USFWS · New York

Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge

The Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge is located on the south shore of Long Island and is one of the undeveloped estuary systems on Long Island. In 1947, Maurice Wertheim donated 2,000 acres (8.1 km2) on eastern Long Island to the United States government; the donated land subsequently became the Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge's purpose is to protect the Carmans River Estuary for migratory birds. Wertheim hosts a variety of habitats including oak-pine woodlands, grasslands, and fresh, brackish and salt water wetlands. These habitats attract and support many types of wildlife including white-tailed deer, osprey, muskrat, fox, turtles, frogs and fish. The refuge also serves as a haven for waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and songbirds.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge 2,656 acres USFWS NY 1 campground within 10 mi

Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗

Photo by IlyaSukhanov, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓

Designation	National Wildlife Refuge
Managed by	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
State	New York
Size	2,656 acres
FWS region	Region 5
Center point	40.78° N, 72.89° W
Night sky	Noticeable light pollution (Black Marble reading 139)

Boundary map

5 outlines

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground

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 →

The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Shirley Brookhaven AP, 3 miles from the center point at 82 feet, station USW00054790 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 44 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.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

None of the 1 federal campground within ten miles sits inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

NPS · 6.5 mi

Watch Hill Campground

First-comeNY

Most refuges do not allow overnight camping. The campgrounds listed are outside the refuge.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Park System units within 30 miles · Park Atlas

National Seashore · 6 mi

Fire Island National Seashore

National Historic Site · 22 mi

Sagamore Hill National Historic Site

National Register listings within 15 miles · 147 in all · Register Atlas

1.3 mi
Priscilla (Long Island Sound Oyster Sloop) ↗National Historic Landmark
1.3 mi
Modesty (south-sider Sloop) ↗National Historic Landmark
8.5 mi
First Presbyterian Church ↗National Historic Landmark
11.6 mi
Firefighter ↗National Historic Landmark
under 0.1 mi
Elvira (sloop) ↗Brookhaven, NY
0.6 mi
St. Johns Episcopal Church and Cemetery ↗Oakdale, NY
0.8 mi
Ockers, Jacob, House ↗Oakdale, NY
0.9 mi
Sayville Congregational Church ↗Sayville, NY

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

Guidebooks for New York

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

Rockhounding New York
Robert Beard, 2025
Find at Bookshop.org
Hiking New York
Rhonda Ostertag, 2018
Find at Bookshop.org
Hiking Through History New York
Randi Minetor and Nic Minetor, 2016
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 Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge?

2,656 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge in?

New York.

Source: How states are assigned

Can I camp at Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge?

The refuge page says whether camping is allowed here. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 40.775° N, 72.887° W. Fire Island National Seashore is 6 miles away. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Which national parks are near Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge?

Fire Island National Seashore (6 mi) and Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (22 mi). Park Atlas has fees, hours and alerts for each.

Source: Nearby on the other atlases

Are there historic places near Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 147 listings within 15 miles, including Priscilla (Long Island Sound Oyster Sloop) and Modesty (south-sider Sloop).

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 (Q7983609), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
Description: Wertheim 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.