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Public Service Announcement

Florida Division of Cultural Affairs to Premiere Film

Feather Wars – The Story of Pelican Island 

(TALLAHASSEE, FL) His granddaughter says he was a "bird whisperer." His name was Paul Kroegel, and the language he spoke to wild birds was eventually heard in the Whitehouse, changing the way America protects its birds. His story is coming to PBS.

The Florida Division of Cultural Affairs and the Museum of Florida History are proud to present a documentary film that tells the story of a war in Florida that took millions of lives, but yet it was a war few people remember. It was called the "feather wars." During its duration, millions of birds were slaughtered. They were killed to supply the heavy demand for feathers used in the fashion industry in the early 1900s.

A tiny, five-acre island near Sebastian, FL, became "ground zero" in the feather wars, and now a PBS documentary film will tell the story of how one man began protecting the birds on Pelican Island. Paul Kroegel was a gentle person who had a way with animals. He was a boat builder and a beekeeper. To shelter pelicans, spoonbills and herons from further slaughter, Kroegel knew he had to make a stand to make a difference. In doing so, he risked his life on a daily basis. Two of his colleagues were shot and killed, but Kroegel’s heroics managed to get the attention of President Theodore Roosevelt. Within a short time, Roosevelt designated Pelican Island as the America’s first bird sanctuary, a place where hunting them became illegal.

Today more than 50 million acres are federally protected and designated as National Wildlife Refuges, but it began on a tiny island in the dark estuary waters of the Indian River Lagoon. It began when one man stood on the shores of Pelican Island with a ten-gauge shotgun in his hands and a love of birds in his heart.

The Feather Wars – the Story of Pelican Island tells the amazing story of how one person can make a positive difference. In this case, the difference saved the lives of Florida’s wading birds. And, today, when we see these birds on our beaches and shores, we will think of how their ancestors were spared by a president and a beekeeper—the keeper of Pelican Island.

There will be a special free preview screening of the film and a "Meet the Producer" Session at the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee, 7:00 p.m. Thursday, January 17. The screening will take place in the Auditorium, R.A. Gray Building, 500 S. Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida. Food and bar refreshments are available for purchase in the Museum Lobby beginning at 5:00 p.m. For more information about the Museum of Florida History's 3rd Thursday event, call Wanda Richey at 850-245-6400.