The National Key Deer 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 ...

located on

Big Pine Key Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

and

No Name Key No Name Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys in the United States. It is from US 1 and sparsely populated, with only 43 homes. It is only about in comparison to its larger neighbor, Big Pine Key, which lies about half a mile (800 m ...

in the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

Monroe County, Florida Monroe County is a county in the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 82,874. Its county seat is Key West. Monroe County includes the islands of the Florida Keys and comprises the Key West Micropolitan Statistical Area. ...

. The refuge is home to the

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...

Key deer The Key deer (''Odocoileus virginianus clavium'') is an endangered deer that lives only in the Florida Keys. It is a subspecies of the white-tailed deer (''O. virginianus''). It is the smallest extant North American deer species. Description Th ...

, a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

of the

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 ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the Florida Keys and has a current population of around 800 animals. 21 other

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensat ...

and endangered species of plants and animals are also found on the refuge, which includes of upland

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

, of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

s, and of

marsh A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

. of the refuge have been designated as a

wilderness area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge The Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located in north Key Largo, less than south of Miami off SR 905 (Card Sound Road). The 6,686 acre (27.1 km2) refuge (located ...

, Great White Heron NWR, and Key West NWR are administered by the National Key Deer Refuge.

External links

*
National Key Deer Refuge official site
an
information sheet and maps

National Wildlife Refuges in Monroe County, Florida Florida Keys Protected areas established in 1957 Wetlands of Florida Landforms of Monroe County, Florida 1957 establishments in Florida White-tailed deer {{MonroeCountyFL-geo-stub