The 26th annual Pelican Island Wildlife Festival last Saturday drew huge crowds to Sebastian’s Riverview Park to celebrate the 115th anniversary of Pelican Island being established as the nation’s first National Wildlife Refuge.
President Theodore Roosevelt interpreter Joe Wiegand brought ‘Teddy’ to life, relating how he had made history with the March 14, 1903, enactment to protect the area’s magnificent birds from being slaughtered for their plumage.
He appointed German-born Sebastian resident Paul Kroegel as the country’s first refuge manager.
Festival attendees enjoyed live wildlife shows, educational, historical and environmental exhibits, arts and crafts, children’s activities, viewed submissions to an Amateur Photography Contest and got out on the water with boat tours to get a closer look at Pelican Island, and the birds that call it home.
Photos by: Denise Ritchie
Click HERE to see more or buy photos
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- Patrick Pitts, Dr RIchard Baker, and Paul Tritaik
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- Reagan and Rylee McPartland
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- Jessica Bundy and Amy Selby
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- William Lund with Lisa Casey and Terry Casey
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- Phyllis Blackman and Heidi Jarvinen
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- Pelican Island Wildlife Festival
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- Pelican Island Wildlife Festival
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- Sherry Hanna, Sherry Tibbetts, and Sue Putney
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- Pelican Island Wildlife Festival
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- Jennifer Roberts and Alaine Roberts with Bonnie Swanson
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- Sheila Harnois with Julie Mars and her granddaughter Hannah Mars
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- Richard Paperno and Wayne Smeltzer
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- Carter Greenwood
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- Nancy Bucklew and Frank Smith with a dire wolf skull
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- A dire wolf skull displayed at the Pelican Island Wildlife Festival
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- Margaret Bartlett
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- Lisa Casey and Terry Casey
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- Mike Harrell from A&D Hives
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- Sherry Hanna, Sherry Tibbetts, and Sue Putney
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- Caroline Medlen
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- Caroline Medlen
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- Cori McWilliams and Celeste McWilliams with Don and Mary Anne Curtis
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- Jennifer Roberts and Alaine Roberts with Bonnie Swanson
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- Sheila Harnois with Julie Mars and her granddaughter Hannah Mars
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- Carter Greenwood
