Palau, officially the Republic of Palau and historically Belau, Palaos or Pelew, is an island country in the western Pacific. The nation has approximately 340 islands and connects the western chain of the Caroline Islands with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia. It has a total area of 466 square kilometers. The most populous island is Koror, home to the country's most populous city of the same name. The capital Ngerulmud is located on the nearby island of Babeldaob, in Melekeok State. Palau shares maritime boundaries with international waters to the north, Micronesia to the east, Indonesia to the south, and the Philippines to the north west.
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.
In the law of the United States, an insular area refers to U.S.-associated jurisdictions not part of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. This includes fourteen U.S. territories administered under U.S. sovereignty, as well as three sovereign nations each with a Compact of Free Association with the United States. The term also may be used to refer to the previous status of the Philippine Islands and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands when it existed.
Babeldaob is the largest island in the island nation of the Republic of Palau. It is in the western Caroline Islands, and the second largest island in the Micronesia region of Oceania. Palau's capital, Ngerulmud, is located on Babeldaob, in Melekeok State.
Ell Pond is a kettle hole in Hopkinton, Washington County, Rhode Island. It is surrounded by a swamp of red maple and Atlantic white cypress, and by steep granitic monadnocks. The small area contains communities of both hydrophytic and xeric plants, which makes it ideal for ecological research and education. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in May 1974. In 1972, the Nature Conservancy purchased 50 acres (20 ha) including the pond to extend 218 acres (88 ha) of protected land owned by the Audubon Society of Rhode Island and the 1,002 acres (405 ha) of Rockville Wildlife Management Area owned by the state. The preserve is jointly managed by all three entities. There are hiking trails in the preserve, but Ell pond is specifically not reachable due to its fragile environment.
The Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve encompasses a large part of the island of Great Nicobar, the largest of the Nicobar Islands in the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Nicobars lie in the Bay of Bengal, eastern Indian Ocean, 190 km to the north of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. The Reserve has a total core area of approximately 885 km2, surrounded by a 12 km-wide "forest buffer zone". In year 2013 it was included in the list of Man and Biosphere program of UNESCO to promote sustainable development based on local community effort and sound science.
The protected areas of Michigan come in an array of different types and levels of protection. Michigan has five units of the National Park Service system. There are 14 federal wilderness areas; the majority of these are also tribal-designated wildernesses. It has one of the largest state forest systems as well having four national forests. The state maintains a large state park system and there are also regional parks, and county, township and city parks. Still other parks on land and in the Great Lakes are maintained by other governmental bodies. Private protected areas also exist in the state, mainly lands owned by land conservancies.
Kayangel (Ngcheangel) is the northernmost state of Palau 24 km (15 mi) north of Koror. The land area is about 1.4 km2 (0.54 sq mi). The population is 54.
Bair Island is a marsh area in Redwood City, California, covering 3,000 acres (1,200 ha), and includes three islands: Inner, Middle and Outer islands. Bair Island is part of the larger Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It is surrounded by the Steinberger slough to the northwest and Redwood Creek to the southeast.
The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness areas are managed by four federal land management agencies: the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
Detroit Island is an island in Lake Michigan in the southern part of the town of Washington in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The island has a land area of 2.578 km², out of which 27.6% is open to the public. The northern end of the island borders the waters of Detroit Harbor.
The Sauvie Island Wildlife Area is a state game management area on Sauvie Island in the U.S. state of Oregon. It contains more than 12,000 acres (4,856 ha) for mixed use including hunting, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, birdwatching and hiking. Established in 1974, it is located in both Multnomah and Columbia counties.
Gravel Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge located off the Door Peninsula in Wisconsin. Founded in 1913, the refuge consists of two Lake Michigan islands that act as nesting grounds for native bird species. The refuge is part of the Wisconsin Islands Wilderness Area, and as such it is off-limits to the public to preserve the habitat of the islands. It is inhabited by large colonies of shore birds and waterfowl in addition to hosting a pair of great black-backed gulls, one of farthest westward breeding sites of the species.
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 to conserve, protect and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish and wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout the 7,200,000-acre (29,000 km2) Connecticut River watershed. The watershed covers large areas of Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut. It contains a great diversity of habitats, notably: northern forest valuable as nesting habitat for migrant thrushes, warblers and other birds; rivers and streams used by shad, salmon, herring, the endangered shortnose sturgeon and other migratory fishes; and an internationally significant complex of high-quality tidal fresh, brackish and salt marshes.
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.
Strawberry Island is an uninhabited island in the Niagara River located in Erie County, New York, southeast of Grand Island. The five-acre (2 ha) island is owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation and is managed as a fish and wildlife preserve.
J. C. "Sonny" Gilbert Wildlife Management Area is a 7,524-acre (3,045 ha) wildlife management area in Catahoula, Parish, Louisiana, owned by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. It is located 6 miles (9.7 km) miles west of Sicily Island. The area contains the 17 ft (5.2 m) high Rock Falls, one of the tallest waterfalls in the state.
Blue Corner is a section of Palau's barrier reef in the south-east of Koror, close to Ngerukewid and German Channel. Its triangular shape, with step walls on the Pacific Ocean sides, resembles a submerged peninsula. In the north part of the Blue Corner, there is a large underwater cavern called Blue Holes. Due to a high variety of corals and wildlife in the area, the Blue Corner is a popular recreational dive site. It is various called "the most requested dive in Palau" and "one of the most action-packed scuba dive sites in the world."
Hooks Island is an uninhabited, approximately 36-acre (15 ha) tidal salt marsh island in San Francisco Bay, in Palo Alto, California, United States. In the 2010s, it was observed to be a home for tens of near-endangered California clapper rails.
