Management of Supawna Meadows NWR centers around protection and enhancement of high quality habitat for migratory birds. Current refuge management programs focus on restoring and maintaining grassland, shrub and early successional forest habitats for a variety of migratory bird and resident wildlife species
History
Supawna Meadows NWR was first proposed in 1961 as the "Goose Pond Addition" to the Killcohook Migratory Bird Refuge. Killcohook had been established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 as a secondary use of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers dredge spoil disposal site.
In 1967, The Philadelphia Conservationists Incorporated began purchasing land in Salem County New Jersey to hold in trust until the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had funds to purchase the "Goose Pond Addition." The Service purchased the first 653 acres from the Philadelphia Conservationists in 1971. To date, approximately 2,880 acres of the nearly 5,000 acres within the approved boundary are part of the refuge. Acquisition continues when funds are available.
The dredge spoil deposited by the Corps of Engineers decreased Killcohook's value for wildlife. In 1974, the Service renamed the "Goose Pond Addition" Supawna Meadows NWR to make it distinct and separate from Killcohook. The Service exercised its secondary jurisdiction over the Killcohook Migratory Bird Refuge until it was revoked by Congress in October 1998. Killcohook is still used as a confined disposal facility by the Corps of Engineers.
From 1971- Supawna Meadows NWR was managed as a satellite refuge; first by Bombay Hook NWR, then E. B. Forsythe NWR and then John Heinz NWR at Tinicum. At the present time Supawna Meadows is a part of Cape May NWR Complex.