USFWS · Mississippi, Alabama

Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1992 under the Emergency Wetlands Resources Act of 1986 to protect one of the largest expanses of undisturbed pine savanna habitats in the Gulf Coastal Plain region. The refuge is located near Grand Bay, Alabama in Mobile County, Alabama and Jackson County, Mississippi, and when complete will encompass over 32,000 acres (130 km2). The refuge is part of the National Wildlife Refuge system. The Refuge Complex Manager also administers the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge and Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge. Access to refuge lands is limited, but is available mostly on the Mississippi side and by boat.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge10,315 acresUSFWSMSAL
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by P. R. Hoar, NOAA/NESDIS/NCDDC, in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StatesMississippi, Alabama
Size10,315 acres
FWS regionRegion 4
Center point30.42° N, 88.42° W
Night skyVery dark ground, a faint glow at most (Black Marble reading 32)

Boundary map

27 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge40°50°60°70°80°January: 5.49 inches of precipitationFebruary: 4.36 inches of precipitationMarch: 5.08 inches of precipitationApril: 5.23 inches of precipitationMay: 5.91 inches of precipitationJune: 7.18 inches of precipitationJuly: 8.10 inches of precipitationAugust: 8.61 inches of precipitationSeptember: 6.82 inches of precipitationOctober: 4.48 inches of precipitationNovember: 4.07 inches of precipitationDecember: 5.10 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 48.9°F averageFebruary: 52.2°F averageMarch: 57.8°F averageApril: 63.7°F averageMay: 71.7°F averageJune: 77.7°F averageJuly: 79.6°F averageAugust: 79.7°F averageSeptember: 76.3°F averageOctober: 67.3°F averageNovember: 56.7°F averageDecember: 51.1°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Pascagoula 3 NE, 4 miles from the center point at 12 feet, station USC00226718 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 70 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 43 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Mississippi

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Guide to the Natchez Trace Parkway
    F. Lynne Bachleda, 2018
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Exploring coastal Mississippi
    Scott B. Williams, 2014
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Civil War Mississippi
    Michael Ballard, 2012
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

10,315 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge in?

The boundary crosses Mississippi and Alabama.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 30.415° N, 88.417° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 43 listings within 15 miles, including Cudabac--Gantt House and Griffin House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q1542517), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.