Pelican Island celebrates 105 years

SEBASTIAN — Back in 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt didn’t take a lot of convincing to see that Pelican Island was a place worth preserving.

The little mangrove island, in the Indian River Lagoon off the coast between Sebastian and Wabasso, was — and is — a major nesting area for more than a dozen species of Florida shore and wading birds.

Teddy designated the 5.5-acre site the country’s first National Wildlife Refuge, which meant it was to be left alone to conserve the birds’ homes, and never could be razed or built upon.

Saturday’s Pelican Island Wildlife Festival in Sebastian’s Riverview Park is a celebration of that designation, 105 years ago this week.

“It’s special to us not just because it’s our birthday, but because it was the first time that lands were set aside specifically for wildlife conservation,” said refuge ranger Joanna Webb, who works for Pelican Island and the nearby Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge.

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Thousands to 'connect with nature' at Pelican Island Wildlife Festival

Community officials and volunteers expect thousands of visitors to converge on Sebastian's Riverview Park on Saturday to join in celebrating the 16th annual Pelican Island Wildlife Festival.

The festival celebrates the nation's first national wildlife refuge, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, and showcases the area's unique nature, wildlife and community alliances.

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Wildlife Festival Connects People and Nature

During the second week in March one-hundred and five years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt established Pelican Island, a small mangrove island across from Sebastian, as the nation's first national wildlife refuge. This was the first time in our nation's history that federal lands were set aside specifically for wildlife conservation. On Saturday, March 8, the Pelican Island Preservation Society, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the City of Sebastian will present the Pelican Island Wildlife Festival in Riverview Park, from 9am to 4pm, to celebrate the birth of America'sNational Wildlife Refuge System, which now includes 548 refuges across the nation.

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Pelicans may be off endangered species list

The brown pelican could soon dive off the endangered species list.

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said Friday that the bird has recovered in large part because of a 1972 ban on general use of the pesticide DDT.

The brown pelican came off Florida's endangered list in 1985. Now it's listed in the state as a "species of special concern," the minimal legal protection status for a species.

Other federal laws will still protect the bird. But federal agencies would no longer have to specifically ensure that their projects wouldn't harm the species, which now tops 620,000.

Efforts to protect the pelican led to the birth of the National Wildlife Refuge System on a small island in Sebastian.

German immigrant Paul Kroegel grew appalled by the slaughter of pelicans whose feathers adorned women's hats.

Kroegel's pleas to President Theodore Roosevelt led Roosevelt to create the first federal refuge at Pelican Island in 1903.

More than a century later, there are 548 national wildlife refuges, many of which helped the brown pelicans' recovery.

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Endangered list may drop brown pelican

Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today announced plans to remove the brown pelican from the Endangered Species List.

Kempthorne said the pelican has recovered in large part because of a federal ban on the general use of the pesticide DDT in 1972, after former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Rachel Carson published “Silent Spring,” which brought attention to the dangers of unrestricted pesticide use.

Kempthorne announced the proposal at the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge during a joint appearance with Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

“Thanks to decades of coordinated efforts on the part of state and federal agencies, conservation organizations and private landowners, the pelican has rebounded to historic levels,” Kempthorne said in a release.

More than 620,000 brown pelicans now grace Florida, the Gulf and Pacific coasts, the Caribbean and Latin America, Kempthorne said.

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Bird-count numbers increase across the Treasure Coast

Bird counters spot more than 150 species

SEBASTIAN — The silhouettes of two pelicans cut across the round orange fire of the sun setting over a special island in the Indian River Lagoon.

The birds have indeed returned to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge for the winter after a mysterious two-year disappearance, and they provided one of the highlights of a Treasure Coast Christmas Bird Count that noted more than 150 different species and almost 70,000 individual birds across four counties.

"That's really good to see," said Refuge Manager Paul Tritaik, peeking through binoculars at the gaggle of squawking birds on the island south of the Sebastian Inlet. "There's a great blue heron that mouthed off to a pelican, 'You're too close to my nest, get away!' "

Once protected from poachers by a determined naturalist and Audubon game warden with a gun in the late 1800s, the birds on the island may have been scared off by the 2004 hurricanes or recent human efforts to restore the island in the county's first official wildlife refuge.

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Joe Michael 1918-2007 - A true conservation hero

We at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge and Pelican Island Preservation Society are saddened to hear of the passing of Joe Michael at his home the morning of 17 Oct. He was born in 1918 in a log cabin in the Community of Buttermilk, near Clayton, GA His father had rented the cabin for the Michael family of 6 to "get out of the Florida mosquitoes", for the summer.

