The trails here can often be very wet and well saturated, especially after a storm or during times of snowmelt. It is best to wear waterproof footwear here in order to avoid getting your feet wet.

The Fannie Stebbins Wildlife Refuge and the larger floodplain area known as the “Longmeadow Flats” has been designated as a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and an Important Bird Area by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.

The nearly 400-acre area hosts many animals and plants and includes scenic ponds, abundant wetlands, tree and shrub swamplands, open meadows, mixed-hardwood forest, and a riverbank. Periodic flooding preserves one of the largest remaining patches of floodplain forests and wetlands along the Connecticut River. The diverse landscape provides breeding and stop-over habitat for a great variety of birds, including migratory waterfowl.

Fannie Stebbins Refuge offers several designated walking and hiking trails. The Unit is open to the public for wildlife observation, photography, fishing, and hiking. It is open year-round from sun up to sun down. The Fannie Stebbins Unit is located on Pondside Road, Longmeadow Massachusetts.

Longmeadow Flats Important Bird Area is a riverine floodplain forest and field habitat along the eastern bank of the Connecticut River, and it is one of the few remaining natural floodplain habitats in Massachusetts. The area is subject to periodic flooding that is representative of this habitat. It includes bordering swamps, ponded water, vegetated wetlands, meadows that are maintained by mowing, hardwood forest, sandbars, a riverbank, and an island.

Ownership is divided among the Fannie Stebbins Wildlife Refuge, the town of Longmeadow (including much conservation land), and private owners (including homeowners, farmers, and a yacht club). This site is within the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge. A portion of this site has been designated as a National Landmark.

At least eight endangered, threatened, or special concern species use this site on a regular basis. Of these species, five have either bred on the site or included the IBA as part of their breeding territory on a regular basis. At least seven other species of high conservation priority are common breeders on this site. There are large numbers of wading birds, especially egrets and herons, during fall migration. This site has one of the highest concentrations of breeding Wood Ducks in western Massachusetts. The IBA supports a high diversity of land birds, including 227 regularly occurring species and 49 species that have been recorded at least once. Christmas Bird Counts and spring bird census data have been continuously recorded since 1951. The Allen Bird Club conducts more than a dozen bird walks at Longmeadow Flats each year.