Open House At Monomoy Refuge Visitors Center Saturday; Last Chance To Visit Before Building Razed

CHATHAM – With demolition scheduled for next month, the visitors center at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge on Morris Island will open to the public one last time Saturday.

Erosion that has carved more than 100 feet from the bluff at the refuge headquarters property is only a few dozen feet away from the visitors center septic system, the loss of which would render the building uninhabitable. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to raze the structure and staff members have been clearing it out in recent weeks.

The visitors center displays, however, will remain in place for the open house, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 9. Staff and volunteers from the Friends of the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge will also be on hand to greet visitors, according to Refuge Manager Rick Nye.

“This is an opportunity for people to walk through the building, see the displays that are left, the videos, dioramas and posters,” he said. “If they want, they can leave a note or share a story” about the refuge.

The visitors center, which also houses the refuge’s administrative offices, is the last building standing on the Morris Island section of the refuge. As erosion encroached, the National Weather Service weather balloon launching facility was demolished in 2021, and the 100-year-old former Coast Guard garage that provided dorm rooms and storage space was torn down in 2022.

The agency is actively searching for new space for the refuge’s administrative offices, said Nye. “We’ve walked through some buildings, but trying to find a balance between cost and location is a big lift,” he said. Space is needed to store boats, for interns to live and staff to work. “We may not be able to do it on one site,” he said.

Utilities to the visitors center will start getting shut off in mid March, and demolition is scheduled to begin the week of April 8, Nye said. Some of the existing pavement will likely also be removed. Some parking will remain, as well as sheds currently on the property, including one used by the Friends of the Monomoy Refuge to greet and orient visitors.

During the demolition, the refuge’s Morris Island trails off Wapoos Trail will remain open, although parking will not be available at the refuge headquarters. Visitors who want to walk the trails can park along the Morris Island Road causeway, Nye said.

Even though the offices and visitors center will soon be gone, the refuge will continue its main purpose of monitoring and protecting shorebirds on the off-shore Monomoy Islands, Nye said.

“This is just where we operate from,” he said. “The primary mission on the island will still take place.”