Photo by USFWS
Skidmore Island
Owned and managed by: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge.
Skidmore Island is closed to the public.
Visitation policies
CLOSED
To best protect critical wildlife habitat, Skidmore Island is closed to the public.
For information about our policies, please contact:
- Call the refuge office at (757) 331-2760
- About the ESVNWR
About Skidmore Island
Sometimes referred to as Long Point Island, Skidmore Island located just 1,000 feet off the mainland is part of the Eastern Shore of Virginia National Wildlife Refuge and is closed to public access to protect sensitive natural resources. Large pine trees embrace the west side of the 108-acre island with tidal salt marsh making up the interior and eastern side. The sandy beach along the island’s southern shore provides important resting and feeding areas for migratory birds and is used by several species of as a roost site during the fall and winter months. Visitors can see aquaculture crews at work within the sand flats that lie to the east of the island. These are incredibly important areas that make it possible for the Eastern Shore to be one of the biggest hard clam producers in the country – boaters should be alert for signs and stakes that mark the sensitive aquaculture areas throughout the Seaside coastal bays.
Photo by USFWS
Discover a Coastal Wilderness
The Atlantic coastline of Virginia’s Eastern Shore is a unique coastal wilderness that spans 70 miles from the Virginia/Maryland border to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The region is characterized by vast, mostly undeveloped marshes, barrier island beaches and coastal lagoons that support globally important populations of migratory birds, are the site of intensive large scale oyster reef and eelgrass restoration projects, and provide extensive recreation opportunities in remote settings. Learn more about the natural history of this amazing coastal landscape.
OWNERSHIP AND LAND MANAGEMENT
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge Complex, including Chincoteague, Eastern Shore of Virginia and Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges, is just one of more than 560 in the National Wildlife Refuge System, administered by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is a network of lands and waters encompassing 150 million acres. These special places are managed specifically for the protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat. The Refuge System represents the most comprehensive wildlife resource management program in the world. Units of the system stretch across the United States, from northern Alaska to the Florida Keys. It also includes small islands in the Caribbean and South Pacific, as well as Marine National Monuments such as the Mariana Trench. The character of the refuges is as diverse as the nation itself and these protected lands provide habitat for more than 700 species of birds, 220 species of mammals, 250 reptile and amphibian species and more than 1,000 species of fish. More than 380 threatened or endangered plants or animals are protected on National Wildlife Refuges.
Explore Our Seaside Partners
The seaside of Virginia’s Eastern Shore is almost entirely owned and managed by non-profit, state and federal agencies. These partners share the common goal of protecting natural resources, while balancing sustainable recreational and economic use of the seaside. Learn more about our partnership.
This project was funded by The Nature Conservancy with support from The Volgenau Foundation and by the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program led by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality through Grant #NA17NOS4190152 of the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, under the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended. All Explore Our Seaside partners also contributed significant time and effort to the project.
