The Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite birding spots here in Florida. 
Located just north of Vero Beach, Pelican Island NWR, established in 1903, has the distinction of being the very first National Wildlife Refuge. Thanks to the efforts of some very committed citizen advocates and a conservation-minded President, a system was created that now boasts more than 560 Wildlife Refuges nationwide, over a hundred years later!
The planks of the Pelican Island boardwalk list every one of these National Wildlife Refuge treasures, including the year in which each one was founded.
Illustrated signs along the walkways provide a wealth of information about the history of Pelican Island and the Refuge system. Click here to learn much more!
“. . . since its designation in 1903, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge has stood as a testament to our nation’s commitment to the conservation of natural lands.” It’s certainly up to us all now to maintain and preserve this commitment! 
We are fortunate in this country to have so many NWRs, and it’s fun to see the first one. Great post, BJ, and photos. Fantastic photo of the northern cardinal.
Thanks so much, Jet! Thankfully there were so many forward-thinking nature lovers in the early 1900s☺️. As you know, the national wildlife refuges, the national parks system, the Audubon Society …. all originated at about the same time, fortunately for all those who came afterward in the coming decades, including us!
P.S. Thanks for your compliment on the shot of the male Northern Cardinal – my husband Berny took it! I wanted to give him credit in the post, but he insisted that he was just honored to be included😉
Great post and reminder of the importance of conservation BJ. Love your Cardinal shot it is one of the best I have seen. 🙂
So true, we need to be so grateful for all those who advocated for these lands and wildlife to be cared for by preserving these spaces. That’s my husband’s photo, AB! He didn’t want me to mention him in the post, but I have to give credit for that beautiful cardinal shot!
How interesting, I had no idea that it was the site of the first wildlife refuge. I’ve been to the Everglades, but where is this place from there?
It’s a great spot to visit, Sue… and so special because it was the first NWR! Pelican Island is located between Vero Beach and Sebastian Inlet, on the east coast of Florida, about 3 hours north of the Everglades Ernest COE Visitor Center.
Kudos to Teddy Roosevelt! And kudos to you, BJ, great post!
You are so right, Berny! KUDOS to Teddy Roosevelt!! I discovered that he initially coined the term ‘conservation’ to refer to these efforts to preserve natural lands.
Excellent post, Carol! I love the cardinal, you know how I love them. I’ll try to find that list of NWR’s. 🙂
Thanks so much, HJ! My husband also loves Cardinals and the photo was taken by him, as I’ve mentioned in some earlier comments ☺️. This link should take you to an interactive map of all the NWR’s. I should have included it in my post! https://www.fws.gov/refuges/find-a-wildlife-refuge/
Beautiful photos! I love the photo of the planks, and their ‘treasure’ listings. How wonderful!
Cardinals are my favorite bird, along with goldfinches. Great shot of him.
I agree about the boardwalk planks. As you walk along, it really makes you think about how this NWR system grew. Kudos to my hubby for the Cardinal shot. It was perched on a branch quite a long ways away, and I just couldn’t get it clearly. He took the camera and snapped this photo☺️
Cardinals reside and nest somewhere year round. If you see it, it lives there year round! Great photo! Have to visit this park someday!
It’s a great spot. Fascinating about Cardinals. I moved to Florida from upstate New York, and was first surprised to see the Cardinals were so common here. I always thought they were birds of the northeast!
It’s fantastic to think of how the work of those original conservationists has culminated in so many wildlife refuges today – imagine if they could see what their efforts led to!
Absolutely, Anne!! They were so ahead of their time, and we are truly the beneficiaries! I shudder to think what our natural world would be like if they didn’t have the foresight to work so hard on those efforts.
Things would have been very grim without all their work. The comment on one of the boards about ‘the extermination of 80% of all bird life in Florida’ is horrific and shows how quickly wildlife was being lost.
True…. the plume trade in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s was so devastating to hundreds of thousands of birds, and all in the name of women’s fashion!
What a wonderful place, and the conservation movement it began and continues to this day. Lovely photos too, BJ!
Wonderful info and post, I did not know this was the first NWR, awesome!
Yes, Donna. I believe Florida has about 30 national wildlife refuges. Maybe you can make a visit up the east coast next year 🤗. Did you ever visit Merritt Island NWR? Right down the road from the entrance to Pelican Island is Archie Carr NWR on a beautiful beach: https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Archie_Carr/
No, I have not, but would like to visit that area. I hope so some day!
Thank you for sharing the history of the NWRs. Even though we just finished watching Ken Burns’s excellent 14 hour documentary, “The Roosevelts” (I highly recommend it), and I knew TR was behind the establishment of the refuge system, I didn’t know where the first one was located. Another destination to add to my Florida trip list–if I ever make it there! 🙂
Thank you so much for your thoughts, Tanja. I truly hope you’ll have a chance to visit Florida and Pelican Island one day!
I hope so, too! 🙂
Love this place – a favorite!
One of ours as well. We almost went again yesterday, but tried a new spot instead.