Pelican Island NWR

Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark
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Location	Indian River County, Florida, United States
Nearest city	Sebastian, Florida
Coordinates	27°48′36″N 80°26′28″W / 27.81000°N 80.44111°W / 27.81000; -80.44111Coordinates: 27°48′36″N 80°26′28″W / 27.81000°N 80.44111°W / 27.81000; -80.44111
Area	3 acres (1.2 ha)
Built	1903
NRHP reference #	66000265
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966
Designated NHL	May 23, 1963

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 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.

Pelican Island is administered as part of the 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) Everglades Headwaters NWR complex along with Archie Carr NWR, Lake Wales Ridge NWR, and the Everglades Headwaters NWR and Conservation Area, created in 2012 (556th unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System) with a 10 acres (4.0 ha) donation and other lands covering approximately 150,000 acres (61,000 ha) north of Lake Okeechobee. 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) will be held under "conservation easement"s through the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This allows landowners the right to retain ownership of the land, with the ability to continue farming or ranching, ensuring that the land can't be subdivided or developed.