Geography Atlas

Where Everything Happened
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Protected Area

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge

Habitat and Species Management Area

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge protects a 3-acre island with an additional 2.5 acres of surrounding water in the Indian River Lagoon off the western coast of Orchid Island, Florida, east of Sebastian, and is now part of the Everglades Headwaters National Wildlife Refuge complex. It was established by an executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1903, making it the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States, created to protect egrets and other birds from extinction through plume hunting. The wider refuge area covers 5,376 acres, was designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance in 1993, and was named a National Historic Landmark in 1963.

Facts
Classification
Realm
Coastal (Marine and Terrestrial) 1
International Designation
Ramsar Site (Wetland of International Importance) 2
Designation Category
Wildlife Refuge 2
Established Year
1903 1
Area (sq km)
21.76 1
Sources
1. Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (Wikipedia)
  • Lead sentence
    located just off the western coast of Orchid Island, Florida in the Indian River Lagoon east of Sebastian, Florida
  • Infobox, area_acre (converted to square kilometres where the infobox gives another unit)
  • Lead paragraph
    by an executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1903, Pelican Island was the first National wildlife refuge in the United States.
View the Source
2. Wikidata: Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge
  • Wikidata Q1841445, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
  • Wikidata Q1841445 P31 instance-of
  • Wikidata Q1841445 P1435 heritage designation
  • Part Of: United States, Wikidata item, property P17 (country)
View the Source
Wikidata: United States
On Continent: North America, Wikidata item for United States, property P30 (continent)View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.

View At A Past Year

Choose a year to see this entry's facts and connections as the atlas records them at that moment: what it held then, what it held instead, and what it had not yet adopted. Choose Present for the current record.