Latest News & Interesting Stories
guided Tram Tours of the refuge will resume next winter, in January.
PICS to hold Indian River Bird & Nature Art Show
We will be holding the 2026 IR Bird & Nature Art Show, in celebration of National Wildlife Refuge Week, October 10-17. Click here or on the Show link in the menu above, for more information.
Pelican Island: The First National Wildlife Refuge and Still a Jewel
As part of the Flags Across America initiative for America’s 250th anniversary, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is sharing stories from the places where our commemorative flags have traveled. From historic hatcheries to vibrant refuges, each stop celebrates conservation as an enduring American value. Pelican Island NWR was one of the refuges chosen for the flag-raisings. You may read about the event/celebration in the National Wildlife Refuge System News here.
Indian River County 100th Anniversary Celebration
Indian River County celebrated its 100th anniversary beginning in 2025. For more information about events celebrating the Centennial, culminating in the time capsule in late June, visit their “A Century in Paradise” website.
Federal cuts endanger local wildlife agency's mission
Mike Arnold, Citrus County Chronicle, February 17, 2025
Last week various wildlife conservationists groups, including Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge (CRNWR) staff and volunteers, aided in the release of eight rehabilitated manatees into Kings Spring and Three Sisters Springs. Two weeks earlier, a dozen agencies led by refuge performed the first manatee assessment in five years. Citrus County fifth-graders have been taking field trips to the Three Sisters Springs Visitor Center and Museum.
These are just some of the programs and research threatened by President Donald Trump’s firing Friday of 400 U.S. National Wildlife Service probationary employees. The firings were based on last in, first out without regard to roles or needs of each agency.
Staff and funding cuts are not new for CRNWR. In 2015, they had 12 employees. Following cuts in 2018, 2020 and now 2025… they are half that size.
Click here to read the full Citrus County Chronicle story.
Mass Firing of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Employees Threaten National Wildlife Refuge System & Conservation
National Wildlife Refuge Association, Washington, D.C., February 14, 2025
The National Wildlife Refuge Association is deeply alarmed by today’s Department of the Interior (DOI)-wide termination of approximately 420 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) employees, many of whom are critical to the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System (Refuge System). These firings, which disproportionately target biologists and natural resource professionals, are a direct attack on science-based conservation and the future of America’s wildlife.
According to reports, these positions were deemed “not in the public interest” by DOI—an assertion that fundamentally ignores the role these professionals play in protecting and restoring our nation’s wildlife and wild places.
In Memory of Walt Stieglitz
By Paul Tritaik
A local and national conservation hero passed away on February 12, 2021. Few people were as dedicated to the protection and stewardship of Pelican Island as Walt Stieglitz. I first met Walt on March 10, 1996 during the 4th Annual Pelican Island Wildlife Festival at Sebastian River High School.
Lawrence Wineland (1912-1997) initiated and led fourth-grade field trips to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in the mid-1970s, before environmental education was a serious discipline.
A Look Back
Lawrence Wineland | From FWS
Check out this interesting historical detail about Pelican Island.
friday Meet & Greets
Did you know that refuge volunteers are present at the refuge every Friday from 10:30am to 1:30pm to answer questions and help you navigate our nation’s first wildlife refuge?