Salinas River National Wildlife Refuge is a 367-acre protected area on the central California coast where the Salinas River meets Monterey Bay. Established in 1974 for its value to migratory bird management, it contains sand dunes, pickleweed salt marsh, a river lagoon, riverine habitat, and a saline pond within a compact landscape. These habitats support migratory birds and threatened or endangered species including the California brown pelican, western snowy plover, Smith's blue butterfly, Monterey sand gilia, and Monterey spineflower. The refuge also faces continuing environmental stress from upstream agricultural pollution, altered river flow, eutrophication, algae growth, and pesticide contamination.