Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary

Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary is a 49-acre nature preserve on a peninsula extending into Jamaica Bay near Broad Channel in Queens. The sanctuary protects critical salt marsh, mudflat, and coastal habitats that support a remarkable diversity of bird species along the Atlantic Flyway.

The sanctuary is named for Rene Dubos, the French-born American microbiologist, environmentalist, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author who championed the concept that human health is inseparable from environmental health. His famous maxim, 'Think globally, act locally,' became a rallying cry for the environmental movement.

The preserve's salt marshes support populations of shorebirds, herons, egrets, ibis, and other wading birds that depend on the tidal mudflats for feeding. The sanctuary is part of the greater Jamaica Bay ecosystem, one of the most important bird habitats on the East Coast of the United States.

Access to the sanctuary is limited to protect nesting areas and sensitive habitats. Visitors can observe wildlife from designated viewing areas, and the sanctuary is used by birdwatchers, researchers, and environmental educators studying the ecology of urban coastal wetlands.

Dubos Point Wildlife Sanctuary embodies its namesake's philosophy: that caring for the environment at the local level, in this case preserving a salt marsh within the city limits, contributes to the health of the broader planet. The sanctuary demonstrates that wild nature and the world's largest city can coexist.