The Long Island National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Entrance Fee
An entrance fee is required and is payable at the Refuge on the day of your visit. Annual passes are available by purchasing a Duck Stamp or a Golden Eagle Passport. Organized groups conducting wildlife-oriented environmental education programs may be exempt. Visitors who are 62 years of age and older may acquire a free Golden Age Passport, and visitors with a disability may acquire a free Golden Access Passport. These passes are only distributed in person at either Target Rock or Wertheim Refuges. For further information, consult the Refuge Manager at Wertheim NWR, P.O. Box 21, Shirley, NY 11967, or call (516) 286-0485 Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Revenue generated from the sale of Duck Stamps is designated for the purchase of wetland habitat. Also, 30% of the revenue from daily entrance fees is designated for Refuge operations and maintenance. The remaining 70% is put into the Migratory Bird Conservation Fund.

Description
Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge consists of 80 acres on the Lloyd Neck peninsula on Long Island's north shore. The Refuge is comprised of mature upland forest and a half mile of rocky beach. The Refuge supports a variety of songbirds, mammals, shorebirds, game fish, and reptiles. During the colder months, diving ducks are common offshore and harbor seals are occasionally observed. A plantation of Norway spruce, white pine, and eastern red cedar are interspersed with the mature mixed oak forest on the Refuge. Many flowering plants are also found.

History
The Refuge was originally used by the Mantiecock Indian tribe. They used this area for hunting, gathering, fishing, shellfishing, and farming. The area was donated by Ferdinand Eberstadt in 1967. The area was the family's summer estate. A point of interest is the large rock in the bay for which the Refuge is named. The British Royal Navy reportedly used it for target practice during the War for Independence. At that time the rock was embedded in the bluff, long since eroded away.

Management
The Refuge is managed to provide habitat for migratory birds. During the spring breeding season, a segment of the beach is closed to public use to provide undisturbed nesting habitat for bank swallows that utilize the bluffs. Hopefully, this undisturbed habitat will entice threatened piping plovers to also nest here.

Public Use Activities
Wildlife-oriented activities such as environmental education, nature study, photography, walking, and fishing are encouraged. A nature trail passes through hardwood forest, past seasonal ponds, and along the shore of Huntington Bay. Fishing in the Bay from shore is permitted. An information kiosk and public restrooms are available.

Wheelchair access is moderately difficult from the parking lot to a segment of accessible trail.

Directions
From Huntington, Route 25A (Main Street) west 1/4 mile, then north on West Neck Road for 5 miles. Follow onto Lloyd Harbor Road past Caumsett State Park. Entrance is at the end of the road on the right.