We were hoping the government shutdown would have ended by now, but since it hasn't, we wanted to let our supporters know that Blackwater NWR is closed until the government is reopened.
This means that the Wildlife Drive and visitor contact station are also closed.
You might have also noticed that our
raptor cams are not updating on the Friends of Blackwater website. Our cam PC needs to be rebooted, but it's in one of the locked buildings, so we'll reboot it once we have access.
For our hunters, we wanted to pass along this message from our treasurer, Tom Hook:
If the government remains shut down when your Hunt days are scheduled, the Refuge will be closed and the Hunt areas will be locked shut. It is illegal to enter closed Refuge areas and you risk being arrested if you are caught on Refuge property. Law Enforcement staff remain on duty during the shutdown and will be patrolling the areas. Please do not try to enter your Hunt area if the gates are closed.
We intend to "do the right thing" regarding Hunt program refunds, but no decisions will be made until the government shutdown is over and the Refuge is re-opened. We will post the decisions on our website's
Hunt page. The Friends of Blackwater appreciate you signing up for the Hunts and we will keep you advised of our decisions.
Hopefully the government will be reopened soon and we can begin enjoying the beautiful fall migration season at Blackwater NWR.
Thanks for your support.
