Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge

Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge is a 3,501-acre refuge in Poquoson, Virginia, at the southwestern corner of the Chesapeake Bay. Near the midpoint of the Atlantic Flyway, it is part of the Eastern Virginia Rivers National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which includes four regional refuges. Its modern history sets it apart from many protected coastal areas: before the land passed to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service in 1972, the Department of Defense used it as a bombing range. Unexploded ordnance still remains across much of the property, so access is tightly limited and only the 200-acre Cow Island section is open to visitors.

Poquoson, Virginia · United States