Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Green Bay National Wildlife Refuge consists of Hog Island (2 acres), Plum Island (325 acres), and Pilot Island (3.7 acres). The islands are located in Lake Michigan, near Washington Island, off the tip of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. An Executive Order in 1913 declared Hog Island a protected breeding ground for native birds. Plum and Pilot Island were transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2007. The islands were acquired to protect native bird habitats and endangered species habitats in the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. Because the islands are part of the Wisconsin Islands Wilderness Area, public use of any of the islands is prohibited. The refuge is managed by staff at the Horicon National Wildlife Refuge, in Mayville, Wisconsin.