The San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife conservation area along the coast of Texas (USA), south of the towns of Sweeny

Sweeny, Texas

Sweeny is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, USA. The population was 3,624 at the 2000 census, 7,316 if you include unincorporated areas of Sweeny. The city's motto is "A City With Pride", and is the westernmost incorporated town in the county.-Demographics:...

 and Brazoria, Texas

Brazoria, Texas

Brazoria is a city of Brazoria County in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 2,787.Brazoria was originally founded as a port for Stephen F...

. It encloses a bay behind a barrier island at the Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...

. The refuge is located in southern Brazoria

Brazoria County, Texas

Brazoria County[p] is a county in the U.S. state of Texas, located on the Gulf Coast within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. Regionally, parts of the county are within the extreme southern-most fringe of the regions locally known as Southeast Texas. Brazoria County is among a...

 and eastern Matagorda counties.

San Bernard National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1969 and provides quality habitat for wintering migratory waterfowl and other bird life. Viewing the rippling marshes and ponds of the refuge gives an image of Texas as it was before settlement.

Three national wildlife refuges on the Texas coast - Brazoria, San Bernard and Big Boggy - form a vital complex of coastal wetlands harboring more than 300 bird species.