We in particular are thankful for his protecting Pelican Island and birthing our Audubon chapter. Joe was instrumental in the early 1960's in protecting Pelican Island when the State tried to sell the wetlands around the island to Miami developers. In 1959, Joe learned of the expansion of bulkhead lines near Pelican Island. Joe convinced the State to lease 1600 acres south of Pelican Island (and adjacent to his properties) to the Florida Audubon for 10 years. In June of 1962, Joe and his sister, Jeanette Lier, learned that of even more extensions of the bulkhead line into the Indian River lagoon near Pelican Island. Joe and Jeanette rallied local opposition and convinced the County to reject the proposal. The very next month, Joe established the Indian River Area Preservation League with the main goal of protecting Pelican Island.

Joe convinced the State to conduct an aquatic resource survey and a bird survey for the purpose of establishing the biological importance of the area, so it could allow for expanding the refuge. Joe requested the Fish and Wildlife Service to study the area and recommend boundaries for expansion. In 1963, the FWS recommended expanding the boundary to 4,740 acres. Joe worked closely with Tom Coxon of the Florida Audubon Society and Art Marshall of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to broaden the support across the state and nation. Joe and Robert Amos recruited hundreds of local citizens to the effort, receiving the support of 19 local civic organizations and four statewide environmental organizations. The State refused to lease the 4,740 acres because it included bottomlands they wanted to retain and about 300 acres of wetlands they wanted to sell to developers. Those 300 acres are known today as Pete’s and Bird’s Impoundments.

Not only would those impoundments have been filled for a housing development, but the shallow lagoon bottoms surrounding Pelican Island would have likely been dredged to provide the fill. Joe spearheaded the opposition in Tallahassee and convinced the State to cancel the sale. This was a landmark decision, because for the first time in Florida, state-owned bottomlands were protected for conservation purposes. Joe later worked with the State to eventually lease those 4,740 acres to the refuge. That land is now protected and open to the public via Pete's and Bird's Impoundment trails and, of course, the Centennial Trail boardwalk and observation tower.

In 1965, Joe established the Town of Orchid, partly as another way of protecting Pelican Island. Because the town boundaries extended into the refuge, bulkhead line approvals and other local matters could be considered by a more conservation-minded town council. Upon successfully protecting Pelican Island, the Indian River Area Preservation League disbanded in 1966 and donated their remaining treasury to the newly formed Pelican Island Audubon Society to continue the work of protecting Pelican Island and the Indian River Lagoon.

Joe’s conservation commitment extended into everything he did. As a member of the Indian River Mosquito Control Board, Joe convinced the District to leave one mangrove wetland, near his home, completely unaltered by ditching or impounding. Joe also convinced the District to breach two impoundments near his grove, so they would function more naturally. Those impoundments are called the Deerfield Impoundments, and are also part of the refuge. Joe also wanted to see the Pelican Island Refuge expand on the barrier island and worked with PIPS and the Refuge to acquire his property. He sold his old grove along Jungle Trail to The Conservation Fund for eventual inclusion into the Refuge, because he shared the vision we had of restoring those old groves to natural communities for the benefit of wildlife.

Both Joe and his wife Anne have made major contributions to PIPS and other organizations in the county in ways most people do not know about. As a result of people like Anne and Joe, land is still being set aside to protect our wonderful Indian River County, a place we all love so much. It must have really been an exciting place to see when Anne and Joe first discovered it so many years ago. All new folks here also get to see a little bit of its ancient charm. We gain inspiration from pioneers like Joe and his legacy lives on in our activism.

In honor of Joe Michael, PIPS has begun fund raising to construct a bird observation facility on Pete’s Impoundment Trail, one of the areas he fought so hard to protect. The impoundment trail will be renamed the Joe Michael Memorial Trail and the platform will be named "Joe’s Overlook". The site for the facility, chosen by the birds themselves, will provide a 100-foot boardwalk extension into the salt marsh and culminate at an observation platform to view birds from a closer distance. Thanks to Joe’s dedication and conservation efforts, birds and other wildlife are teeming in this refuge impoundment, for which we are truly grateful. Contributions to this project can be sent to PIPS to honor Joe’s legacy.

To view a conceptual view of what Joe's Overlook will look like, click here to download a "virtual" view in Adobe Acrobat format.

