#1 - Fire Tower

When the refuge was established in 1931, on lands purchased principally from large timber companies, one of the main management tasks was to protect the land from wildfires. To meet this objective, fire towers were erected and manned at Surf Station at the Panacea Unit and Port Leon and Mounds Station at the St. Marks Unit.


This tower was manned regularly from the mid-1930's until the early 1950's. Today the refuge maintains a fire crew to prescribe burn and perform wildfire suppression.