Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge

Established in 1972, the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to protect and conserve essential habitats for threatened and endangered species.

These wetlands were protected for the survival of the endangered California least tern and light-footed Ridgway’s rail, and to provide quality habitat for migrant waterfowl, shorebirds and other water birds. The 965-acre refuge is located within the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, in Orange County, California and encompasses remnant saltwater marsh in the Anaheim Bay estuary. Seal Beach NWR serves as a critical stopover and wintering habitat for thousands of birds that migrate up and down the Pacific Flyway each year. The refuge also serves as an island of habitat in the midst of a dense urban setting for a wide variety of fish, wildlife, and plants. Wildlife ranges from peregrine falcons and ospreys to grey smooth-hound sharks, round stingrays and green sea turtles, monarch and painted lady butterflies to microscopic aquatic invertebrates.