The nation’s first national wildlife refuge was once a showcase refuge, but Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is no longer considered a priority, it is suffering significant reductions, including loss of staff.

Pelican Island and other national wildlife refuges are in serious trouble due to severe underfunding and loss of personnel. The Pelican Island Preservation Society urges you to get involved and help us solve the problem. Your refuge needs your help.

Please see more information on how you can support PIPS and the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge by clicking on the items under the “Get Involved” menu above.  And thanks for you interested and support!

Volunteers are often needed for various projects and activities at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge. Interested in helping out?

Please contact the refuge office at:

Pelican Island, Archie Carr & Lake Wales Ridge National Wildlife Refuges
772-581-5557

You can also visit the following website for more information about volunteering for the Pelican Island or Archie Carr refuges -www.fws.gov/pelicanisland/volunteer.html.

Pelican Pals

The “Pelican Pals” are volunteers who help with monthly workdays at the refuge. Pelican Island Refuge staff schedule these workdays on a quarterly basis, but are on hiatus for the summer.  Please contact the refuge at the phone number above if you would like to sign up. They need many bodies to be successful.  When you sign up, you will receive a monthly reminder in case you aren’t sure of your availability at this time.

Our volunteer Suzanne also conducts workdays in the butterfly garden at Pelican Island with the help of the Pelican Pals and she can always use more help.

Bring plenty of water, snack/lunch, hat, sunscreen, insect repellant, work gloves, your favortite gardening tools, etc.  Work starts at 8 am and goes to about 1 PM, but any time you can give would be appreciated.  Please contact Suzanne Valencia for more information or to let her know to expect you at 321-984-0604 or suzmvalencia-at-gmail.com so that she can let you know if plans change.

The next butterfly garden workday will be Thursday, March 15.  You may contact Suzanne for more information and to let her know that you are interested in helping out.

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is located within the Indian River Lagoon, the most biologically diverse estuary in the United States.  Situated on Florida’s central eastern coast, the Indian River Lagoon stretches 156 miles and is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by six inlets that run through a barrier island. The lagoon provides habitat for more than 2,200 animal species and 2,100 plant species, including 700 species of fish, 310 species of birds, and 36 endangered species. Due to its location along the Atlantic flyway, the refuge has the most diverse bird population in North America.

Pelican Island NWR also provides habitat for the endangered manatee, contains large parcels of Florida’s east coast mangrove forests and salt marshes and is home to some of the healthiest sea grass beds in the Indian River Lagoon. The Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge – the most important sea turtle nesting beaches in the western hemisphere, is co-managed by the Pelican Island Refuge Complex, along with the Lake Wales Ridge and Everglades Headwaters NWRs.

To view a full size image of the Pelican Island refuge map above, visit the official U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pelican Island NWR website at www.fws.gov/pelicanisland/visiting/pi_map.html.