Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge

Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Location	Connecticut, United States
Nearest city	Westbrook, Connecticut
Coordinates	41°17′21.2316″N 72°28′18.4080″W / 41.289231000°N 72.471780000°W / 41.289231000; -72.471780000Coordinates: 41°17′21.2316″N 72°28′18.4080″W / 41.289231000°N 72.471780000°W / 41.289231000; -72.471780000
Area	950 acres (384.5 ha)
Established	1972
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge

The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is a 950-acre (384.5 ha) National Wildlife Refuge in ten units across the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge spans 70 miles (110 km) of Connecticut coastline and provides important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Adjacent waters serve as wintering habitat for brant, scoters, American black duck, and other waterfowl. Overall, the refuge encompasses over 900 acres (364.2 ha) of barrier beach, intertidal wetland and fragile island habitats.

Originally named the Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge, the refuge was renamed in 1987 after Stewart B. McKinney, a congressman from Connecticut.

The refuge consists of ten separate land units. From east to west they are:

The ten units of Stewart B. McKinney NWR include a variety of habitats from grassy upland, to tidal salt marsh. Native wildlife populations have diverse habitat requirements. Each species, from roseate terns to American black ducks, has very different needs for food, water, shelter and space. The refuge units along Connecticut's coast fill these needs by providing habitats that are forested, marshy, sandy and secluded island habitats.

In 1972, Ester Lape donated over 150 acres (60.7 ha) of land in Westbrook, Connecticut to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. This donation became Salt Meadow National Wildlife Refuge. As neighbors donated or sold adjacent property to the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Salt Meadow grew to be a 274-acre (110.9 ha) refuge.

As the state became more and more populated, coastal areas and islands were being developed at an alarming rate. Citizens began to worry that the long legged wading birds and other shorebirds that use Connecticut's Islands and Coast would soon be without important nesting and feeding habitat. With the help of non-profit groups like National Audubon Society, Saugatuck Audubon Society, The Nature Conservancy, Trust for Public Land, and the Westbrook Land Trust, Sheffield, Chimon, and Goose Islands near Norwalk and Milford Point in Milford were acquired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.