Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
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Sabine National Wildlife Refuge (established in 1937) is a National Wildlife Refuge located in Cameron Parish in southwestern Louisiana. It is on Louisiana State Route 27, eight miles south of Hackberry and 12 miles north of Holly Beach. The western boundary of the Sabine refuge is Sabine Lake, the inlet for Port Arthur, Texas, while the tip of the eastern end reaches Calcasieu Lake.
Sabine is a 124,511 acre (504 km²) sanctuary, the largest coastal marsh refuge on the Gulf Coast of the United States, and is home to more than 200 species of birds; including ducks, common egret, geese, Olivaceous cormorant, raptors, snowy egret, wading birds, and shorebirds. The is also a very large contengent of alligators, as well as blue crabs, minks, muskrats, nutria, otters, rabbits, shrimp, and turtles.
Located at the visitor center is a pamphlet that explains the "Wetland Walkway", a 1.5-mile nature trail made from concrete, a portion of which is a wooden boardwalk, located four miles south of the refuge headquarters (HQ). It includes an observation tower, and it has 15 knowledge stations, to acquaint and educate, the visitor with the Gulf Coast marsh. There is a second natural trail, "Blue Goose Trail", north of the camp HQ, that is a one mile round trip with a scenic overlook.
You can boat through the refuge from March 15 to October 15. You can also fish from the bank for the entire year. The refuge is open every day from sunrise to sunset, while the visitor center is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and admission is free (all times CDT).
- Petroleum exploration is allowed on the refuge. There was an oil spill at one of the well sites in Sabine during the winter of 2002-2003. Most of the spill was cleaned up by burning the oil.
- Sabine NWR was in the direct path of Hurricane Rita on September 24, 2005.
Stats:
- Location: 29.9002173 -93.5334915
( ) - Elevation: 10 feet (3 m; avg)
- Area:
- Water: 39,844 acres (161 km²)
- Grassland/herbaceous/marsh: 84,667 acres (343 km²)
- Annual visitors: 300,000 (approximately)
[edit] External links
- Sabine NWR @ the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
- Bird Checklists of Sabine NWS from USGS's Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
- Sabine NWR oil spill @ NOAA
- Sabine National Wildlife Refuge is at coordinates Coordinates:
