In the late 1800s, conservationists were in a violent war with feather hunters over the fate of many of America's most beautiful birds. The "feather wars" came about because poachers were decimating egret, pelican and shorebird populations for decorative feathers that were being sold to the fashion industry at twice the price per weight of gold. Florida was one of the primary hunting grounds for plumes, so the National Audubon Society and American Ornithologists Union convinced the Florida State Legislature to pass a nongame bird protection law in 1901 and then hired wardens to protect select bird rookeries from plume hunters. Sadly, during the course of these battles, three Audubon wardens were murdered.

In the midst of the "feather wars" was Florida's tiny Pelican Island, which represented the last breeding ground for brown pelicans along the entire east coast of the state. Paul Kroegal was the Audubon warden at Pelican Island, but protecting its residents was no easy task for the committed conservationist. Paul often spent his time sailing between the island and offshore gunners -- putting his body between the poachers and the birds.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who was an active conservationist himself, responded to the dire situation and issued an Executive Order in 1903, making Pelican Island the first federal wildlife refuge. Paul Kroegal was appointed the first refuge manager in America -- paid $1 a month by the federal government (supplemented by $7 a month from various Audubon societies) and charged with protecting the island by himself, with a boat as his main resource. And so the mighty National Wildlife Refuge System would have its humble beginnings on Pelican Island -- with one man and one boat.