Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Tidal salt marsh at the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge in Wells, Maine.
Map of the United States
Location	Cumberland County, York County, Maine, United States
Nearest city	Kennebunk, Maine
Coordinates	43°21′00″N 70°32′28″W / 43.35008°N 70.5411°W / 43.35008; -70.5411[1]
Area	9,125 acres (36.93 km2)
Established	1966
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge is a 9,125-acre (37 km²) National Wildlife Refuge made up of several parcels of land along 50 miles (80 km) of Maine's southern coast. Created in 1966, it is named for environmentalist and author Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring raised public awareness of the effects of DDT on migratory songbirds, and of other environmental issues.

The refuge's parcels include protected areas between Kittery and Cape Elizabeth, including land in Wells, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Biddeford, Saco, and Scarborough.

The refuge protects 1,167 acres (4.72 km²) of estuary salt marsh and uplands that drain into the Webhannet River, or about one-ninth of the river's watershed.^[2]

The refuge's headquarters are on Route 9 in Wells.

The refuge protects various kinds of habitat, including barrier beach, dune, tidal estuary, salt marsh, and rocky coastline. The piping plover, an endangered species, nests on refuge land.

A mile-long trail within the refuge was designated as a National Recreation Trail.^[3]