Mostly composed of beach, dunes, marsh, and maritime forest, the refuge contains a large variety of wildlife, including the Chincoteague pony.

[1] The purpose of the refuge is to maintain, regulate, and preserve animal and plant species as well as their habitats for present and future generations.

[5] President Harrison and Secretary of the Navy Benjamin Tracy planned to visit the naval proving grounds on the Potomac River in 1891.

The yacht's lieutenant had mistaken the orange glow from the Assateague lighthouse for the offshore hue on the Winter Quarter Shoals lightship.

In 1962, a bridge was constructed linking Chincoteague to Assateague Island for the first time and transforming the town from a fishing community into a tourism gateway for the refuge.

[2] With rising sea levels, the recreational beach is located on one of the most exposed places on Assateague Island and the area often floods due to large storms, forcing parking lots to be continually rebuilt further west at a cost of up to $700,000 per event.

A proposal to move the recreational beach area north with limited parking areas to be supplemented with a shuttle service and satellite parking in Chincoteague has been criticized by Chincoteague officials, who say the plan threatens the town's economic viability as tourists could potentially find the situation unattractive.

[2] In 2023, as part of the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Transportation Projects Program, 17.7 million dollars was awarded to relocate the recreational beach 1.5 miles north.

A new access road will be built, along with four new parking lots, boardwalks, and other facilities designed to better withstand extreme weather events without negatively affecting tourism.

[6] The refuge is home to Virginia's herd of approximately 150 Chincoteague ponies, which grazes within a large fenced area.

In late July each year, members of the Chincoteague Volunteer Fire Company—which owns the ponies—who have experience in horse wrangling round up the herd and corral them.

[3] On the final Wednesday before the final Thursday of each July, at slack tide, the ponies swim the channel between Assateague Island and Chincoteague Island, where the herd is moved to a coral at Chincoteague's carnival grounds ahead of a foal auction, which keeps the herd's size in check.

Hunting and harvesting the surplus of animals is one tool used to control the population of some species of big game and waterfowl.

A variety of exhibits within the center give information to visitors on the history of the refuge, and plants and animals to be found there.

The Herbert H. Bateman Educational and Administrative Center is open seven days a week between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. in the spring, fall, and winter, and between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. during the summer.

[7] During the summer, humidity is a factor along with heat that may make being outside uncomfortable; especially since there is an abundance of moisture coming from the surrounding waters.

There are freshwater wetlands on Assateague Island, although they are brackish instead of fresh, and are normally inhabited by plants with low salt water tolerance.

Fourteen of these areas cover 2,623 acres (1,061 ha), provide submerging and emergent wetland vegetation as food for waterfowl and habitat for other water birds.

These dunes serve as a primary line of defense against storm surges, protecting habitats of other wildlife from being lost to the salt water.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.