Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge in Brevard County, Florida

Photograph: Birds at Merritt Island NWR.jpg by Sudhir Viswarajan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Cropped to the 1200x750 attraction-card frame and converted to WebP by 1stFlorida.com. Opened and checked against the place before installation.

Brevard County attraction

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

Brevard County · Atlantic Coast

One hundred and forty thousand acres laid over the Kennedy Space Center, where by agreement the space program comes first and the refuge second.

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ABOUT THIS PLACE

Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge covers 140,000 acres of coastal dune, saltwater marsh and estuary about 60 miles east of Orlando, established in 1963 to protect migratory birds. It exists as an overlay of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and under that agreement the land serves the space program first and the refuge second. Black Point Wildlife Drive and Bio Lab Road are the main driving routes, and boat ramps at Bairs Cove, Beacon 42 and Bio Lab reach the lagoon. A refuge pass is required for those drives and ramps, sold at the visitor center and on Recreation.gov. Some 330 bird species have been recorded here, and twenty-one species on the refuge are listed as endangered by the state or the federal government. Black Point Wildlife Drive is a one-way seven-mile dike road, so most of the birding is done from a car window. An observation deck near Haulover Canal is placed where manatees gather. The habitats run from saltwater estuary and freshwater impoundment through dune and hardwood hammock to dry scrub. Bald eagles nest on the refuge. Because NASA comes first under the overlay agreement, the public can be shut out altogether in the days before a launch, so check before setting off

GETTING THERE

Get Directions ↗Official place website ↗

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