Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1933 as a waterfowl sanctuary for birds migrating along the critical Atlantic Flyway. The Refuge is located on Maryland's scenic Eastern Shore, just 12 miles south of Cambridge, and consists of over 27,000 acres of freshwater impoundments, brackish tidal wetlands, open fields, and mixed evergreen and deciduous forests. Blackwater is one of over 530 units in the National Wildlife Refuge System, which is managed by the Department of Interior's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.