CLOSED TO PUBLIC. Martin National Wildlife Refuge includes the northern half of Smith Island, which lies 11 miles west of Crisfield, MD, and Watts Island, which is located between the eastern shore of Virginia and Tangier Island. Both islands are situated in the lower Chesapeake Bay. The Refuge was established in 1954 when the late Glenn L. Martin donated 2569 acres to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Since then, donation and purchase has increased the size of the Refuge to 4548 acres. The tidal marsh, coves and creeks, and vegetated ridges of the Refuge form an important stopover and wintering area for thousands of migratory waterfowl and nesting habitat for various wildlife species…
Martin National Wildlife Refuge is managed by the Chesapeake Marshlands NWR Complex, located in Cambridge, Maryland, which also supervised the Eastern Neck NWR, Susquehanna NWR, and Blackwater NWR which includes Bishops Head, Barren Island, Garrett Island, and Spring Island divisions.
Glenn Martin NWR is closed to the public to protect wetland habitats.
