[2] The NWR contains mostly salt marsh and woodland,[3] and also includes the "Lucky Boy" sea-level fen, a rare geographic feature along the Atlantic coast.

[4] The refuge hosts northern harriers, eagles, and great horned owls,[4] as well as various migratory birds.

[1] NASA transferred 373 acres to the ownership of the FWS in 1975, and the FWS continued to manage the remaining 3,000 acres of land under renewals of the 1971 agreement with NASA until around 2006, when the agreement was not renewed.

[1] NASA, the FWS, and the Marine Science Consortium entered into a new collaborative agreement in 2011.

[1] The refuge is not staffed by FWS personnel and is not actively managed, although the A&N Electric Cooperative (and previously Delmarva Power) maintains their power line right-of-way by removing certain vegetation, such as non-native autumn olive trees.