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Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. B. West Of REFERENCE SHEET - HAWAIIAN ISLANDS NWR 1. NAME: Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. 2. LOCATION: a. City and County of Honolulu b. West of Hawaiian Islands - Known as "Leewards" or "Northwestern Islands", extending some 800 miles. Currently 8 units. 3. CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATION; a. Senate: Hiram L. Fong (R) Daniel K. Inouye (D) b. House: Spark M. Matsunaga (D) (1st) 4. SIZE: a. 304,203 acres (Pearl & Hermes Reef: Lypsianski; Laysan OUKAJOtot) A/DO t>t)Q?£' Is''anc's» Maro Reef; Gardiner Island; OiS£t)SS/«*> French Frigate Schoals; Necker and Bird (Nihoa) ill * * ^ffflfUrHi islands; and submerged lands on shallow reefs and shoals.) (1,768) acres of land above mean hightide. (302,435) acres of submerged lands. 304,203 (See brochure for detailed description of each island.) b. Wilderness Proposal: 303,936 acres (Tern Island and adjacent submerged lands developed. Deleted from proposal, 267 acres) Laysan Island - 7,104 Lysianski Island - 47,383 Nikoa Island - 800 Pearl & Hermes - 95,581 Reef French Frigate - 107,505 Shoals Necker Island - 580 Gardner Island - 90 Maro Reef - 44.893 303,936 5. DATE ESTABLISHED: February 3, 1909. 6. HOW ESTABLISHED: Executive Order 1019. Executive Order 7299 in 1952, deleted Kure Island. 7. GENERAL REFUGE OBJECTIVES: a. Assure survival of threatened native species. b. Maintain all elements of flora and fauna in natural state. c. Allow natural processes to proceed without loss of native flora and fauna. d. Preserve historic and archeological sites. 8. WILDLIFE: a. Remarkable seabird colonies. Hundreds of thousands of albatross (Laysan & Hermes), terns, petrels, shearwaters; 18 species nest on refuge. b. Entire world population of Nihoa Finches and Nihoa Millerbirds live on Nihoa. Laysan Millerbirds, flightless rails and red honey creepers are all extinct since 1923. 1,000 monk seals on refuge - all there is! 3 c. Green sea turtles on French Frigate shoals. d. Boobies, Frigate Birds, Fairy Terns and many other tropical birds found on refuge at same time of year. 9. PUBLIC USE: Recreational opportunity very limited. Access is generally very difficult. Visitors are limited to scientific investigators. 10. ECONOMIC USE: No economic use since guano deposits exhausted and plume hunting stopped in 1910. Intermittent commercial fishing has been unsuccessful. 11. MINING & MINERAL LEASING: No known deposits of commercial value on Islands. 12. WILDERNESS PROPOSED AT PUBLIC HEARING: a. Number Units: 8 (Excludes Tern Island) b. Size: 303,936 acres c. Location: All of refuge except Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals. d- Uses: No change from present limited visitation. 13. PUBLIC HEARING: a. Date: April 14, 1973. b. PI ace: Honolulu, Hawaii 14. PUBLIC RESPONSE: a. Number of Statements: 444 (8 took no position) b. Pro: 402 for Bureau Proposal 24 for enlarged proposal c. Con: 4 opposed 6 opposed in part d. Reasons for Enlargement: 1. Extend refuge boundary for 3 miles to establish a definite boundary. 2. Add Kure to refuge and wilderness to perserve wildlife values. e. Reasons Opposed: 1. Submerged lands should not be included because of doubt about refuge boundary. 2. Inclusion of submerged lands would preclude use of the fisheries resource. 3. Wilderness Act did not apply. 4. Refuge status provided sufficient protection. 5. No vunerable scenery has been completed. 15. CHANGES AFTER HEARING: 1,742 acres are proposed-wtlrAl 1 lands when ownership is disputed being deleted. DRAFT TESTIMONY Hawaiian Islands Wilderness Proposal Beginning some 150 miles west of Niihay, the last inhabited Island of the Hawaiian group, is Nihoa Island, the easternmost refuge island. Eight Islands and Island groups, with associated reefs and shoals, stretch some 800 miles next to Pearl and Hermes Reef. This is the Hawaiian Island National Wildlife Refuge established in 1909 to protect endangered native species of birds, plants, and animals. Although the Laysan millerbird, flightless rails and red honey creepers became extinct by 1923, the entire world population of Laysan teal, Nihoa finces and Nihoa millerbirds and monk seals still live on the Islands. Hundreds of thousands of albatross, terns petrels, shearwaters, boobies, frigate birds, fairy terns and others, live on the different times. Eighteen species nest on the Islands. As many as 50,000 albatross have been reported nesting on 3 1/2 acres on Pearl and Hermes Reef. Refuge status in 1909 followed a long period of careless destruction and conmercial exploitation of the bird populations of the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The shallow waters on the reefs and shoals are a productive source of food for the Island's wildlife, but beyond this is their great potential as undisturbed natural marine life laboratories. The emerged lands (actually a chain of huge underwater volcanic peaks) exemplify the role that isolation plays in evolution of biological systems. 2 Of the refuge acreage (those lands above low,low tide) all but 267 are recommended for wilderness. Tern Island is a highly developed airfield with a dredged access channel and a seaplane runway, as a result of World War II. It is excluded from the proposal. There are no developments on the remainder of the refuge and none are planned. Dud bombs and spent machine gun bullets can be found on Necker Island and bomb craters can be seen there in several very achient Polynesian Temples on the Island. Fortunately, the refuge islands are not readily accessible and most are extremely difficult to get on. Visitation is light and limited by permit to scientific investigators. This will not change under wilderness designation. Aside from the physical danger to nesting birds and eggs, the danger of introducing exotic plants and insects in this climate is very real. Houseflies (introduced by guano diggers), are a great pest on Laysan. The introduced rabbits and guinea pigs which denuded the Island and led to the extinction of the three bird species have been eliminated. No minerals of interest are known on the refuge. The entire refuge, except Tern Island and its adjacent ship channel, is suitable for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System; however, there is an ambiguity in the Executive order which established the refuge. Essentially the ambiguity centers on the question as to whether or not certain reefs were included in the order and serve as a boundary for the refuge. All of the area encompassed by the reefs are 3 determined to be owned by the United States. At present this issue is being discussed among the Departments of the Interior, State and Justice, and the State of Hawaii. Therefore, the 1,742 acres are recommended for wilderness and if it is ultimately determined that additional lands belong to the United States they also will be recommended for wilderness status..
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