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Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, established in January 1933, 
is in Dorchester County on the Eastern Shore of Chesapeake Bay, about 
10 miles south of Cambridge, Maryland* This refuge serves as an import- 
ant resting and feeding area for migrant and wintering waterfowl in the 
chain of waterfowl refuges extending from Canada to the Florida Keys along 
the Atlantic Flyway. The area contains 11,216 acres, 10,000 acres of which 
are in brush and timbered swamps, marsh, and fresh water ponds. Both the 
Big and Little Blackwater Rivers flow through the refuge. These rivers, 
which provide excellent waterfowl habitat, empty into Fishing Bay and sub- 
sequently into the Chesapeake Bay. 
The refuge is most interesting in the fall, winter, and spring. 
Waterfowl populations on the refuge have increased greatly as a result of 
proper land management. Blackwater Refuge had only 5,000 Canada geese dur- 
ing the peak concentration in 1942. During a comparable period, recently, 
there were 100,000 geese. A total of 150,000 ducks has been on the refuge 
during the peak of fall migration. The principal species are mallards, 
black ducks, pintails, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, American 
widgeons, and wood ducks. Between 1951 and 1959, ring-necked ducks, red- 
heads, scaups, and canvasbacks increased in numbers annually. 
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
Fish and Wildlife Service 
Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife 
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