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Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge holds a unique place in American history, because on March 14, 1903, tiny Pelican Island became the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR) is located in the Indian River Lagoon between Sebastian and Wabasso on the east coast of central Florida. It includes the original three-acre Pelican Island and roughly 4,700 acres of submerged lands and mangrove islands, leased from the State of Florida. About 150 acres of barrier island buffer land has also been acquired.
