From Washington To You
Tideflat and forest edge at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge.
Photograph by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Public domain.

From Washington to you

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge · Pacific County · established January 12, 1937

More than 21,000 acres of bay, forest, and tideflat in Pacific County began with a 196-acre purchase in 1936 and an executive order the next January.

Willapa National Wildlife Refuge covers over 21,000 acres around Willapa Bay in Pacific County. FWS says the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved 4,825 acres on May 7, 1936. The first land purchase was 196 acres on October 14, 1936. President Franklin Roosevelt established the refuge by Executive Order 7541 on January 12, 1937.

FWS records more than 200 bird species, including more than 30 waterfowl and more than 30 shorebirds. Chum salmon use the streams. Roosevelt elk use the forests.

The refuge is one of the large coastal refuges on the outer Washington coast. The source below is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge page.

  • Wildlife & Ecology

Sources (1)

Last reviewed: September 20, 2026

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Willapa National Wildlife Refuge · From Washington To You