USFWS · Florida

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and part of the Everglades Headwaters NWR complex, located just off the western coast of Orchid Island, Florida in the Indian River Lagoon east of Sebastian, Florida. The refuge consists of a 3-acre (12,000 m2) island that includes an additional 2.5 acres (10,000 m2) of surrounding water and is located off the east coast of Florida of the Indian River Lagoon. Established by an executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1903, Pelican Island was the first National wildlife refuge in the United States. It was created to protect egrets and other birds from extinction through plume hunting.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge5,423 acresUSFWSFL
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Gentry, George (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), in the public domain, from Wikimedia Commons.

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateFlorida
Size5,423 acres
FWS regionRegion 4
Center point27.81° N, 80.44° W
Night skySome glow on the horizon (Black Marble reading 70)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge60°70°80°90°January: 2.68 inches of precipitationFebruary: 2.48 inches of precipitationMarch: 3.69 inches of precipitationApril: 2.94 inches of precipitationMay: 4.32 inches of precipitationJune: 6.78 inches of precipitationJuly: 6.21 inches of precipitationAugust: 7.55 inches of precipitationSeptember: 7.62 inches of precipitationOctober: 6.11 inches of precipitationNovember: 3.19 inches of precipitationDecember: 2.83 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 63.5°F averageFebruary: 65.6°F averageMarch: 68.8°F averageApril: 72.9°F averageMay: 77.4°F averageJune: 81.3°F averageJuly: 82.9°F averageAugust: 83.0°F averageSeptember: 82.0°F averageOctober: 77.6°F averageNovember: 71.5°F averageDecember: 66.5°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Vero Beach 4Se, 11 miles from the center point at 20 feet, station USC00089219 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 56 inches a year.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 27 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Florida

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Florida Lighthouse Trail
    Thomas W. Taylor and Chris Belcher, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Moon South Florida & the Keys Road Trip
    Jason Ferguson, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Tent Camping: Florida
    Johnny Molloy, 2016
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge?

5,423 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in?

Florida.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 27.810° N, 80.441° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Are there historic places near Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 27 listings within 15 miles, including Smith, Archie, Wholesale Fish Company and Old Town Sebastian Historic District East.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q1841445), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.