Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a

National Wildlife Refuge National Wildlife Refuge System is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the system of public lands and waters set aside to c ...

of the United States located in the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It includes five all or part of six islands in

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

: Hog Island, Plum Island,

Pilot Island Pilot Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the Town of Washington, in Door County, Wisconsin; it is part of Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States located in ...

, part of St. Martin Island and Rocky Island. Additionally it includes part of

Detroit Island Detroit Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the southern part of the town of Washington in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The island has a land area of 2.578 km² (0.9955 sq mi, or 637.12 acres), out of which 27.6% is open to the ...

. The islands are near Washington Island off the tip of the

Door Peninsula The Door Peninsula is a peninsula in eastern Wisconsin, separating the southern part of the Green Bay (Lake Michigan), Green Bay from Lake Michigan. The peninsula includes northern Kewaunee County, Wisconsin, Kewaunee County, northeaster ...

of Wisconsin and the

Garden Peninsula The Garden Peninsula is a peninsula of in length that extends southwestward into Lake Michigan from the mainland of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The peninsula is bordered by Lake Michigan on the east, and by Big Bay de Noc on the west. The base ...

of Michigan.

History

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...

in 1913 declared Hog Island a

national preserve There are 21 protected areas of the United States designated as national preserves. They were established by an act of Congress to protect areas that have resources often associated with national parks but where certain natural resource-extract ...

for the benefit of native birds. Plum and Pilot Island were transferred from the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

to the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

in 2007. The Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge became the second National Wildlife Refuge in

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

area and the 28th overall.

Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located off the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin. Founded in 1913, the refuge consists of two Lake Michigan islands that act as nesting grounds for native bird species. It is inhabit ...

was created under the same executive order. In 1970, the islands which at the time where included in the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge and Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge were declared part of the

Wisconsin Islands Wilderness Area The Wisconsin Islands Wilderness is a wilderness area located in Door County in northeastern Wisconsin. It is one of the smallest wilderness areas in the United States. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the wilderness area is compo ...

. This wilderness area is one of the smallest in the entire United States."Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge: About Us
''U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service'', Retrieved May 4, 2022. The refuge is managed by staff at the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, in

Mayville, Wisconsin Mayville is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, located along the Rock River and the Horicon Marsh. The population was 5,154 at the 2010 census. Geography Mayville is located at (43.497044, -88.547871). According to the Unite ...

."Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge Island Habitat Restoration Project"
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. March 1, 2005, (Archived March 8, 2012) Public use of the land is prohibited on the islands which are located in the wilderness area,Profile: Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
''fws.gov'', (Archived December 2, 2013) contrary to the testimony given before a joint meeting of several U.S. House subcommittees in preparation for the establishment of the Wilderness Area.Designation of Wilderness Areas: Hearings Before the Subcommittees on Public Lands and National Parks and Recreation of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
1970, page 243 In 1969, the U.S. Representatives present at the subcommittee meeting were told that out of a group of six lake islands including the islands in the proposed Wisconsin Islands Wilderness, five out of six of them would be open to the general public. Lighthouse facilities were constructed on Plum Island and Pilot Island. By 1939, the Coast Guard had taken control of Plum Island, and acquired control of the lighthouse on the island. The old wooden lighthouse was eventually replaced with a steel structure in 1964, and workers were moved to the island in order to oversee the operations of the lighthouse. At this time the lighthouse used range lights. By 1969, these lights were replaced with an automatic lighting system. The lighthouse is still in use today, but Coast Guard employees no longer remain on the island to operate it.Plum Island Rear Range Lighthouse
''us-lighthouses.com'' by Bryan Penberthy, December 2, 2007 The

Plum Island Range Lights The Plum Island Range Lights are a pair of range lights located on Plum Island in Door County, Wisconsin. They were part of the Plum Island United States Life-Saving Station. Plum Island was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife ...

and the

Pilot Island Light The Pilot Island Light is a lighthouse located near Gills Rock, on Pilot Island at the east end of Death's Door passage, in Door County, Wisconsin. The building's plant is similar to Pottawatomie Light, but is made of brick instead of stone. ...

are listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. On October 17, 2007, Pilot and Plum Islands were officially added to the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge. Previously under the control of the United States Coast Guard, they are now managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Geography and geology

Hog Island covers of land, Plum Island , and Pilot Island approximately . The islands are part of the

Niagara Escarpment The Niagara Escarpment is a long escarpment, or cuesta, in Canada and the United States that runs predominantly east–west from New York through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, and into Illinois. The escarpment is most famous as the cliff over ...

as opposed to the Black River or Magnesian escarpments. The underlying bedrock is

dolomite Dolomite may refer to: *Dolomite (mineral), a carbonate mineral *Dolomite (rock), also known as dolostone, a sedimentary carbonate rock *Dolomite, Alabama, United States, an unincorporated community *Dolomite, California, United States, an unincor ...

