Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge
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| Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge | |
|---|---|
| IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) | |
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| Location: | Navassa Island, USA |
| Nearest city: | Jérémie, Haiti |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 383,000 acres (1550 km²) 1344 acres (5.4 km²) land |
| Established: | December 3, 1999 |
| Total Visitation: | 0 (in 2005) |
| Governing body: | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge protects coral reef ecosystems, native wildlife and plants, and provides opportunities for scientific research on and around Navassa Island (see that article for the territorial history of Navassa). The National Wildlife Refuge is located 35 miles (56 km) west of the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti. The refuge encompasses 1344 land acres (5.4 km²) and a 12 nautical mile (22.2 km) radius of marine habitat around the island.
Navassa Island features large seabird colonies including over 5,000 nesting Red-footed Booby (Sula sula). Navassa is home to four endemic lizard species including two, Cyclura nigerrima and Leicocephlus erimitus, thought to be extinct before rediscovery in 1998.[1] The refuge also features a 162-foot (49.4 m) lighthouse built by the United States Coast Guard in 1917, now inactive.
Navassa Island NWR is administered as part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex. Due to hazardous coastal conditions, and for preservation of species habitat, the refuge is closed to the public.
[edit] References
- ^ Michael Norton. U.S.,Haiti Claim Island Ownership. Retrieved on August 18, 2006.
