Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge

Not to be confused with Buck Island Reef National Monument.

Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Location	Virgin Islands, United States
Nearest city	Charlotte Amalie, VI
Coordinates	18°16′33″N 64°53′14″W / 18.2757885°N 64.8870868°W / 18.2757885; -64.8870868Coordinates: 18°16′33″N 64°53′14″W / 18.2757885°N 64.8870868°W / 18.2757885; -64.8870868^[1]
Area	45 acres (0.18 km²)
Established	1969
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge is located about 2 miles (4 km) south of the island of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands of the United States. There are actually two "Buck Islands." The National Wildlife Refuge occupies the one near St. Thomas. The one just north of St. Croix is the centerpiece of Buck Island Reef National Monument. Adjacent to the refuge is Capella Island, about half the size of Buck, owned by the territorial government.

The refuge is characterized by a thorn scrub habitat with rocky coastline surrounded by spectactular reefs. A lighthouse (still maintained by the United States Coast Guard) stands over 45 acres (180,000 m²) of cactus and grassland. The island was transferred to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service due to "its value for migratory birds." The U.S. Navy transferred some lands in 1969 and the remainder was received from the Coast Guard in 1981. The surrounding waters contain reefs and a shipwreck that attract large numbers of snorkelers, divers, and boaters.

Buck Island NWR is administered as part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex.

References

↑ "Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2012-12-06.

External links

Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge homepage

Territory of United States Virgin Islands

Charlotte Amalie (capital)

Topics	Bibliography Demographics Economy Geography History Telecommunications Transportation Visitor attractions

Government	Congressional Delegates Elections Governors Politics Senators

Cities	Anna's Retreat Charlotte Amalie Charlotte Amalie West Christiansted Cruz Bay Frederiksted

Islands	Saint Croix Saint John Saint Thomas Water Island Other

Parks	Buck Island Reef NM Christiansted NHS Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve Virgin Islands Coral Reef NM Virgin Islands NP

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types

Lists by states	Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands

Lists by associated states	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau

Other areas	District of Columbia Morocco

Category Portal WikiProject

Protected areas of the United States Virgin Islands

National Parks	Virgin Islands

National Historic Parks	Salt River Bay

National Historic Sites	Christiansted

National Monuments	Buck Island Reef Virgin Islands Coral Reef

National Wildlife Refuges	Caribbean Islands Buck Island Green Cay Sandy Point

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, June 06, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.

Buck Island National Wildlife Refuge

References

See also

External links