Beginning Saturday, Aug. 31, the Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge will resume regular hours of operation: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. Additionally, the refuge will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays when a cruise ship is in port at Frederiksted.
Since 1995, Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge has closed every year during the summer months to protect endangered sea turtle nests and hatchlings. Refuge staff welcomes visitors back to Sandy Point and reminds them that the refuge beaches will continue to have incubating sea turtle nests through December. The understanding and cooperation of the public is essential in helping prevent important wildlife from disappearing.
The Turtle Watch Education Program is now closed for the season. Refuge staff will begin taking reservations for next season in mid-April 2014. During the 2013 season, a total of 86 leatherbacks nested on Sandy Point, and over 1,500 people participated in the Turtle Watch Education Program.
Lastly, Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge has revised its fishing program guidelines. Contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office at 773-4554 for more information.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The service manages the 94-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System that encompasses more than 540 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices, and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitats such as wetlands and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the federal aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.
