Charles LeBuff

MY LIFE PROTECTING WILDLIFE: ON AND AROUND SANIBEL, AN ISLAND IN FLORIDA contains a unique collection of narratives that trace the wildlife law enforcement work during the 32-year career of the author, Charles LeBuff. He served as a Refuge Officer on what is now known as the J. N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island in Southwest Florida. This refuge was created in 1945 by President Harry Truman as Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge.
The man who spearheaded the establishment of this jewel in the National Wildlife Refuge System was Jay Norwood Darling, a nationally recognized and syndicated editorial/conservationist cartoonist and director of the Bureau of Biological Survey, which later became the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Darling wintered for 23 years on Captiva Island. LeBuff shares stories about his interactions with duck hunters, alligator and sea turtle poachers, manatees, live shell collectors, and how he organized a long-term sea turtle conservation effort on Sanibel and Captiva islands.
From Sanibel Island he routinely patrolled seven additional national wildlife refuges by boat. These are positioned between northern Tampa Bay and south along the coast to Sanibel Island. Four of these are colonial bird rookeries, one island has high public visitation, and one is part of the National Wilderness System. Incidentally over the years he helped patrol Merritt Island and Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife refuges.