At the urging of Mr. Kroegel, the Florida Audubon Society, and the American Ornithologists' Union, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an Executive Order on March 14, 1903 that permanently set aside the three-acre island as a wildlife sanctuary; and made Pelican Island the first National Wildlife Refuge. Since then, the National Wildlife Refuge system has grown to become the world's largest network of lands managed for wildlife with over 500 refuges totaling over 93 million acres.

"Pelican Island, located in Florida's (USA) Indian River, was the first unit of the USA's National Wildlife Refuge System. Reserving this area was not an instantaneous brainstorm of President Theodore Roosevelt, as astute as he was. Actions by persons to protect birds over a century ago ultimately contributed to T.R.'s bold commitment to an American wildlife and habitat conservation system."

Excerpted from "History of Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge", Encyclopedia of Earth website. Click here to read the rest of this in-depth, extensive article on Pelican Island's history.

President Theodore Roosevelt

When President McKinley was assassinated in September 1901, his Vice President, Theodore Roosevelt, succeeded him. At 43, Roosevelt became the youngest President in the nation's history.

Theodore Roosevelt was born to a wealthy family in 1858. His family described him as "sickly, delicate, precocious, and constantly fighting asthma attacks." Yet, he lived a full life and accomplished much. His ambition took him from a cowboy and rancher all the way to the White House.

Did you know...? Teddy Roosevelt signed into law the first 51 federal bird sanctuaries and the first 18 national monuments.

This information was provided by the US National Park Service. For more information about Teddy Roosevelt and his Presidency, please visit the National Park Service's Theodore Roosevelt History website.

And did you know...?

"On a 1902 hunting trip in the Yazoo Backwater Area of Mississippi, President Theodore Roosevelt refused to shoot a black bear that had been captured and tied to a tree. His principled act made headlines across the country and spawned the creation of the iconic "Teddy Bear."
("Upstream", Spring 2008 - magazine of the American Rivers organization)

For more information on TR's hunting expedition and where the first teddy bears came from, you may be interested in "The story of the Teddy Bear..." at the Theodore Roosevelt Association website.

(Image courtesy of the Smithsonian "Archives of American Art" - 1944 photograph of the original cartoon "Drawing the line in Mississippi" by Clifford Berryman, 1902; click on the image for the original source.)

October 27, 2008 was the 150th Birthday Celebration of Theodore Roosevelt. You may be interested in the historical information from the Smithsonian exhibition on Teddy Roosevelt, entitled "Theodore Roosevelt: Icon of the American Century"  —

"The life of Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919) was one of constant activity, immense energy, and enduring accomplishments. As the twenty-sixth President of the United States, Roosevelt was the wielder of the Big Stick, the builder of the Panama Canal, an avid conservationist, and the nemesis of the corporate trusts that threatened to monopolize American business at the start of the century. His exploits as a Rough Rider in the Spanish- American War and as a cowboy in the Dakota Territory were indicative of his spirit of adventure and love of the outdoors."

You may also be interested in the "T. R. Tour" - bringing history to life. Joe Wiegand recreates President Theodore Roosevelt in Chautauqua-style events around the country. Mr Wiegand has appeared at the PIPS Pelican Island Wildlife Festival and will do so again this coming year in March 2009! For more information on the "tour" and Mr. Wiegand, please visit the T. R. Tour website.

Additionally, you may also be interested in the Theodore Roosevelt Association which is working to develop the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Museum and Research Center. Please visit the Theodore Roosevelt Association website for more information.

Pelican Island's protector

A life-size bronze statue of the state's first wildlife officer Paul Kroegel with brown pelicans at his feet looks out over the Indian River Lagoon toward Pelican island in the distance. The statue is in Riverview Park in Sebastian, not far from where the German immigrant moved with his family in 1881. Brown pelicans, Pelican Island's namesake, were found in great numbers then along with other birds and Kroegel, armed with a shotgun, protected the rookery from the plume hunters. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt signed an executive order establishing Pelican Island as the first federal bird reservation — a forerunner to the National Wildlife Refuge System. This was the first time lands had ever been set aside on behalf of wildlife in the United States. Kroegel was then hired and paid $1 a month by the Florida Audubon Society as the refuge's first manager, according to www.refugenet.org.

February 2003 "Vero Beach Magazine":
PELICAN ISLAND – 100 YEARS IN THE MAKING

The Trust for Public Land's article:
"National Wildlife Refuge System Centennial"

Indian River County Historical Society "The Express", Spring 2003
Paul Kroegel and the Story of Pelican Island

For links to more Centennial publications and items of interest, please visit our
2003 Centennial Wildlife Festival page.

"In the late 1800s a group of Boston society women gathered over teas to save birds from being slaughtered for the hat trade. In the process they kick-started the conservation movement - and Audubon. An environmental scholar takes a look at these pioneers, whose legacy has been all but lost to history."

"In 1886 Frank Chapman hiked from his uptown Manhattan office to the heart of the women's fashion district on 14th street, to tally the stuffed birds on the hats of passing women. Chapman, who would later found the first version of this magazine (Audubon), was a talented birder. He identified the wings, heads, tails, or entire bodies of 3 bluebirds, 2 red-headed woodpeckers, 9 Baltimore orioles, 5 blue jays, 21 common terns, a saw-whet owl, and a prairie hen. In two afternoon trips he counted 174 birds and 40 species in all." If you would like to read the full story from the Audubon article, please visit their website at: http://magazine.audubon.org/features0412/hats.html

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.

Wilderness in the National Wildlife Refuge System

"Although national wildlife refuges provide strong protections for America's wildlife, they are still susceptible to certain development threats, such as test wells or pipelines. Wilderness designation ensures an area's complete protection. Further, may rare and endangered species require relatively undisturbed habitats that can only be provided by wilderness areas."

National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS)

• The NWPS has 650 units totaling close to 106 million acres in 44 states across America.
• Approximately 5 percent of America's land is designated wilderness.
• Approximately 12 million people annually visit wilderness areas.
• The NWPS is an interagency system of lands administered by the National Park Service, Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management or Fish and Wildlife Service. When an area is designated as wilderness, it continues to be managed by the department or agency that had jurisdiction over the land prior to its designation.

National Wildlife Refuge System

• Approximately 100 million acres in 545 units in all 50 states and several U.S. territories.
• Contains 21 million acres of wilderness, or about a fifth of the land in the Wilderness System, on 65 refuges.

The Wilderness Act of 1964

The Act calls for the protection of wild areas of at least 5,000 acres "devoted to the public purposes of recreational, scenic, scientific, educational, conservation, and historical use," and prohibits the use of motorized or mechanized equipment, logging and, after a 20-year grace period, mining.

The Wilderness Act defines wilderness as "an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain."

1968 - Wilderness designation at Great Swamp NWR established the first wilderness area in the Refuge System and the Department of the Interior ....

1970 - Pelican Island, the world's first national wildlife refuge, established in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt as a sanctuary for nesting birds, was designated as wilderness.

1980 - More than 18 million acres of wilderness was designated under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, mostly in Alaska refuges.