Wildlife Brochures
The US Fish and Wildlife Service acquired Plum Island for migrating songbirds, nesting habitat for raptors (such as bald eagles), and critical habitat for the endangered Dwarf Lake Iris. Pilot Island was added as an important nesting habitat for colonial nesting birds such as gulls, pelicans, and cormorants.
This is a partial list of native wildflowers that may be found in GBNWR. This list does not contain some common introduced/ invasive species such as Queen Anne’s Lace or Dame’s Rocket, or every variant of native species.
The Great Lakes Islands are a great value to fish and wildlife because they provide relatively undisturbed habitat that may have fewer predators, allowing vulnerable species to survive. The very nature of these islands results in high biodiversity compared to similar mainland habitats because of the significant expanses of shorelines which provide essential habitat for a large variety of fish and wildlife species.
The Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge (GBNWR) is owned and managed by the US Fish & Wildlife Service, and consists of Hog Island, Plum Island, Pilot Island, Rocky Island, and portions of St. Martin Island and Detroit Island. These islands are located in Lake Michigan, near Washington Island, off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula.