The Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System, located within the Matlacha Pass estuary, approximately 8 miles northwest of

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. The 538 acre (2.2 km²) refuge was established on September 26, 1908. The islands were established as a "preserve and breeding ground for native birds" by President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. It is administered as part of the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

History

Since being established, the refuge has grown to 23 islands encompassing about 512 acres. The most recent addition of lands to the refuge was on April 10, 1991. Fisherman Key, one of the largest islands of the refuge, once had fish camps and permanent residents on it.

Flora and Fauna

Trees that can be seen here include red mangrove (''

Rhizophora mangle ''Rhizophora mangle'', the red mangrove, is distributed in estuarine ecosystems throughout the tropics. Its viviparous "seeds", in actuality called propagules, become fully mature plants before dropping off the parent tree. These are disperse ...

''), black mangrove (''

Avicennia germinans ''Avicennia germinans'', the black mangrove, is a shrub or small tree growing up to 12 meters (39 feet) in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, ...

''), white mangrove (''

Laguncularia racemosa ''Laguncularia racemosa'', the white mangrove, is a species of flowering plant in the leadwood tree family, Combretaceae. It is native to the coasts of western Africa from Senegal to Cameroon, the Atlantic Coast of the Americas from Bermuda an ...

''), buttonwood ('' Conocarpus erectus'') and cabbage palm (''

Sabal palmetto ''Sabal palmetto'' (, '' SAY-bəl''), also known as cabbage palm, cabbage palmetto, sabal palm, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, Garfield's tree, and swamp cabbage, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the So ...

''). Also found in the area are tropical species such as seagrape (''

Coccoloba uvifera ''Coccoloba uvifera'' is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antille ...

''), Florida strangler fig ('' Ficus aurea'') and gumbo limbo ('' Bursera simaruba''). Some of the

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 depensa ...

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 in ...

animal species which make the refuge home are the

West Indian manatee The West Indian manatee (''Trichechus manatus''), also known as the North American manatee, is a large, aquatic mammal native to warm coastal areas of the Caribbean, from the eastern US to northern Brazil. Living alone or in herds, it feeds on un ...

, crocodile,

eastern indigo snake The eastern indigo snake (''Drymarchon couperi'') is a species of large, non-venomous snake in the family Colubridae. Native to the southeastern region of the United States, it is the longest native snake species in North America. Taxonomy an ...

wood stork The wood stork (''Mycteria americana'') is a large American wading bird in the family Ciconiidae (storks), the only member of the family to breed in North America. It was formerly called the "wood ibis", though it is not an ibis. It is found ...

and bald eagle.

References

External links

Matlacha Pass National Wildlife Refuge
{{authority control Protected areas of Lee County, Florida National Wildlife Refuges in Florida Protected areas established in 1908 1908 establishments in Florida Pine Island (Lee County, Florida)