. The area was sculpted by glaciers. The islands have been eroded, inundated, and re-shaped over many years by changing water levels.

Biota

Flora

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge contains a variety of plants native to the area. Hog Island has an abundance of

Canada yew ''Taxus canadensis'', the Canada yew or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply "yew", this species is also referred to as ...

. This plant was functionally extirpated on St. Martin's Island because of the introduction of

white-tailed deer The white-tailed deer (''Odocoileus virginianus''), also known as the whitetail or Virginia deer, is a medium-sized deer native to North America, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru and Bolivia. It has also been introduced t ...

and their appetite for this shrub.Habitat Management Plan for Green Bay and Gravel Islands National Wildlife Refuges
by Will Taylor and Dan Salas for Cardno Limited of Brisbane, Australia and Sadie O'Dell, Refuge Biologist, March 27, 2018, page 1-6 (page 34 of the pdf) The rare

dwarf lake iris ''Iris lacustris'', the dwarf lake iris, is a plant species in the genus ''Iris'', subgenus '' Limniris'' and in the section ''Lophiris'' (crested irises). It is a rhizomatous, beardless perennial plant, native to the Great Lakes region of east ...

(''Iris lacustris'') can be found along the shoreline of Plum Island. Plum Island is most well known for having large forests of

basswood ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

sugar maple ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...

, and

white cedar White cedar may refer to several different trees: * Bignoniaceae ** ''Tabebuia heterophylla'' - native to Caribbean islands and also cultivated as an ornamental tree * Cupressaceae: ** ''Chamaecyparis thyoides'' – Atlantic white cypress ** ''Cup ...

. These trees are associated with the dolomite geology of the area.

Fauna

The Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge provides habitat for many kinds of wildlife, especially birds. The refuge was established first for the purpose of conserving native birds of the Great Lakes Basin. Great blue herons,

red-breasted merganser The red-breasted merganser (''Mergus serrator'') is a diving duck, one of the sawbills. The genus name is a Latin word used by Pliny and other Roman authors to refer to an unspecified waterbird, and ''serrator'' is a sawyer from Latin ''serra' ...

s, and herring gulls are common. Migratory birds breed undisturbed by human presence on the islands. No development has occurred on Hog Island due to its small size, remoteness, and landing difficulties. Plum Island is open to public use. The local flora provides habitat for birds. Pilot Island provides a safe haven for approximately 3,600

double-crested cormorant The double-crested cormorant (''Nannopterum auritum'') is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes, and in coastal areas, and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Al ...

nests and about 650 herring gull nests. Black-crowned night herons also find nesting habitat there.Habitat Management Plan for Green Bay and Gravel Islands National Wildlife Refuges
by Will Taylor and Dan Salas for Cardno Limited of Brisbane, Australia and Sadie O'Dell, Refuge Biologist, March 27, 2018, page 1-2 (page 16 of the pdf) Smallmouth bass are commonly found in the waters northwest of Plum and Pilot Islands.DRAFT Environmental Assessment for the Proposed 2019Fishing Plan for the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, January 2019 (Archived May 4, 2022)

Wisconsin Islands Wilderness Area

In 1964, the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

passed the

Wilderness Act of 1964 The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...

, which created the

National Wilderness Preservation System The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...

. This bill declared almost of land across the United States federal wilderness."Wilderness Areas in the United States"
The Encyclopedia of Earth. Retrieved 10-22-2009. In 1970, Hog Island and Gravel Island became one of the smallest areas of land protected by the Wilderness Act, and thus became known as the Wisconsin Islands Wilderness Area.

References

External links

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge
{{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Wisconsin Protected areas of Door County, Wisconsin Protected areas established in 1913 1913 establishments in Wisconsin