Wildlife and Habitat
Sabine is a 124,511-acre (504 km2) sanctuary, the largest coastal marsh refuge on the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is home to more than 200 species of birds, including ducks, Great Egrets, geese, Neotropic Cormorants, raptors, Snowy Egrets, wading birds, and shorebirds. There is also a very large contingent of American Alligators, as well as blue crabs, American Mink, Muskrats, Coypu, North American River Otters, rabbits, shrimp, and turtles.
Located at the visitor center is a pamphlet that explains the "Wetland Walkway", a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) nature trail made from concrete, a portion of which is a wooden boardwalk, located 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the refuge headquarters (HQ). It includes an observation tower, and it has 15 knowledge stations, to acquaint and educate, the visitor with the Gulf Coast marsh. There is a second natural trail, "Blue Goose Trail", north of the camp HQ, that is a 1-mile (1.6 km) round trip with a scenic overlook.
Petroleum exploration is allowed on the refuge. There was an oil spill at one of the well sites in Sabine during the winter of 2002-2003. Most of the spill was cleaned up by burning the oil.
Read more about this topic: Sabine National Wildlife Refuge
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