Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge - U.S. National Wildlife Refuges on Waymarking.com

Long Description:
The Merritt Island NWR was established in 1963 when NASA created Kennedy Space Center. The refuge provides a buffer for space operations while also protecting key habitat such as wetland, hardwood hammock and scrub. This refuge is one of the most important sea turtle nesting beaches in the United States. Over 1600 loggerhead sea turtles nest each year. Green sea turtles and Leatherback sea turtles also nest here, but not in such large numbers. Canaveral National Seashore is the longest section of undeveloped beach on Florida's Atlantic coast (43 miles). This lack of development makes this beach prime for sea turtle nesting. Black Point Wildlife drive is located in the refuge. This 7 mile, one way auto tour is a self guided drive through salt and freshwater marshes. The endangered west indian manatee can be seen year round at Haulover Canal, but are more plentiful in the fall and the spring.

The visitors center is open 8am-4:30 Monday through Friday and from 9am-5pm on weekends. The refuge is closed to entry from sunset to sunrise. It is also closed 3 days prior to a scheduled launch and the day of the launch.

For more information visit www.fws.gov/merrittisland

Point of Interest (POI): Visitor Information

Visit Instructions:
Upload two photos of the area at or near the posted waymark coordinates.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   12/6/2012 scotian visited it 11/15/2011 bunyanpaul visited it 10/15/2011 ChapterhouseInc visited it 5/5/2009 Team Condar visited it 12/21/2007 Marine Biologist visited it 7/1/2003 BluegrassCache visited it

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