Contact Information
P.O. Box 6504
Titusville, FL 32782
321-861-0667
Merritt Island's pristine beaches, coastal wetlands, and mangrove-lined estuaries teem with wildlife, including 16 threatened or endangered species. Designated a buffer zone for nearby NASA in the late 1950s, this windswept barrier island is ringed with dunes and provides sanctuary for 1,045 species of plants and 310 species of bird. Sea turtles lay their eggs here, oysters, clams, shrimp, and crabs flourish, and snowy egrets, southern bald eagles, West Indian manatees, peregrine falcons, and eastern indigo snakes find a safe home.Native Americans, attracted by the island's temperate climate and abundant water life, were the first to settle. Spanish colonists claimed the land in the 16th century, followed by Britain in the 18th century, but obdurate Indians and overwhelming saltmarsh mosquitoes made the area less than welcoming. Some development occurred in the 19th century with the planting of orange groves, but their eventual failure left the island in its natural state once again. Today the land is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in cooperation with NASA. It comprises 24 miles of undeveloped beach and wetlands and over 57,600 acres.
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