Key West National Wildlife Refuge
Key West National Wildlife Refuge | |
---|---|
Key West, Florida | |
Coordinates | 24°34′09″N 82°06′55″W / 24.569294°N 82.11525°W |
Area | 189,497 acres (766.867 km2) |
Established | 1908 |
Visitors | 180,000 (estimated) (in 2004) |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Key West National Wildlife Refuge |
The Key West National Wildlife Refuge is a 189,497 acre (766.867 km2)
In addition to the 189,497 acres (767 km2) of land owned by the refuge, the refuge maintains 154 acres (.623 km2) for the United States Coast Guard and 206,289 acres (834.822 km2) of marine waters in conjunction with the state of Florida.
The refuge is one of three refuges administered by the
History
Key West NWR was established in 1908 by President Theodore Roosevelt as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds and other wildlife to curtail the slaughter of birds whose feathers were highly valued in the hat industry. Wading birds were threatened with extinction before this refuge began providing a safe haven for them and other threatened plant and animal species. This refuge was the first established in the Florida Keys and one of the earliest refuges in the United States. They have over 250 different bird species there.
Facilities
There is no visitor center at the refuge. The refuge is accessible only by boat. Two of the islands have portions of their beaches closed to the public. Portions of Woman Key and Boca Grande Key are posted as closed for the sensitive habitat they contain. The remainder of the beaches, including those at the Marquesas Keys, are open during daylight hours for compatible, wildlife-oriented recreational uses such as wildlife observation, nature photography, and environmental education.
Topography
The refuge encompasses more than 300 square miles (800 km2) of open water and 2,019 acres (8 km2) of land on the 26 islands of
Wildlife and protected species
The refuge, along with the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge, represents the last of the offshore (and raccoon-free) islands in the lower Florida Keys available as critical nesting, roosting, wading and loafing habitat to over 250 avian species — particularly wading birds. The area managed is overwhelmingly (99 percent) marine environment including large sand flats surrounding the islands that are used extensively by wading birds when they forage.
The refuge protects habitat for a wide variety of birds, including nesting or wintering populations of terns, magnificent frigatebirds, white-crowned pigeons, ospreys, and great white herons. Several federally listed species are monitored, such as piping plovers and bald eagles. Birds in the refuge are doing well as evidenced by stable or increasing populations and nest numbers.
The sandy beaches are nesting areas for the endangered