Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Aerial view of the refuge
Location	Tillamook County, Oregon
Nearest city	Tillamook
Coordinates	45°10′21″N 123°56′49″W / 45.17248°N 123.94707°W / 45.17248; -123.94707Coordinates: 45°10′21″N 123°56′49″W / 45.17248°N 123.94707°W / 45.17248; -123.94707
Area	888 acres (359 ha)
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Nestucca Bay NWR

Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge on Oregon's coast. It lies in southern Tillamook County, on the state's northern coast. It is one of six National Wildlife Refuges comprising the Oregon Coast National Wildlife Refuge Complex and supports one tenth of the world's dusky Canada goose population. The refuge contains at least seven types of habitat, including tidal marsh, tidal mudflats, grassland, woodland, pasture, forested lagg—a transition between raised peat bog and mineral soil—and freshwater bogs, including the southernmost coastal Sphagnum bog habitat on the Pacific Coast.

The Sphagnum bog provides habitat for many interesting and unusual species, such as the insect-eating sundew plant and the bog cranberry. Scientists have discovered many layers of sand and peat under Neskowin Marsh indicating a long history of tsunami activity which carries sand from the coastal sand dunes. These might be the best record of tsunami activity within the Cascadia subduction zone.

Chinook and coho salmon, coastal cutthroat trout and steelhead are all native to the Nestucca Bay and River system. November through April, the refuge’s short grass pastures provide winter habitats for the previously mentioned dusky Canada goose and the Aleutian cackling goose. Notable winged residents include a variety of migrating shorebirds, peregrine falcons and bald eagles.