Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge

Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)
Hillside of rhinoceros auklet burrows, Protection Island
Location	Jefferson County, Washington, United States
Nearest city	Port Townsend, Washington
Coordinates	48°07′40″N 122°55′35″W
Area	659.31 acres (266.81 ha)
Established	1982 (1982)
Governing body	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website	Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge

Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge is located near the mouth of Discovery Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Jefferson County, Washington. Approximately 70 percent of the nesting seabird population of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca nest on the island, which includes one of the largest nesting colonies of rhinoceros auklets in the world and the largest nesting colony of glaucous-winged gulls in Washington. The island contains one of the last two nesting colonies of tufted puffins in the Puget Sound area. About 1,000 harbor seals depend upon the island for a pupping and rest area.

The refuge is closed to visitation to protect the fragile habitat. Visitors may view the island by boat; a 200-yard off-shore buffer is enforced to ensure adult birds are not flushed from their nests.

The waters surrounding the North Olympic Peninsula support five additional refuges: Flattery Rocks, Quillayute Needles, Copalis, Dungeness, and San Juan Islands. Protection Island is managed as part of the Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex.

Gallery

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  The refuge is home to 17,000 pairs of nesting rhinoceros auklets
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  Gull nest on the refuge
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  A tufted puffin swims in the refuge

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

External links

• Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service