Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
| Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
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Assateague Channel with Assateague Light in the distance
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Map of the United States
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| Location | Accomack County, Virginia / Worcester County, Maryland |
| Nearest city | Chincoteague, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°57′15″N 75°19′00″W / 37.95417°N 75.31667°WCoordinates: 37°57′15″N 75°19′00″W / 37.95417°N 75.31667°W |
| Area | 14,000 acres (57 km2) |
| Established | 1943 |
| Governing body | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
| Website | Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge |
The Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is a 14,000-acre (57 km2) wildlife preserve operated by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It is primarily located on the Virginia half of Assateague Island with portions (only about 3%) located on the Maryland side of the island, as well as Morris Island and Wildcat Marsh. The refuge contains a large variety of wildlife animals and birds, including the Chincoteague Pony. The purpose of the refuge is to maintain, regulate and preserve animal and plant species as well as their habitats for present and future generations.
Local legend has it that the ponies escaped from a shipwrecked Spanish galleon and swam to shore. However, historians believe that in the 17th century, settlers used the island for livestock to avoid fencing regulations and taxation. Even though no one is certain how the ponies got to the island, their descendants still live there today.
The island is also famous for shipwrecks, the most famous being the Dispatch. President Harrison and Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Tracy planned to visit the naval proving grounds on the Potomac River in 1891. The yacht's lieutenant had mistaken the orange glow from the Assateague lighthouse for the offshore hue on the Winter Quarter Shoals lightship. This caused the yacht to be steered off course and onto the shoals. No one was reported injured and everyone made it safely to shore.
The Assateague Lighthouse was constructed in 1833 to warn ocean travelers of the dangerous shoals offshore. A more powerfully illuminated brick lighthouse was in the process of being built, but was postponed due to the Civil War. Work resumed after the war, and the lighthouse was finished in 1867. A new assistant keeper's house was constructed in 1910, and in 1929 the keeper staff was reduced. In 1933, the original keeper's house was removed, and an oil lamp was replaced with an electric lamp. In 2004, the U.S. Coast Guard gave up ownership to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Coast Guard is still responsible for maintaining the light, while the Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is responsible for the preservation of the lighthouse. In 2008, restoration of the lighthouse began. The Assateague Island lighthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Wikipedia