A Port Orange island that is among the most important breeding grounds for birds on Florida's east coast is getting new protection.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to designate the island as a Critical Wildlife Area, closing it for part of the year.
Clay Henderson of Stetson University told the commissioners efforts to preserve the island go back more than a century and include Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.
"You've got a great opportunity today to add your names to this long list of people from our history who have worked and promoted the protection of this very small but important island."
The island is home to brown pelicans and threatened species like the American oystercatcher and tricolored heron. It also is near a busy bridge and the Intracoastal Waterway.
