John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum - urban tidal marsh remnant

The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum preserves one of the largest remaining tracts of tidal freshwater marsh in the Delaware River estuary within city limits. Established in 1972, the refuge protects marshland, meadow, and woodlands just upriver from the busy Port of Philadelphia and Philadelphia International Airport, and it provides habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. Its existence is a geographic anomaly as a sizable protected wetland immediately adjacent to a major urban and industrial corridor.