Archie Carr: The Man Who Saved Sea Turtles

Saving sea turtles from extinction is now a global campaign, rooted in Florida and the legacy of Archie Carr. An FSU historian tells how this came to be, and what it means for saving what’s left of the animal planet.

"Dey nevah finish, Don Archie. De tel-tel (turtle) nevah finish.”

With a bellyful of fresh-fried turtle meat and homemade turtle soup, Archie Carr got a lecture from his cook, a slight mulatto woman standing in her kitchen on the ebony beaches of Turtle Bogue.

It was Carr’s first visit to this dark, remote strip of Costa Rican beach. Tales of Turtle Bogue’s famous connection with sea turtles had finally drawn the distinguished, 43-year-old biologist from his academic home in Florida. It was the summer of 1952.

How long will the turtles last? Carr wanted to know. Since his arrival, he had witnessed the daily slaughter on the beaches of females lumbering ashore to lay their eggs; the frantic hunt by natives and feral dogs for the few eggs the turtles managed to bury before being captured or killed. To a seasoned scientist and woodsman with sensibilities honed since childhood about the fragility of nature, Carr chilled at what he foresaw for the docile sea creatures—a familiar equation of doom.

Sibella was glad to feed a hungry Carr who had shown up unannounced in her doorway. But she’d have none of her friendly guest’s strange talk of the end of turtles. Turtles had been coming to her black beaches forever, and they always would. For her faith in the turtle’s future, Sibella evoked the great, trackless expanse of the sea.

Nearly 30 summers later, Carr learned that the largest horde of nesting turtles seen in two decades had landed at Turtle Bogue (“Tortuguero” in Spanish). He recalled Sibella’s simple admonition—de turtles nevah finish—and was happy beyond words.

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Study: Wildlife refuges make up tax costs

WASHINGTON (AP) — National wildlife refuges more than make up for their cost to taxpayers by returning about $4 in economic activity for every $1 the government spends, according to a federal study released Tuesday.

Overall, the refuges drew some 35 million hunters, anglers, birders and other visitors in 2006, supporting about 27,000 jobs, the study found.

Advocates of the system pounced on the results as evidence that budget cuts under President Bush have been ill-advised.

"Refuges are economic engines in local communities. There's no doubt about it," said Desiree Sorenson-Groves, vice president for government affairs at the National Wildlife Refuge Association. "The budget cuts have an impact .... You have people who are going to refuges and there's no staff, or a wildlife drive is closed because it can't be maintained."

Under an ongoing restructuring, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is planning to cut 565 jobs from refuges by 2009 — a 20% reduction. The plan would leave more than 200 refuges unstaffed.

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Climate Change Brings Risk of More Extinctions

BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, Md. -- Third in a monthly series

What has gone missing here is almost as spectacular as the 8,000 acres of swampy wilderness that remain. And that makes it Chesapeake Bay's best place to watch climate change in action.

Visitors can see ospreys gliding overhead, egrets wading in the channels and Delmarva fox squirrels making their unhurried commutes between pine trees.

But then the road turns a corner, and Blackwater's marsh yields to a vast expanse of open water. This is what's missing: There used to be thousands more acres of wetland here, providing crucial habitat for creatures including blue crabs and blue herons. But, thanks in part to rising sea levels, it has drowned and become a large, salty lake. "If people want to see the effects" of Earth's increasing temperature, refuge biologist Roger Stone said, "it's happening here first."

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CARE Group to Honor Senator Russ Feingold and Representative Ron Kind in Wisconsin

The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement (CARE) recognizes Senator Russ Feingold and Representative Ron Kind for their visionary leadership and steadfast support of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The recognition, at the Trempealeau National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Wisconsin, August 13, 2007 at 11:00 a.m., acknowledges the contributions made by these outstanding Wisconsinites, following in the footsteps of Gaylord Nelson, Aldo Leopold, and all others who strive for a better world. The awards, presented by Jim Eddy, President of the Friends of the Upper Mississippi Refuges, and Dan McGuiness, Director of Audubon’s Upper Mississippi River Campaign, exemplify their fight to preserve America’s wildlife legacy for future generations.

Senator Feingold has shown unwavering support for the National Wildlife Refuge System, the world's largest system of lands and waters whose primary purpose is the conservation of wildlife and habitat, throughout his time in public office. By recently leading a bipartisan group of 30 Senators urging their colleagues to fund the Refuge System at $451 million in 2008, Senator Feingold has again used his passion and leadership to help protect America’s wildlife.

