The Friends of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) invite the public to their Annual Meeting at the Blackwater NWR Visitors Center on Monday, November 9, at 7:00 pm. The meeting will include updates about the Friends' activities, a financial report, remarks from the Refuge staff, and election of officers. There will be light refreshments and a door prize of a wildlife print.

A highlight of the evening will be a presentation by Bill Wilmoth, District Supervisor, Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication Project, USDA-APHIS-Wildlife Services, presenting "Status of Nutria Eradication Efforts on the Delmarva: The Final Push". He will discuss the successful Chesapeake Bay Nutria Eradication program. 

Please come join us and learn about our work at Blackwater NWR. For more information about the Annual Meeting, see our Annual Meeting flyer (PDF). You can also contact Rick Abend at 443-521-2201 or rdabend@yahoo.com for information about the Friends of Blackwater.

Blackwater NWR will close a majority of the Wildlife Drive on Monday, November 30, and Friday, December 4, 2015, for the annual Quota Deer Shotgun Hunts. The west section of the Wildlife Drive (approximately one mile) will be open and free of charge for these two days. Visitors may enter from what is normally the first exit of the Wildlife Drive, one-quarter mile west of the Visitor Center, on Key Wallace Drive. The tire shredders normally operating at the first exit will be locked down to provide access to the Wildlife Drive.

In addition, the Key Wallace hiking trail, located at the corner of Key Wallace Drive and Egypt Road, will be closed periodically during the deer hunting season. The trail is scheduled to be closed on the following dates: October 23 and 24, October 29 through 31, November 30, December 4, December 10 through 12, December 19 and 20, 2015, and January 8 and 9, 2016. The daily operation of the Blackwater NWR Visitor Center will remain unchanged.

In addition to the hunt closings, the beginning of the Wildlife Drive is currently closed while staff replace a water control structure near the beginning of the Drive. We will post a note on our home page when that work is complete.

In anticipation of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service, the Obama Administration launched the new Every Kid in a Park program on September 1, 2015. Starting September 1, fourth graders nationwide can visit the new Every Kid in a Park website to obtain a pass that provides free access to students and their families to all federally managed lands and waters - including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges and marine sanctuaries. The pass is valid for the 2015-2016 school year and grants free entry for fourth graders and three accompanying adults (or an entire car for drive-in parks) at more than 2,000 federally-managed sites. If you have a fourth grader in your family be sure to visit the Every Kid in a Park website today.