Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge

Category: Parks

Review: Refuge includes mostly mangrove islands and wetlands, with a few sandy beaches and dunes that are critical nesting habitat for endangered sea turtles. Refuge, along with the Key West NWR, represents the last of the off-shore (and raccoon free) islands in the Lower Florida Keys available as critical nesting, roosting, wading, and loafing habitat for over 250 avian species — particularily wading birds. The area managed is overwhelmingly (96 percent) marine environment including large sand flats surrounding the islands that are used extensively by foraging wading birds, significant seagrass meadows, patch coral reefs, and coastal mangrove communities.

Description: Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1938 as a haven for great white herons, migratory birds, and other wildlife. The refuge is located in the lower Florida Keys and consists of almost 200,000 acres of open water and un ihabited islands that are north of the primary Keys from Marathon to Key West. The islands account for approximately 7,600 acres and are primarily mangroves with some of the larger islands containing pine rockland and tropical hardwood hammock habitats. This vast wilderness area, known locally as the backcountry, provides critical nesting, feeding, and resting areas for more than 250 species of birds.