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Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge | |
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IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
Location | San Pablo Bay, Marin County, California, U.S. |
Nearest city | San Rafael, California |
Coordinates | 37°57′55″N122°28′16″W / 37.96514°N 122.47116°W Coordinates: 37°57′55″N122°28′16″W / 37.96514°N 122.47116°W [1] |
Established | 1992 |
Governing body | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Website | Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge |
The Marin Islands are two small islands, named East Marin and West Marin, in San Rafael Bay, an embayment of San Pablo Bay in Marin County, California.
The Marin Islands are located offshore from the city of San Rafael, in the northern San Francisco Bay Area. The islands comprise the Marin Islands National Wildlife Refuge, which was established in 1992. The surrounding submerged tidelands are also included in the refuge. The islands are the property of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and require special permission to visit.
The islands are named after the Coast Miwok man known as Chief Marin, after whom Marin County was later named. He is thought to have hidden out there in the 1820s after escaping from Mission San Rafael, before being recaptured and incarcerated at the Mexican San Francisco Presidio. [2]
The islands were donated to the federal government by the Crowley family of San Francisco. They had been bought by Thomas Crowley at auction in 1926 for $25,000 in the hope that they would become the western terminus of the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge. Instead, they became a family vacation spot for more than sixty years.
West Marin Island, elevation 26 meters (85 ft) above the bay waters, supports the largest heron and egret rookery in the San Francisco Bay Area. Nesting species include great egrets, snowy egrets, great blue herons, and black-crowned night herons.
East Marin Island, a former vacation retreat, now supports a variety of introduced and native plants and provides critical nesting material and rest sites for the nearby colony.
The submerged tidelands support a variety of resident and migratory water birds such as surf scoter, black oystercatcher, diving ducks, and osprey. Refuge objectives are to protect migratory species, including the heron and egret nesting colony, protect and restore suitable habitat for the colony, and protect the tidal mud flats and unique island ecosystem.
Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), and part of the Everglades Headwaters NWR complex, located just off the western coast of North Hutchinson Island in the Indian River Lagoon east of Sebastian, Florida. The refuge consists of a 3-acre (12,000 m2) island that includes an additional 2.5 acres (10,000 m2) of surrounding water and is located off the east coast of Florida of the Indian River Lagoon. Established by an executive order of President Theodore Roosevelt on March 14, 1903, Pelican Island was the first National wildlife refuge in the United States. It was created to protect egrets and other birds from extinction through plume hunting.
San Pablo Bay is a tidal estuary that forms the northern extension of San Francisco Bay in the East Bay and North Bay regions of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California.
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located in the eastern shore of Lake Champlain in the U.S. state of Vermont. The refuge is in Franklin County in the northwest corner of the state near the International Boundary with Canada. It is the only National Wildlife Refuge located entirely in Vermont, and is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
West Sister Island is an island of the U.S. state of Ohio located in the Western Basin of Lake Erie. The 82 acres (33 ha) island, jointly owned by the United States Coast Guard and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is Ohio's only designated Wilderness Area, the West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge.
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge is a 115,324-acre (466.7 km2) protected area situated on the southwest side of San Antonio Bay along the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Texas. It is located in parts of Aransas, Refugio, and Calhoun Counties. It is situated on the southwest side of the San Antonio Bay, formed by the mouth of the Guadalupe River. It also includes nearly the entirety of Matagorda Island, a 38-mile barrier island. The Aransas National Wildlife Refuge was established by Executive Order 7784 on 31 December 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as the Aransas Migratory Waterfowl Refuge as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife. Roosevelt issued a proclamation in 1940 changing the name to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge (DESFBNWR) is a United States National Wildlife Refuge located in the southern part of San Francisco Bay, California. The Refuge headquarters and visitor center is located in the Baylands district of Fremont, next to Coyote Hills Regional Park, in Alameda County. The visitor center is on Marshlands Rd, off Thornton Ave.
The Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge (LSNWR) is part of the United States National Wildlife Refuge System. It is located in southeastern Dixie and northwestern Levy counties on the western coast of Florida, approximately fifty miles southwest of the city of Gainesville.
