The Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

 in the state of Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. Established in 1995, it is administered by the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Complex. The refuge has a surface area of 341.65 acres (1.4 km²).

Wildlife and Habitat

Salt marshes, cranberry bogs, Atlantic white cedar swamps, freshwater marshes, and a vernal pool provide habitat for wildlife such as migratory waterfowl, songbirds, shorebirds, raptors, red fox, and white-tailed deer.

The refuge staff is studying the endangered New England Cottontail (NEC) rabbit at the refuge. Biologists and volunteers are conducting surveys of rabbits and collection of scat to determine the NEC activity.