Fifteen miles southwest of Fort Myers, Fl is a sub-tropical barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico named Sanibel Island. A good portion of this small, and very wealthy I might add, island has been preserved as a National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling was instrumental in blocking the sale of this portion of Sanibel Island to developers and in 1945 the Sanibel Island NWR was signed into law by President Harry Truman. In 1967 the refuge was renamed J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge to honor the hard work of the person who made this refuge possible.
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