Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge

Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Location	Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States
Nearest city	New Iberia, Louisiana
Coordinates	29°25′15″N 91°50′45″W / 29.42083°N 91.84583°W / 29.42083; -91.84583
Established	1907
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge

Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge is located in the offshore waters to the west of the Atchafalaya River Delta, south of Marsh Island Wildlife Management Area. It was established in 1907 and is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System.

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Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex

The Southwest Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex was formed by administratively combining the Cameron Prairie National Wildlife Refuge, East Cove National Wildlife Refuge, Sabine National Wildlife Refuge, Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge, and the Shell Keys NWR in 2004.^[1]

Boundary

Due to coastal erosion, the refuge boundary is not well defined. It has been described as "... a small group of unsurveyed islets located in the Gulf of Mexico about three and one half miles south of Marsh Island (Louisiana), and approximately at latitude 29 degrees 26 minutes north, longitude 91 degrees 51 minutes west from Greenwich..." The boundary of the refuge has been interpreted to be those areas in this vicinity that are above mean high tide.

Wildlife and habitat

For a number of years, there has been only one islet at this location. This islet is composed almost entirely of shell fragments. It is extremely dynamic and builds or recedes with passing storms. Vegetation is almost entirely lacking. Birds known to nest here include royal terns, sandwich terns, black skimmers, and laughing gulls. In addition, the islet is used at various times as a loafing area by white pelicans, brown pelicans, and various other species of terns and gulls. Recent hurricanes and storms have eroded the island to such an extent that no nesting has occurred since 1992. Public access to the refuge is restricted due to its remoteness.

References

^ "Southwest Louisiana NWR Complex". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved July 12, 2014.

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [1][2][3]

External links

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Executive Order 682

Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge
"Shell Keys National Wildlife Refuge". United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved 2012-12-08.

Protected areas of Louisiana

Federal

National Historical Parks	Cane River Creole Jean Lafitte NHP and Preserve New Orleans Jazz
National Monuments	Poverty Point
National Marine Sanctuary	Flower Garden Banks
National Forests	Kisatchie
National wild and scenic rivers	Saline Bayou
National Wildlife Refuge System	Atchafalaya Bayou Cocodrie Bayou Sauvage Bayou Teche Big Branch Marsh Black Bayou Lake Bogue Chitto Breton Cameron Prairie Cat Island Catahoula D'Arbonne Delta East Cove Grand Cote Handy Brake Lacassine Lake Ophelia Mandalay Red River Sabine Shell Keys Tensas River Upper Ouachita

State

State Parks	Bayou Segnette Bogue Chitto Chemin-A-Haut Chicot Cypremort Point Fairview-Riverside Fontainebleau Grand Isle Hodges Gardens Jimmie Davis Lake Bistineau Lake Bruin Lake Claiborne Lake D-Arbonne Lake Fausse Pointe North Toledo Bend Palmetto Island Poverty Point Reservoir St. Bernard Sam Houston Jones South Toledo Bend Tickfaw
State Historic Sites	Audubon Centenary Fort Jesup Fort Pike Fort St. Jean Baptiste Forts Randolph & Buhlow Locust Grove Longfellow-Evangeline Los Adaes Mansfield Plaquemine Lock Port Hudson Poverty Point Rebel State Rosedown Plantation Winter Quarters
State Preservation Area	Louisiana State Arboretum
State Forests	Alexander Indian Creek
State Wildlife Refuges	Elmer's Island Marsh Island Rockefeller St. Tammany State Terrebonne Barrier Islands White Lake Wetlands
Wildlife management areas	Acadiana Conservation Corridor Atchafalaya Delta Attakapas Barataria Preserve Bayou Macon Bayou Pierre Ben Lilly Conservation Area Ben's Creek Big Colewa Bayou Big Lake Biloxi Bodcau Boeuf Bonnet Carré Spillway Buckhorn Camp Beauregard Catahoula Lake Clear Creek Dewey Wills Elbow Slough Elm Hall Floy Ward McElroy Fort Polk Grassy Lake Hutchinson Creek Indian Bayou Jackson Bienville J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert Wildlife Management Area Joyce Lake Boeuf Lake Ramsey Savannah Little River Loggy Bayou Manchac Marsh Bayou Maurepas Swamp Old River Control Ouachita Pass A Loutre Pearl River Peason Ridge Pointe-aux-Chenes Pomme de Terre Richard K. Yancey Russell Sage Sabine Sabine Island Salvador/Timken Sandy Hollow Sherburne (See: Atchafalaya Delta) Soda Lake Spring Bayou Tangipahoa Parish School Board Thistlethwaite Three Rivers Tunica Hills Union Walnut Hill West Bay