Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge

06/01/2026

🚧 Visitor Alert 🚧
The Owen’s Station parking lot will be closed from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM today --June 1st-- due to a scheduled school field trip.
This temporary closure is in place to ensure the safety of visiting students during their time at the refuge.
We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to plan your visit accordingly. Thank you!

05/28/2026

Spring on the refuge 🌺 Photos from our new refuge Volunteer Jayne. You'll see Jayne and her husband greeting visitors at Owen's station this summer!

05/15/2026

In the spring, you may find what appears to be orphaned wildlife. NJDEP Fish & Wildlife encourages you to leave young wildlife undisturbed, as oftentimes the mother is nearby. Cottontail rabbits leave their young for hours at a time to forage, and baby rabbits found at a nest site do not need to be rescued. The mother rabbit will not return if people are standing nearby. If you accidentally uncover a nest, you can simply place the nesting material back on top of the nest and leave. The mother will return to care for the young. Young rabbits are ready to leave the nest at three to four weeks old, once their eyes are open and their bodies are covered with fur.

05/04/2026

🚧 Visitor Alert 🚧
The Owen’s Station parking lot will be closed from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, May 5th and Wednesday, May 6th due to a scheduled school field trip.

This temporary closure is in place to ensure the safety of visiting students during their time at the refuge.

We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to plan your visit accordingly. Thank you!

04/27/2026

🚧 Visitor Alert 🚧

The Owen’s Station parking lot will be closed from 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Tuesday, April 28 and Wednesday, April 29 due to a scheduled school field trip.

This temporary closure is in place to ensure the safety of visiting students during their time at the refuge.

We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to plan your visit accordingly. Thank you!

04/23/2026

Beauty from the ashes! Seeing a blackened field might look stark at first, but look closer. The ash left behind acts as a natural fertilizer, waking up dormant seeds for an explosion of native wildflowers and grasses. This "tender new growth" is a high-protein feast for pollinators, birds, and deer!

04/20/2026

The U.S. Wildland Fire Program will be attempting (dependent upon favorable weather conditions) a prescribed burn of the refuge tomorrow (April 21st) to improve wildlife habitat and lessen wildfire risk. The Dagmar Dale Trail System behind Headquarters will be closed on April 21st and April 22d. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Prescribed burning removes invading shrubs that would otherwise overtake the fields, helps control non-native plants, and promotes the growth of native warm-season grasses that provide important wildlife habitat. The operation will only take place under favorable weather conditions to keep the fire and smoke manageable.

04/15/2026

If you see smoke in the air this month, don’t alarm—it’s likely part of our official prescribed burn season! April marks the start of our managed fire program, a vital tool for land conservation. Our experts are on-site to ensure everything stays low, slow, and safe.
If you’re driving nearby, please keep your headlights on and stay alert for low visibility. Safety first for our community and your public lands.

03/27/2026

Did you know?

If you encounter a turtle crossing the road you should move it to the other side of the road in the same direction it was going. Using a car mat can be a good way to help the turtles across without actually picking them up. By using a car mat or putting something under the turtle, you can slide the turtle in the direction it was going. Resist the urge to relocate the turtle to a wooded area or water body, as this could actually put it in greater danger.

For more tips on safely assisting turtles in crossing the road, visit our website:

This time of year many wildlife, like turtles, are on the move. As the weather warms, turtles go in search for new territory, breeding opportunities and quests for food. Many females will travel to find ideal places to lay their eggs and will often cross the roads. Please keep a lookout for them whi...

03/04/2026

Good Fire for Wildlife

Across the refuge system, land managers use prescribed burning to mimic the natural processes that shaped America’s landscapes for thousands of years.

Without periodic fire, forests and grasslands can become overcrowded, limiting sunlight and reducing the diversity of plants wildlife depend on. Prescribed burns recycle nutrients back into the soil, promote new plant growth, and create important nesting and foraging habitat.

The result? Stronger ecosystems that support deer, songbirds, pollinators, and many other native species. These planned burns also help reduce excess vegetation that can fuel uncontrolled wildfires — protecting both wildlife habitat and nearby communities.