Located on the John F. Kennedy Space Center, east of Titusville, Florida. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge (MINWR) was established on August 28, 1963. The Refuge, managed by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, provides a buffer zone for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in their quest for space exploration. Approximately one half of the Refuge's 140,000 acres consists of brackish estuaries and marshes. The remaining lands consist of coastal dunes, scrub oaks, pine forests and flatwoods, and palm and oak hammocks.