Introduction

The United States Congress designated the Pelican Island Wilderness (map) in 1970 and it now has a total of 6 acres. All of this wilderness is located in Florida and is managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service.

Description

President Theodore Roosevelt set aside tiny Pelican Island as a bird haven on March 14, 1903, ordering the first federal land dedication to wildlife and thus creating the National Wildlife Refuge System. Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is comprised primarily of water in the wide lagoon of the Indian River. Human development near the shoreline currently threatens the fragile but highly productive waters, however, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is trying to acquire an insulating buffer zone along the eastern boundary.

Fifteen threatened and endangered species live here, including manatees. A huge natural supply of fish provide food for wading birds that nest in the area. Other nesting birds crowded onto the island include brown pelicans, common egrets, snowy egrets, reddish egrets, great blue herons, little blue herons, tricolored herons, black-crowned night herons, white ibis, glossy ibis, double-crested cormorants, anhingas, and oyster catchers. This area is one of the smallest unit in the National Wilderness Preservation System.

Closed Wilderness Areas

Eleven of the National Wilderness Preservation System's 758 wilderness areas are closed to access and use by the general public. All these closed areas are managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service, except the Mesa Verde Wilderness. The core mission of the Service's National Wildlife Refuge System is conservation of native fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats. The Pelican Island Wilderness, part of the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, is closed to visitation to protect wildlife and other natural, cultural, and/or other resources consistent with the conservation purpose(s) of the refuge. Wilderness designation provides an additional level of protection for the wilderness portion of this refuge, but does not open the area to public access or use.