The Swan Quarter National Wildlife Refuge spans 16,411 acres, and primarily consists of an irregularly flood brackish marsh.  Located on the north shore of the Pamilco Sound east and west of Swan Quarter, much of the area is accessible only by boat.  Preparing the area to become a refuge and making the Bell Island unit accessible by car was not a task for the faint of heart.

In 1932, the federal government established this acreage as a refuge site.  Under President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal, young men in the Civilian Conservation Corps worked for $30 per month to prepare the land.  The first day, they came to work in a local fisherman’s boat and waded to shore to set up camp.  The men cut fire lanes and built fire towers.  They also built a road leading into the Bell Island unit.  This unit is two miles west of Swan Quarter in the Rose Bay community and is marked by a sign on U.S. Highway 264.

In addition to the 13,200 acres of marshland, there are 3,200 acres of forested wetland.  The refuge is a habitat for migratory waterfowl as well as the endangered bald eagle.  It also supports on of the northernmost populations of the endangered American alligator.  It is not uncommon to see the alligators here during the summer.

The refuge also supports thousands of diving ducks, including redheads, buffleheads and canvassbaks.   There are also sea ducks, American black ducks, wading birds and shorebirds.  Ospreys and egrets nest here.  A 6,120-acre portion of the refuge is open for waterfowl hunting from November through January.

The refuge offers excellent fishing opportunities, especially during the spring and fall.  Atlantic flounder and croaker, spot, red drum, bluefish and spotted sea trout flourish in these waters.  Bell Island Fishing Pier is handicapped accessible and enjoyed by many visitors as they fish or enjoy the scenery.

Just east of the Swan Quarter refuge is the Gull Rock Game Land.  It represents a variety of habitats including brackish marsh, pond pine woodland, swamp forest and low and high pocosin.  This area is home to 63 breeding birds, American alligators and black bears.  Access to this area is south of U.S. Highway 264 via four-wheel-drive sideroads open in fall and winter.

For more information: http://southeast.fws.gov/swanquarter/index.html