Latest Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge Stories

NASA When a strong thunderstorm recently blew through NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, two eagles landed -- falling to the ground along with their nest. Fortunately, ecologists at the spaceport, who take great care to track the birds and protect their habitat, stepped in and rescued the eaglets. Kennedy is a nesting area for numerous bald eagles. Space center employees and visitors alike enjoy watching their majestic flights overhead. Besides being the national bird of the United...

Federal wildlife officials said on Tuesday that the gopher tortoise has been listed as eligible for protection under the Endangered Species Act, but limited funding could prevent the tortoise from being put on the list at this time.Cindy Dohner, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's regional director for the Southeast, said there is sufficient scientific data to list the gopher tortoise as threatened in parts of Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. "But we do not have the...

NASA's Kennedy Space Center is helping with the unprecedented effort to save wildlife from the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.The first group of hatchlings from endangered sea turtle eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast was released into the Atlantic Ocean off Kennedy's central Florida coast on July 11. Twenty-two Kemp's ridley turtles were set free on a Kennedy Space Center beach, which is part of the Canaveral National...

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., July 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center is helping with the unprecedented effort to save wildlife from the effects of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The first group of hatchlings from endangered sea turtle eggs brought from beaches along the northern U.S. Gulf Coast was released into the Atlantic...

The Kennedy Space Center might embody the pinnacle of 21st century high technology, but it still must use 19th-century methods to deal with a chronic problem: nuisance wildlife. Specifically, wild hogs, alligators _ and lately, coyotes. But not to worry. John Tanner is there. A native of the east-central Florida `burb of Christmas, Tanner has been a hunter and trapper since age 6. Armed with an ancient .22 rifle, animal traps and plenty of Florida woods savvy, Tanner, 65, has been in charge...

By Deborah Zabarenko CAPE CANAVERAL (Reuters) - Alligators, manatees and vultures share Kennedy Space Center with space shuttle Discovery, so for more than 40 years NASA has had to adjust to launching rockets in the middle of a national wildlife refuge. NASA has redesigned its boats to protect manatees, painted gravel to fend off terns and shielded sea turtles from launch pad lights. Most recently, it has tackled vultures with the Roadkill Roundup. This effort to remove animal...

By Deborah ZabarenkoCAPE CANAVERAL -- Alligators, manatees and vultures share Kennedy Space Center with space shuttle Discovery, so for more than 40 years NASA has had to adjust to launching rockets in the middle of a national wildlife refuge.NASA has redesigned its boats to protect manatees, painted gravel to fend off terns and shielded sea turtles from launch pad lights. Most recently, it has tackled vultures with the Roadkill Roundup.This effort to remove animal carcasses from local roads...

NASA -- On a crisp morning on the east coast of Florida, an American icon prepares for its maiden voyage. A thin layer of fog stretches lazily between the palmettos, slowly burning away in the morning sun. The tension mounts until the moment approaches. Then, with a sudden burst of movement, the great bird leaps from its launch pad, rising above the treetops and gliding away on the breeze.This scene plays out every spring at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, but it's not a sleek space...