NASA Transfers ‘Hundred Acre Wood’ to Patuxent Research Refuge - NASA

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Following a ceremony on July 7, 2026, officials hold up a U.S. 250th pennant at "Area 400," a 105-acre parcel previously part of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and now part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Patuxent Research Refuge.

Rob GarnerNews ChiefJul 07, 2026 Article

NASA ceremonially transferred ownership of about 105 acres of wooded land at its Goddard Space Flight Center’s Greenbelt, Maryland, campus Tuesday to the adjoining Patuxent Research Refuge, managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

The property, formerly known as NASA Goddard’s Area 400, is now part of the largest block of unfragmented forest between Washington and Baltimore. The nearly 13,000-acre woodland is the nation’s only refuge specifically established to support wildlife research. The refuge also supports recreational uses, such as walking, biking, horseback riding, fishing, and hunting.