Pilot Island - FWS photo by Sadie O'Dell

Plum Island - FWS photo

Federally Threatened Dwarf Lake Iris on Plum Island. - FWS photo

After 19 years of efforts to acquire Plum and Pilot Islands, the transfer from the US Coast Guard to the USFWS is complete. 

As of October 17, Plum and Pilot Islands were officially added to the Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge.  Portions of Plum and Pilot Islands were developed to serve as lighthouse facilities or life laving stations during the late 19^th century. 

Many of the historic structures remain, some of which are included on the National Register of Historic Places.  The islands were acquired by USFWS to protect native bird habitat and endangered species habitat in the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. 

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge now consists of Hog Island (2 Acres), Plum Island ( 325 Acres), and Plum Island (3.7 Acres).  The islands are located off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula in Lake Michigan. A dedication and celebration is currently being planned by refuge staff. 

In 1915, the US Coast Guard absorbed the US Life Saving Service on Plum Island, and in 1939, the Lighthouse Service was merged into the US Coast Guard which took over the operation of the range lights.

The piers and boathouse were removed and personnel were shifted to the old Life Saving Station across the island. In 1964, the original wooden front range light tower was replaced with a steel skeletal tower.

Five years later, the range lights were automated. In 1975, the fog signal was discontinued and the forces of nature began the gradual process of reclaiming the station. Today the Plum Island Range Lights still help guide sailors through Deaths Door, but only memories remain of the dedicated keepers who once made sure the lights were burning brightly.

Plum Island essentially functions as a small ecosystem and retains natural qualities that are in short supply or absent on the nearby mainland. The federally-threatened dwarf lake iris (Iris lacustris) is found along  tthe shoreline of Plum Island. Plum Iisland also represents a significant resource to migratory birds. 

It is probably important as a migration stopover location for birds crossing between the mainland Door Peninsula and the islands to the north.  The island also provides valuable nesting and feeding habitat for numerous species during the breeding season. 

Plum Island is one of only a very few islands in this area that has no permanent human residents.  This lack of human presence is an increasingly rare attribute, and is significant to some bird species that require low levels of human disturbance. 

In 1962, the fog signal on Pilot Island was no longer considered essential to assist shipping and it was removed. At the same time the station was automated. Today Pilot Island is home to an estimated 3,600 Double-crested cormorant nests (Phalacrocorax auritus) occurring in 2 colonies (1.1 total acres) and about 650 Herring gull (Larus argentatus) nests. A handful of great blue (Ardea herodias) and black-crowned night herons (Nycticorax  nycticorax) also nest on Pilot.