunes, shrub-scrub and upland...
National Wildlife Refuge
Virginia Beach,VA