Florida Keys Wildlife Society

The Florida Keys Wildlife Society is the official Friends organization for the four national wildlife refuges in the Keys: the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key, Crocodile Lake in the north Keys, Great White Heron in the Lower Keys backcountry, and Key West National Wildlife Refuge, which reaches out to the Marquesas. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists it as a partner organization, and it works through education, non-adversarial advocacy, volunteerism and fundraising rather than litigation.

Its most visible work is the Nature Center at 30587 Overseas Highway on Big Pine Key, which the Society operates alongside the refuges. Admission is free. Inside, the exhibits run on a Connections in Nature theme and include a video and theater area, a mangrove and shallow-water aquarium, an exhibit telling the story of the Key deer, a sounds of nature display, a traveling exhibit on the endangered Miami blue butterfly, and a kids corner stocked with books and activities. The Society also runs the Nature Store in the building, where the proceeds go back into refuge research, wildlife and education.

Beyond the building, the Society puts on free public programs through the year. Full moon kayak excursions run seasonally, there is an annual lecture series, an Outdoor Week, and the Run with Deer 5K each February, which drew more than 300 runners in 2026.

Volunteers do much of the physical work: maintaining trails and habitat, clearing trash from beaches and wildlands, staffing the Nature Store, and answering visitors’ questions about Key deer, mangroves and the protected species that live here.

The Nature Center is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.