Ellis Island public and the museum partially re-opened on October 28, 2013, after major renovations. Originally much of the west shore of Upper New York Bay consisted of large tidal flats which hosted vast oyster banks, a major source of food for the Lenape population who lived in the area prior to the arrival of Dutch settlers. There were several islands which were not completely submerged at high tide. Three of them (later to be known as Liberty Island, Black Tom Island and Ellis Island) were given the name Oyster Islands by the settlers of New Netherland, the first European colony in
Wassaw Island wind, and rain have eroded away the dunes, and the fort made of oyster tabby, poured concrete, and North Georgia granite continues to deteriorate from its already dilapidated condition. In 1969, the Parsons family, in an effort to keep the island from being developed, conveyed the island to the Nature Conservancy of Georgia. Today, the island is a national wildlife refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The Caretta Research Project, which focuses on learning more about the endangered loggerhead sea turtles, is conducted on the island by volunteers. The wildlife refuge, established in 1969, is located at