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Sacramento NWR Complex Notifications

Updated May 5, 2025 - 11:30am

  • River Units and Refuge undergoing chemical treatment: Starting Tuesday May 6, contractors will be spraying chemical treatment on previously masticated areas. The impacted areas will be 25 feet of each side of the access roads and/or trails. The initial phase (mastication) was to create fuel breaks along our already existing road system. By treating the mastication, this will ensure these fuel breaks last longer, making the landscape more resilient to large wildfires on refuge lands. Signage will be posted at each unit/refuge where public access overlaps with the treatment areas. 
    The contractors will most likely be working through this order of units/refuges:
    • Tuesday May 6: Drumheller Slough Unit; Codora and Packer Units (specifically at the toe of the levee along Highway 45)
    • Wednesday-Thursday May 7-8: Sutter NWR
    • (tentative) Thursday-Friday May 8-9: Rio Vista and Pine Creek Units.
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is part of the SACRAMENTO NWR COMPLEX. Sacramento NWR offers a variety of recreational opportunities, including wildlife viewing, photography, hiking, hunting and so much more. The Visitor Center for the Complex is located at Sacramento NWR, where you can find maps/brochures, exciting programs, guided tours, exhibits, and a bookstore.
General Information

Visitor Center is Open

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Our new Visitor Center is currently open Wednesday-Friday from 9:00am-4:00pm (subject to change, closed on all Federal Holidays).

Found an injured or abandoned wild animal?

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Sacramento NWRC does not rescue, rehabilitate or accept animals. Please visit California Department of Fish and Wildlife's for what to do and what not to do. More information can be found on our Contact Us page.

Curious about what to expect?  

Seasons of a Wetland Graphic with 4 columns. Fall column: flood-ups begin, shorebirds stop by on their way south, ducks and geese arrive. Winter column: waterfowl numbers peak late November to December. Spring column: draw-downs begin to germinate food plants, waterfowl numbers decline as they migrate north, shorebirds stop by on their way north, summer residents begin to nest. Summer column: irrigations are done to produce food plants, field work is done to enhance habitat, summer residents remain
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Check out our graphic summary on the seasonality of birds and water on our What to Expect - Seasons of a Wetland page.

Live Web-Cam

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Questions: What's the weather like? Are there birds at the refuge? 

Answer: Check out the at Sacramento NWR, brought to you by . 

Visit Us

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Welcome to Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge!   

Sacramento NWR is the Headquarters for the Sacramento NWR Complex, and offers a Visitor Center with Restrooms and a Picnic Area, Auto Tour, Information Kiosks, Observation Decks, Trails, Photography Blinds (by reservation only), limited Bicycling, Environmental Education Programs and Hunting.

There are LOTS of recreational opportunities on the other refuges of the Complex, including Visitor Areas, Auto Tours, trails, bicycling, photography, and hunting. 

Our Visit Us page has all the information you need to plan your visit, including recreational opportunities, what to expect, hours and directions, accessibility, passes and permits, rules and policies, local and contact information. Or jump straight to your favorite activity using these quick links:

VISITOR CENTERAUTO TOURSTRAILSBICYCLINGPHOTOGRAPHYHUNTING-WATERFOWLHunting-RiverMAPS, DIRECTIONS + BROCHURESENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

Sacramento National Wildlife is one of the 5 National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) and 3 Wildlife Management Areas (WMA) that make up the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex: 

Location and Contact Information

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      The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is located about 70 miles north of the metropolitan area of Sacramento and 7 miles south of the town of Willows in Glenn and Colusa Counties. The refuge consists of 10,819 acres of wetlands, grasslands and riparian riparian
      Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

      Learn more about riparian       habitats. 

      Click on the link below to learn more about us!

      What We Do

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      • Resource Management

      To help plants and wildlife, Refuge staff uses a variety of habitat management techniques to maintain, recover or enhance plant and wildlife values. Refuge staff carefully consider any management techniques and employ them in varying degrees according to the situation.

      • Conservation and Partnerships

      The Complex is involved in many conservation endeavors, including Comprehensive Conservation Plans, Private Landowner Programs, and the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act.

      Our Organization

      National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997:The NWRS Improvement Act defines a unifying mission for all refuges, including a process for determining compatible uses on refuges, and requiring that each refuge be managed according to a CCP. The NWRS Improvement  Act expressly states that wildlife conservation is the priority of System lands and that the Secretary shall ensure that the biological integrity, diversity, and environmental health of refuge lands are maintained. Each refuge must be managed to fulfill the specific purposes for which the refuge was established and the System mission. The first priority of each refuge is to conserve, manage, and if needed, restore fish and wildlife populations and habitats according to its purpose.

      A bright blue sky obstructed by fluffy white clouds reflected off of a stream shot from inside a kayak
      The bet365下载ios manages an unparalleled network of public lands and waters called the National Wildlife Refuge System. With more than 570 refuges spanning the country, this system protects iconic species and provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth.
      Program
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      Our Species

      Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is best known for migratory waterfowl. Waterfowl are present September through April and numbers regularly peak at over 500,000 ducks and 250,000 geese. Sacramento NWR is an important wintering grounds for Tule Greater White-fronted Geese.  The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex provides nearly 70,000 acres of wetland, grassland, and riparian riparian
      Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.

      Learn more about riparian       habitats for a wide array of waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, waterbirds, songbirds, reptiles, and mammals.  The Complex currently supports nearly 300 species of birds.