Updated August 13, 2024
ALERTS:
- VISITOR CENTER CLOSURE: Due to ongoing HVAC issues, our Visitor Center is still closed. Bathrooms (located outside the visitor center building) will continue to be open and available to visitors.
- PHOTORAPHY BLIND PROGRAM: Due to circumstances beyond our control, we are unable to offer use of our photo blinds for the 2024-2025 season. We appreciate your patience and support as we work towards creative solutions for 2025-26. General information about the Photo Blind Program when it is operational can be found on our Photography page, and additional questions about this decision have been answered in the comments of our Facebook post about it on August 12.
- HUNTER OUTREACH MEETING: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife, along with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, will be holding an online outreach meeting on Tuesday, August 27 from 4-6pm to take comments and recommendations regarding State Wildlife Area and Federal Refuge hunting programs in the Northern Sacramento Valley. Please see our News page for further information.
- DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSEMENT: As part of the Big Notch Project, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to issue a short-term special use permit to the California Department of Water Resources to allow for increased flows on properties in the Yolo Bypass where the Service has conservation easements. The Draft Environmental Assessment and Compatibility Determinations are available for public review until August 25, 2024. Please see our News page for further information.
VISITOR CENTER IS OPEN
We are pleased to announce that our new Visitor Center is open Thursdays and Fridays from 9:00am-4:00pm (subject to change, closed on all Federal Holidays).
LIVE WEB-CAM
- What's the Weather Like?
- Are there Birds at the Refuge?
Check out the LIVE WEB-CAM at Sacramento NWR, brought to you by Friends of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Click on their link to find out how you can get involved! --> www.friendsofsnwr.org
FOUND AN INJURED/ABANDONED ANIMAL?
The refuge does NOT rescue, rehabilitate or accept injured or orphaned animals. If you need assistance, please contact a licensed care facility or your local city/county animal control department:
- CA Dept. of Fish and Wildlife's Wildlife Rehabilitation Facilities, statewide list of care facilities, organized by county.
- Chico, CA vicinity: Bidwell Wildlife Rehabilitation (Submit a mammal or bird form on their website homepage)
- Sacramento, CA vicinity: Wildlife Care Association (click on "Found Animal" at the top of their website to submit a form)
Visit Us
Welcome to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!
Sacramento National Wildlife is one of the 5 National Wildlife Refuges and 3 Wildlife Management Areas that make up the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex: Sacramento NWR, Delevan NWR, Colusa NWR, Sutter NWR, Sacramento River NWR, Llano Seco Unit (STNCV WMA), Butte Sink WMA, Willow Creek-Lurline WMA.
There are LOTS of recreational opportunities across the Complex, including a Visitor Center, Auto Tours, trails, bicycling, photography, hunting and environmental education.
Click on VISIT US! to find all the information you need to plan your visit! Or use these quick links:
VISITOR CENTERAUTO TOURSTRAILSBICYCLINGPHOTOGRAPHYHUNTING-WATERFOWLHunting-RiverMAPS, DIRECTIONS + BROCHURESENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION
Location and Contact Information
About Us
The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is located about 70 miles north of the metropolitan area of Sacramento and 7 miles south of the town of Willows in Glenn and Colusa Counties. The refuge consists of 10,819 acres of wetlands, grasslands and riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian habitats.
Click on the link below to learn more about us!
What We Do
- Resource Management
To help plants and wildlife, Refuge staff uses a variety of habitat management techniques to maintain, recover or enhance plant and wildlife values. Refuge staff carefully consider any management techniques and employ them in varying degrees according to the situation.
- Conservation and Partnerships
The Complex is involved in many conservation endeavors, including Comprehensive Conservation Plans, Private Landowner Programs, and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act.
Click on the link below to learn more about what we do!
Our Organization
National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997:The NWRS Improvement Act defines a unifying mission for all refuges, including a process for determining compatible uses on refuges, and requiring that each refuge be managed according to a CCP. The NWRS Improvement Act expressly states that wildlife conservation is the priority of System lands and that the Secretary shall ensure that the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of refuge lands are maintained. Each refuge must be managed to fulfill the specific purposes for which the refuge was established and the System mission. The first priority of each refuge is to conserve, manage, and if needed, restore fish and wildlife populations and habitats according to its purpose.
Our Species
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is best known for migratory waterfowl. Waterfowl are present September through April and numbers regularly peak at over 500,000 ducks and 250,000 geese. Sacramento NWR is an important wintering grounds for Tule Greater White-fronted Geese. The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex provides nearly 70,000 acres of wetland, grassland, and riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian habitats for a wide array of waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, waterbirds, songbirds, reptiles, and mammals. The Complex currently supports nearly 300 species of birds.
Click on the link below to learn more about our Seasons of Wildlife, Wildlife Checklist, Wildlife Surveys, and Our Species....