A lovely chapter in human history was undertaken with the formation and development of south-eastern Virginia’s Back Bay Natinal Wildlife Refuge. Formed in 1938 to provide a safe migration zone for migratory bird species, the Back Bay NWR was doubled in size to include over 9,000 acres in the 1980’s as the Virginia Beach area started to become a popular tourist spot.
Thanks to the efforts of groups like the Friends of Back Bay and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, this area now includes the southernmost area of Virginia’s Outer Banks — freshwater marshland on the west side, fragile sand dune ecology on the east side, separated by a long thin spit of land. There are numerous small islands inhabited only by non-humans.
The Back Bay NWR is an important part of the Atlantic Flyway that many migratory bird species rely on during their journeys. Rare loggerhead turtles, piping plovers (birds), and brown pelicans are some of the threatened species who know this place to be their home.
