U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Navassa National Wildlife Refuge Photos (top to bottom): Refuge Objectives Navassa National Wildlife Refuge. ■ To preserve and protect coral reef ecosystems and the marine Navassa Lighthouse. environment. Red-footed Booby. ■ To restore and enhance native Endemic Navassa Anole. wildlife and plants. Refuge Facts ■ To provide opportunities for Discovered by Columbus in 1498 scientific research. and then rediscovered in the 1856 Management Tools photo: USFWS photo: Guano Rush. The guano deposits were ■ Wildlife monitoring. worked until the company failed in 1898. Navassa became an increased ■ Scientific research. hazard to shipping with the building of the Panama Canal. Consequently, ■ Coral reef monitoring. the U.S. Coast Guard built a 162 foot ■ Vegetation monitoring. lighthouse in 1917. In December 1999, jurisdiction was transferred to Questions and Answers the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Is the refuge open to public? (Service) to be managed as a National No. The refuge is closed to the public. Wildlife Refuge (NWR) for the Access is extremely hazardous. There purpose of protecting the unique are no beaches on Navassa. The island ecosystem of Navassa Island, the rises abruptly from the sea with cliffs photo: C. Lombard photo: adjacent coral reefs and marine reaching heights of 20 meters or waters. more. ■ Acres: The Island covers 1,344. What type of research has been The refuge includes a 12 nautical conducted at Navassa? mile radius of marine habitat. Since the refuge’s establishment, investigations and inventories have ■ Location: Navassa Island is located been conducted by personnel from 35 miles west of the Tiburon the Service, NOAA, Smithsonian, Peninsula of Haiti. American Museum of Natural ■ Administration of Navassa NWR History, U.S. Geological Survey, is accomplished by the Caribbean John G. Shedd Aquarium and Islands NWR Complex. The universities. These have been focused photo: C. Lombard photo: headquarters of the complex is on documenting the status of the coral located in Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. reef resources and the inventory of terrestrial resources, including birds, Natural History reptiles and plants. The coral reefs ■ Over one million tons of bird guano of the island offer an opportunity was removed from the island to study a system that has been between 1865-1901. subjected to only minimal human impact. ■ Large seabird colonies present including the Magnificent For what purpose was the refuge Frigatebirds and over 5,000 nesting established? Red-footed Boobies. The refuge was established photo: C. Lombard photo: to preserve and protect the Susan Silander, Project Leader ■ Home to four endemic lizard biodiversity, health, heritage, and Caribbean Islands NWR Complex species. social and economic value of coral Navassa National Wildlife Refuge reef ecosystems and the marine P.O. Box 510 environment. Boquerón, PR 00622 Phone: 787/851 7258 Fax: 787/255 6725 E-mail: [email protected].