Savannah National Wildlife Refuge protects 31,551 acres of wetlands, forest, rivers, and managed impoundments along the Savannah River in Georgia and South Carolina. Established in 1927 and expanded over time, it grew from a bird refuge into a major protected area in the Atlantic Flyway, supporting wintering ducks, migratory songbirds, wading birds, and species such as the American alligator, bald eagle, wood stork, shortnose sturgeon, and Florida manatee. The land also preserves a far older human story: after Savannah’s founding in 1733, much of this area became rice fields, and plantation levees, dikes, and water-control structures still shape the refuge today.