Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, east of Milton on Delaware Bay, was established in 1963 as a protected coastal sanctuary managed chiefly for migratory birds. Its freshwater and salt marshes, ponds, woodlands, grasslands, and forests support 267 bird species along with reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, while Fowler Beach serves as an official horseshoe crab sanctuary. In the 1980s, tide gates converted salt marsh to freshwater impoundments, but flooding from 2006 through Hurricane Sandy in 2012 damaged habitat and nearby communities. A major restoration completed in 2016 rebuilt salt marshes, improved water flow, restored tidal channels, and replanted vegetation.

Delaware · United States