Great Thicket National Wildlife Refuge

In October 2016, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service approved a new 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 dedicated to managing shrubland habitat for wildlife in the Northeast.

Highlights of the Decision

The actions incorporated into the final decision will:

• Establish 10 Refuge Acquisition Focus Areas spanning six States: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York. While U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service the total acreage in these 10 focus areas adds up to 257,639 acres, the Service has acquisition authority for up to 15,000 acres from willing sellers across all 10 areas.
• Continue work with our partners to conserve, manage, and maintain shrubland and young forest habitats which provide food and shelter for New England cottontails, American woodcock, ruffed grouse, monarch butterflies, box turtles and scores of other shrubland-dependent species.
• Contribute to habitat and population objectives for numerous declining priority breeding land birds identified in the New England/Mid-Atlantic Bird Conservation Region Plan 30, including prairie warbler and bluewinged warbler.
• Provide direct, immediate, and long term positive effects on federally listed threatened and endangered species, including bog turtles and the Massachusetts population of the northern red-bellied cooter.
• Make measurable contributions towards habitat and population goals identified in the multi-agency Conservation Strategy for the New England cottontail by increasing the long-term certainty of shrubland management and success in strategic locations throughout the Northeast.