Pacific/Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge was designated in 1909 by President Theodore Roosevelt and now part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, consists of the following remote Pacific islands: Nihoa, Necker, French Frigate Shoals, Gardner Pinnacles, Maro Reef, Laysan, Lisianski, and, Pearl and Hermes Atoll. The reefs and islets of the Northwestern Hawaiian chain are home to a remarkable diversity of plant and animal life found nowhere else in the world. The Hawaiian Islands NWR, a chain of islands, reefs, and atolls extending about 1,200 nautical miles in a northwesterly direction from the main Hawaiian Islands has a total of 1,766 acres of emergent lands and 610,148 acres of submergent lands. The Hawaiian Islands NWR is home to millions of seabirds, such as sooty terns and albatrosses, and provides a rich habitat for marine life. There are also prehistoric remnants of early Polynesians found on Nihoa and Necker Islands. Except for field stations on Tern and Laysan Islands, these remote islands are not inhabited by humans and are protected by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Even scientific research is limited and closely scrutinized to minimize unnecessary disturbance.   Refuges at Risk - The Threat of Global Warming Refuges at Risk - The Threat of Global Warming - Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge For more information:  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Pacific/Remote Islands NWR Complex 300 Ala Moana Boulevard Room 5-231, Box 50167 Honolulu, Hawai`i 96850 (808) 792-9550 (808) 792-9586 fax Entry to the refuge is by Special Use Permit only.     Baker, Howland & Jarvis Islands Johnston Atoll Kingman Reef Palmyra Atoll Rose Atoll Main Hawaiian Islands NWRs Top of Page