National Audubon Society Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries collection

The first Audubon Sanctuary in Tampa Bay was established in 1934 to stop the shooting and harvest of nesting herons and ibis at Green Key in Hillsborough Bay. As human population growth and development in the Tampa Bay area have expanded, the wildlife conservation concerns of the Sanctuaries staff have also broadened from the more direct goal of the protection of nesting colonies themselves, to reflect an ecosystem approach. Today, the scope and area of the Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries' activities are still increasing to meet the conservation needs of the state's colonial waterbirds.