Bufflehead Bay

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Credit: Brian Tague

This 325-acre property is the centerpiece of the Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge on Waquoit Bay. In a new model of multiple ownership, the 5,871-acre refuge is managed by a council that includes federal, state, and town governments, as well as the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe and private groups. In 1997, with a combination of federal, state, local, and private funds, The Trust for Public Land conveyed the bulk of the Bufflehead Bay property to the Fish and Wildlife Service and transferred nearly 50 acres to the town of Mashpee for permanent protection. The land includes fresh and saltwater wetlands, two white cedar swamps, and significant developable upland.

Visit

This Cape Cod refuge protects thousands of acres of magnificent salt marshes, cranberry bogs, Atlantic white cedar swamps, freshwater marshes, rivers and vernal pools. The Refuge is home to migratory waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, raptors, red fox, white-tailed deer, and the endangered New England Cottontail, the state's only native rabbit. Environmental education and interpretive programs are offered throughout the year.

Directions:
Coming north from the Bourne Bridge take MacArthur Blvd (Route 28) south to Route 151 (7.0 miles) toward Mashpee (right).
Go east on 151 for 6.6 miles to you reach the Mashpee rotary.
At the rotary take Great Neck road south( second exit) and go straight for 4.1 miles to Jehu Pond Conservation area parking lot on the right

Mashpee National Wildlife refuge website