USFWS · Massachusetts

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife sanctuary encompassing the majority of Plum Island in northeastern Essex County, Massachusetts, 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Newburyport. It was established in 1942 primarily to provide feeding, resting, and nesting habitats for migratory birds. Located along the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge is of vital stopover significance to waterfowl, shorebirds, and songbirds during migratory periods.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge4,534 acresUSFWSMA
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Parker River National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Botteville, CC0, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateMassachusetts
Size4,534 acres
FWS regionRegion 5
Center point42.75° N, 70.81° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 18)

Boundary map

8 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 Parker River National Wildlife Refuge20°30°40°50°60°70°January: 3.74 inches of precipitation, 16.0 inches of snowFebruary: 3.61 inches of precipitation, 16.4 inches of snowMarch: 4.64 inches of precipitation, 7.6 inches of snowApril: 4.20 inches of precipitation, 1.4 inches of snowMay: 3.47 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJune: 3.99 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 3.43 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 3.36 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 3.82 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowOctober: 4.99 inches of precipitation, 0.3 inches of snowNovember: 3.98 inches of precipitation, 0.9 inches of snowDecember: 4.79 inches of precipitation, 8.8 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 27.2°F averageFebruary: 28.3°F averageMarch: 35.3°F averageApril: 45.1°F averageMay: 54.9°F averageJune: 64.2°F averageJuly: 70.0°F averageAugust: 68.6°F averageSeptember: 61.5°F averageOctober: 50.5°F averageNovember: 41.4°F averageDecember: 32.9°F average0 in5 in10 in15 in20 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Beverly, 11 miles from the center point at 65 feet, station USC00190593 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 48 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 51 inches a year on the same inches scale.

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

Guidebooks for Massachusetts

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

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Parker River National Wildlife Refuge?

4,534 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Parker River National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Parker River National Wildlife Refuge in?

Massachusetts.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 42.749° N, 70.809° W. Salem Maritime National Historical Park is 14 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Which national parks are near Parker River National Wildlife Refuge?

Salem Maritime National Historical Park (14 mi), Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site (20 mi) and Lowell National Historical Park (25 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Parker River National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 259 listings within 15 miles, including Great House and Beauport.

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 (Q7138368), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Parker River 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.