The Conscience Point National Wildlife Refuge was established July 20, 1971, as a land gift from Stanley Howard. The refuge is located in the hamlet of North Sea, New York, on the north shore of

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

's south fork. The refuge protects

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

forest,

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

habitats, kettle holes, freshwater marsh and

salt marsh A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. I ...

. The refuge grasslands are a habitat model for maritime grasslands, a disappearing habitat type on Long Island due to development. Maritime grasslands are native grasslands composed of little bluestem ('' Schizachyrium scoparium''), switchgrass (''

Panicum virgatum ''Panicum virgatum'', commonly known as switchgrass, is a perennial warm season bunchgrass native to North America, where it occurs naturally from 55th parallel north, 55°N latitude in Canada southwards into the United States and Mexico. Switch ...

''), poverty grass ('' Danthonia spicata''), hairgrass ('' Deschampsia flexuosa''), and prickly pear cactus (''

Opuntia humifusa ''Opuntia humifusa'', common name, commonly known as the devil's-tongue, eastern prickly pear or Indian fig, is a cactus of the genus ''Opuntia'' present in parts of the eastern United States and northeastern Mexico. Description As is the case ...

''). Wildlife on the refuge is as diverse as its habitats.

Waterfowl Anseriformes is an order of birds also known as waterfowl that comprises about 180 living species of birds in three families: Anhimidae (three species of screamers), Anseranatidae (the magpie goose), and Anatidae, the largest family, which i ...

are primarily American black ducks and

bufflehead The bufflehead (''Bucephala albeola'') is a small sea duck of the genus ''Bucephala'', the goldeneyes. It breeds in Alaska and Canada and migrates in winter to southern North America. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his lan ...

. The grasslands are being managed and enlarged specifically to attract grassland dependent birds such as grasshopper sparrow,

eastern meadowlark The eastern meadowlark (''Sturnella magna'') is a medium-sized icterid bird, very similar in appearance to its sister species, the western meadowlark. It occurs from eastern North America to northern South America, where it is also most widespr ...

, Savannah sparrow and

bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

. Due to its coastal location, the refuge is heavily used by migratory

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5,00 ...

s, shorebirds and raptors. The refuge also supports

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

and

threatened species A threatened species is any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which is vulnerable to extinction in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensatio ...

References

Refuge website
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in New York (state) Southampton (town), New York Protected areas established in 1971 Protected areas of Suffolk County, New York Wetlands of New York (state) Landforms of Suffolk County, New York 1971 establishments in New York (state)