Representative Ron Kind, long known for his commitment to the natural resources of Wisconsin, including the Trempealeau and Necedah NWRs and the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge, works to ensure all America’s refuges are a priority. A conservation enthusiast, Representative Ron Kind co-chairs the bi-partisan, 137-member Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus with Representatives Jim Saxton, Michael Castle and Mike Thompson. The caucus, under the leadership of Mr. Kind and the co-chairs, led a letter signed by 80 Representatives urging their colleagues to fund the Refuge System at $451 million next year.

The Cooperative Alliance for Refuge Enhancement thanks Senator Feingold and Representative Kind for their outstanding leadership on behalf of all America’s wildlife and the National Wildlife Refuge System. Their passion and dedication will ensure America’s great wildlife heritage lives on for future generations

Working in partnership since 1995, CARE is a broad coalition of 22 diverse wildlife, sporting, conservation and scientific organizations that represent a national constituency numbering more than 5 million people. Recognizing the value of a healthy Refuge System to both the wildlife and habitats refuges were established to protect, CARE highlights the needs of national wildlife refuges and works to secure strong investments in these remarkable lands and waters.

The National Wildlife Refuge Association announces winners of the 2007 Refuge Photo Contest

A digital photo contest showcasing America's national wildlife refuges and wildlife

"In celebration of the 104th anniversary of the establishment of the first National Wildlife Refuge on March 14, 1903, we are proud to announce the winners of the 2007 Refuge Photo Contest. In all, more than 2,200 refuge images were submitted, undeniable evidence that refuges are great places to visit and that a great many photographers and other outdoor enthusiasts are out there experiencing our country's varied wildlife heritage."

"The top four winning entries will be featured in the next issue of our Wildlife Refuge magazine. Click here to receive future issues of Wildlife Refuge magazine by becoming a member of the National Wildlife Refuge Association."

"As a result of the 2007 Refuge Photo Contest, we will be adding over 200 spectacular additions to our online Refuge Image Library, a collection of high quality images showcasing the rich and varied wildlife and habitat protected by our country’s National Wildlife Refuge System."

"The Refuge Image Library is searchable by subject category and state, and provides contact information for each photographer. Currently the Library contains images from over 70 refuges; and with the addition of the nearly 220 semi-finalist images from the 2007 contest, the Library..." now has images representing 100 refuges from 45 states!

Click here to visit NWRA’s Refuge Image Library.

Toyota To Be Premier Sponsor of 2008 Wildlife Refuge Photo Contest

Washington, DC - The National Wildlife Refuge Association is pleased to announce that Toyota Motor Sales USA will become the Premier Sponsor of the 2008 National Wildlife Refuge Photo Contest, an annual event that attracts thousands of outstanding wildlife and habitat photos from around the country. Specifically, Toyota will provide the grand prize, a 2008 Highlander Hybrid, and funding to support contest management.

“As a company that prides itself on environmental involvement and activism, Toyota has ramped up its traditional Earth Day activities, expanding its involvement throughout the Earth-Month of April,” said Ernest Bastein, Vice President of the Vehicle Operations Group for Toyota. “Toyota is the industry leader in hybrid vehicle technology. It sees these programs as a natural extension of its commitment to bringing environmentally friendly transportation to mainstream consumers.”

“By becoming the Premier Sponsor of the National Wildlife Refuge Photo contest, Toyota will play a valuable role in drawing attention to America’s unique wildlife heritage, while encouraging public enjoyment and appreciation of our nation’s most important conservation treasures” said Evan Hirsche, President of the National Wildlife Refuge Association. “We’re pleased to have Toyota, the automotive leader in fuel-efficiency and low-emissions technology, as a sponsor and partner.”

More than 2,200 images from 197 refuges across all 50 states were submitted to the 2007 Refuge Photo Contest, undeniable evidence that refuges are outstanding places to view wildlife and experience America’s diverse heritage. As in the past, the winners will be featured in the June issue of Wildlife Refuge magazine.

To view the winning images and refuge image library, visit: www.refugenet.org/contest/2007ContestStatus.html.

“The contest photos are testimonial both to the wealth of talent possessed by amateur outdoor photographers across the nation, and to the spectacular beauty that can be found at our national wildlife refuges,” said Hirsche. “With Toyota’s help, the 2008 contest will allow us to educate more people than ever about the National Wildlife Refuge System.” The NWRA will begin accepting images for the 2008 contest beginning in September, 2007.

