Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is the strongest reason to look beyond Vero's beaches. Theodore Roosevelt protected the island in 1903, making it the first national wildlife refuge in the United States, created to stop the slaughter of nesting birds for the plume trade.
You do not land on the island itself, but trails and viewing areas on the mainland side look across the lagoon toward the rookery. Go for birds, mangroves, and the story: modern American wildlife conservation has one of its beginnings here.