Bowdoin National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,551-acre (6,293 ha) National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) located in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Montana. The refuge is 7 mi (11 km) northeast of Malta, Montana in the Milk River Valley and is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Richardson Bay is a shallow, ecologically rich arm of San Francisco Bay, managed under a Joint Powers Agency of four northern California cities. The 911-acre (369 ha) Richardson Bay Sanctuary was acquired in the early 1960s by the National Audubon Society. The bay was named for William A. Richardson, early 19th century sea captain and builder in San Francisco. It contains both Strawberry Spit and Aramburu Island.
The Atlantic Flyway is a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in North America. The route generally starts in Greenland, then follows the Atlantic coast of Canada, then south down the Atlantic Coast to the tropical areas of South America and the Caribbean. Every year, migratory birds travel up and down this route following food sources, heading to breeding grounds, or traveling to overwintering sites.
Hog Island is an uninhabited island located off the eastern shore of Washington Island in the town of Washington, Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The island has a land area of 2.14 acres (8,656 m2) and an elevation of 10 feet or 20 feet above Lake Michigan.
Protection Island is an island located in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just north of Discovery Bay in northeastern Jefferson County, Washington, United States. The island has a land area of 379 acres (153 ha). It is a federally protected National Wildlife Refuge; boats are not permitted within 200 yards (180 m) for the safety and health of wildlife on and near the shores. There is only one individual still living on the island not associated with the government. Marty Bluewater has lifetime use of his inholding cabin on the island's southern bluffs. The island also houses a caretaker, a volunteer hired by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to watch over the island and take care of its many inhabitants. Boat trips from nearby Port Townsend, Washington provide ecotourism visits for viewing wildlife from the adjacent waters.
The Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife refuge encompassing 965 acres (3.91 km2) located in the California coastal community of Seal Beach. Although it is located in Orange County it is included as part of the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex. It was established in 1972.
San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge is a 13,190-acre (53.4 km2) National Wildlife Refuge in California established in 1970. It extends along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay, from the mouth of the Petaluma River, to Tolay Creek, Sonoma Creek, and ending at Mare Island.
Glenn Martin National Wildlife Refuge includes the northern half of Smith Island, which lies 11 miles (18 km) west of Crisfield, Maryland, and Watts Island, which is located between the eastern shore of Virginia and Tangier Island. Both islands are situated in the lower Chesapeake Bay.
Hillside National Wildlife Refuge is one of seven refuges in the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuge is an oasis of wildlife habitat surrounded by agriculture. Bounded on the east side by the unique loess bluffs of eastern Mississippi, this 15,572-acre (63.02 km2) refuge was named to reflect its location at the base of the bluffs.
The San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area of along the San Joaquin River in the northern San Joaquin Valley, California. It is within San Joaquin County and Stanislaus County.
Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge is located on Humboldt Bay, on the California North Coast near the cities of Eureka and Arcata. The refuge exists primarily to protect and enhance wetland habitats for migratory water birds using the bay area, including tens of thousands of shorebirds, ducks, geese, swans, and the black brant. Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, along with other public and private lands around Humboldt Bay, is one of the key stopovers for the millions of migratory birds that rely on the Pacific Flyway. More than 200 bird species, including 80 kinds of water birds and four endangered species, regularly feed, rest, or nest on the refuge or other areas around the bay.
San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge Complex is a National Wildlife Refuge complex in the state of California, comprising seven separate wildlife refuges in and around San Francisco Bay. They are administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The complex is also responsible for the Common Murre Restoration Project, designed to protect seabird life on the California central cost, including the Common Murre. The project hopes to establish a colony of murres at Devil's Slide Rock near Pacifica.
The Wisconsin Islands Wilderness is a 29-acre (12 ha) wilderness area located in Door County in northeastern Wisconsin. It is one of the smallest wilderness areas in the United States. Managed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the wilderness area is composed of three islands in Lake Michigan.
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents ofthe United States Fish and Wildlife Service .