The National Wildlife Refuge Association is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, nationwide membership organization, established in 1975. The NWRA’s mission is to protect enhance and expand the National Wildlife Refuge System, lands and waters set aside by the American people to protect our country’s diverse wildlife heritage. Over the years we have worked to make the Refuge System stronger and better able to address the growing challenges of conserving wildlife in our country. For more information, visit www.refugenet.org.

Volunteers Donate More Than 1 Million Hours

Nearly 38,000 volunteers donated more than 1.4 million hours to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service efforts during fiscal year 2005. This represents the equivalent of more than $25 million in work on behalf of wildlife and wildlife conservation across the country, according to the recently issued "Friends and Volunteers Annual Report."

The report notes that volunteers have included Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, Student Conservation Association volunteers and those who participate in the Take Pride in America programs and National Public Lands Day. Their efforts can range from routinely supporting refuge staff on a regular basis to assisting with one-day events. Volunteers also include the 200-plus nonprofit Refuge System Friends organizations across the country. Nine new Friends groups were established last year.

The number of volunteers has grown steadily during the past 23 years. In 1982, 4,251 volunteers donated 128,440 hours, valued at more than $1.1 million. A decade later, the number of volunteers had more than quadrupled to 18,103 people who donated work worth more than $11.7 million.

"Americans value their public lands, and they are happy to donate their time and effort to make sure these lands are handed down to another generation in better shape," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall.

The largest number of volunteer hours - more than 584,000 - were donated to wildlife and habitat work. A prime example is the annual Rio Reforestation Day, when hundreds of volunteers join Fish and Wildlife Service staff to plant seedlings that will provide food, habitat and cover for birds, butterflies and other wildlife at the Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Since 1994, volunteers have planted nearly 132,000 native seedlings across 552 acres on the national wildlife refuge.

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150 trees get a reprieve

Palms, oaks moved from construction site, replanted

NEAR PELICAN ISLAND NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE - These trees are leaving -- and living -- to see another day.

Usually, developers and trees don't mix. But about 150 palms and oaks, lucky enough to sprout beside the nation's first wildlife refuge, got a second lease on life and a chance to put down roots elsewhere.

They didn't have to go far.

A builder developing the land they grow on agreed to let Pelican Island National Wildlife transplant more than 150 of the trees from his property, rather than cut them down to make room for 10 planned luxury homes.

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Oak trees find sanctuary from luxury homes at Pelican Island

Tuesday, 10 live oaks were dug up and relocated about 30 yards west to the refuge from a 3.7-acre parcel being developed for a subdivision of 10 luxury single- family homes. The trees' new home and their former spot on the subdivision parcel are west of State Road A1A and just south of Jungle Trail's north entrance off A1A.

The oaks joined 143 palms that were moved last month, also from the subdivision site. The trees stand on about two acres of the refuge's Michael Tract, named after the family that once used the land for part of its citrus groves.

The oaks and palms came from the site of The Reserve subdivision, which is being developed by Clarksville, Md.-based developer Paskor LLC. Instead of cutting down the trees for the subdivision, the developer agreed the refuge could take them, Refuge Ranger Joanna Taylor said.

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Pelican Island students stroll through nature game

SEBASTIAN — Pelican Island Elementary student Tyler Carley learned Thursday about bird migration by pretending to be a bald eagle. Tyler, 10, and his classmates played the Great Migration Game at the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge Centennial Trail to learn the tribulations birds experience while migrating.

Each student wore a tag around his neck to indicate a particular bird. Various "spaces" on the game were marked by signs placed on trees. Students rolled dice to make their way along the trail to the Pelican Island viewing area. At each space, students learned whether they survived migration, flew into a glass window or became entangled in pollution.

"They're learning about the hazards of birds who migrate," said Diane Digiacomo, the school's environmental educator, a part-time position funded by a grant the school got last year from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

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Study shows winds create wave damage to Pelican Island

SEBASTIAN INLET — A recent study on wave action at Pelican Island appears to back up claims by some boaters that wake from their vessels are not the main culprits causing erosion to that historic island. Rather the study suggests the primary cause of the erosion is coming from waves created by winds.

On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order designating Pelican Island as a federal bird reservation and the first of what was to become the National Wildlife Refuge System. Over the next 100 years, however, the 5.5-acre island shrunk to almost half its size. Refuge officials have been working over the past few years to protect the island from further erosion and restore it to its earlier size as much as possible.

The recent study was done in conjunction with a proposed shoal the Sebastian Inlet District is planning to construct northwest of the island.

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