Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida holds a special place in the hearts of many Americans. In 1903, it was established by President Theodore Roosevelt as the first national wildlife refuge. Today visitors to Sebastian, Florida can see the refuge and the Centennial Trail, which was opened at Pelican Island NWR during the centennial anniversary celebration of the Refuge System. On the trail boardwalk are planks marking all of the refuges in the Refuge System. Once visitors reach the end of the boardwalk, they are treated to a beautiful view of Pelican Island and the Indian River Lagoon.

But now the nesting birds at Pelican Island are declining. As TCPalm.com reports:

…from 1995 to 2005 the number of pairs of nesting birds — from brown pelicans to stately great blue herons — declined from 564 to 154 in the spring, federal reports show.

In 2004 and 2005, the area was hit by a series of hurricanes. In 2009, just 14 nesting pairs were recorded on the low island. Also the number of individual migratory birds gathering there in the winter declined from 3,000 a day in 2002 to about 100 now, said refuge ranger Joanna Webb…This is the third time birds have left the island in the last 100 years. They temporarily abandoned it following a hurricane in 1910 and when a large “stay out” sign was posted on the island in 1923 to keep people away, she said…

“Other areas in Florida are seeing the shift,” she said. “Somehow the hurricanes changed the whole dynamics” in subtle way that only birds know, she said.

In Indian River County, aquatic birds now are gathering on two other islands south of the federal refuge in the Indian River Lagoon…”I’m optimistic they will come back” to Pelican Island, Webb said.

With or without large numbers of birds, Pelican Island NWR is a magical place to visit, especially for those who value the history of the Refuge System and its small beginnings. To learn more about the refuge, visit the USFWS Pelican Island NWR website and also visit the website for the Pelican Island Preservation Society.

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National Wildlife Refuge System, Pelican Island NWR, Florida