U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service logo National Wildlife Refuge System Logo Celebrating a Century of Conservation
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Gravel Island
National Wildlife Refuge
double-crested cormorant standing on rock

Door County, WI   
E-mail: gravelisland@fws.gov
Phone Number: 920-387-2658
Visit the Refuge's Web Site:
http://www.fws.gov/refuge/gravel_island/
Double-crested cormorants nest on both Gravel and Spider islands.
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  History
Continued . . .

Since then, this landscape has been shaped and re-shaped by receding oceans, powerful pre-glacial rivers, and advancing glaciers. Gravel and Spider islands, which poke up only a few meters above the waves of Lake Michigan, are products of these immense geologic events.

In 1913, Gravel and Spider islands were set aside as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds. "Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge" became the 29th refuge in the U.S. and third in the Great Lakes region. It became one of the smallest units of the Wilderness Preservation System in 1970.

 
 
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