Ways to Get Involved

Whether you want to further conservation, learn more about nature, or share your love of the outdoors, you’ve come to the right place. National wildlife refuges provide many opportunities for you to help your community and fish and wildlife by doing what you love. National wildlife refuges partner with volunteers, youth groups, landowners, neighbors and residents of urban and coastal communities to make a lasting difference. Find out how you can work with a refuge in your area to help make American lands healthier and communities stronger while doing something personally satisfying. 

Volunteering

Volunteers are an essential part of operations at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, staffing the Visitor Center and Lighthouse, conducting wildlife surveys and assisting with biological studies, presenting interpretive walks and talks, constructing and maintaining refuge facilities and trails, improving habitat, and more! Bring your skills, talents, and energy; we’ll supply the rest, including training and uniforms. 

Contact our volunteer coordinator Chase Sands or send us your Volunteer Service Application.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge
Attention Volunteer Coordinator
8231 Beach Road
Chincoteague Island, VA 23336

If you are looking for an opportunity closer to home, Volunteer.gov is a great resource.

Our Partners

Nature does not recognize human-made boundaries. In order to conserve our natural and cultural resources effectively, we must work with others to bridge these boundaries. Partnerships foster creative solutions to challenging situations and often the results are greater than the sum of the parts.  Learn more about our local partners.  

Assateague Island National Seashore (National Park Service)

Assateague Island straddles the Maryland-Virginia border. Here in Virginia, our refuge is owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. On the Maryland end of the island, the land is owned and managed by two separate agencies: the National Park Service and Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources. Assateague Island National Seashore is the name of the National Park located on Assateague Island in Maryland.

We work closely with our partners at Assateague Island National Seashore to welcome visitors to the island throughout the year. Park Rangers from the seashore provide interpretive and educational programming to our visitors and school groups. They also maintain the beach parking and bathhouse facilities and provide crucial safety services, such as lifeguards and law enforcement during the summer beach season.

Stop by Toms Cove Visitor Center, located next to the beach in Virginia, to enjoy their exhibits and learn more about Assateague Island National Seashore. If you need to contact them please call (757) 336-6577 (Virginia side) or (410) 641-1443 (Maryland side).

For more information on the Assateague State Park in Maryland, visit their website.