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Masked booby sitting on an egg in a flat, vegetated area.

Baker Island

National Wildlife Refuge
The refuge is not open to the public. Entry is only allowed through a Special Use Permit.
Pass details
300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 5-231
Honolulu, HI 96850

Plan Your Visit

Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge is not open to the public and entry is only allowed through a Special Use Permit when the activity is deemed appropriate with purposes to the refuge establishment.

Other Facilities in the Complex

While Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge is not a complex, it does fall within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument that incorporates 313,941,852 acres (approximately 490,000 square miles) within its boundaries, which extend 50 nautical miles from Howland and Baker Islands, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, and 200 miles around Jarvis Island, and Johnston and Wake Atolls . 

Interactive Map
Safety Policies
For emergencies: 911

Featured Species

Wandering Tattler
Tringa incana
Red-footed Booby
Sula sula
Brown Booby
Sula leucogaster
Masked booby, a large white sea bird with a bright yellow beak and eye, standing on white stone on a beach.
Masked Booby
Sula dactylatra
Blue-gray Noddy, Blue Noddy
Procelsterna cerulea
Pacific Golden-Plover, Kōlea
Pluvialis fulva
Red-tailed Tropicbird
Phaethon rubricauda
Grey-backed Tern, Spectacled Tern, Gray-backed Tern
Onychoprion lunatus
Sooty Tern
Onychoprion fuscatus
Bristle-thighed Curlew
Numenius tahitiensis
White Tern, Angel Tern, Atoll Tern
Gygis alba
Great Frigatebird
Fregata minor
Lesser Frigatebird
Fregata ariel
A ruddy turnstone stands on a white rock, looking to the left of the photo.
Ruddy Turnstone
Arenaria interpres
Brown Noddy
Anous stolidus

Get Involved

You can support your national wildlife refuges by joining organizations such as the National Wildlife Refuge Association that actively supports and advocates for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Volunteer opportunities can also be found at volunteer.gov.

Services

Due to its remote nature, Baker Island does not receive active management on a regular basis. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with our partners at NOAA monitor the island for seabird activity and nesting, invasive species, and the overall health of the surrounding reef.

About

Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge, established in 1974, is located 1,830 nautical miles southwest of Honolulu and is part of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. The refuge includes the emergent and submerged lands and waters out to 12 nautical miles, for a total of 413,416 acres (418 terrestrial acres). The Howland and Baker Islands National Wildlife Refuge System Unit of the Monument includes the emergent and submerged lands and waters out to 50 nautical miles, for a total of 12,764,916 acres. Its mission is to restore and protect the complete ecosystem, with priority given to reestablishing the island's massive seabird nesting colonies. 

Baker Island is uninhabited, and entry is by Special Use Permit  only to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel, scientists, and researchers.

Learn More About UsPacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument
Flat vegetated area with about a hundred masked booby birds sitting on ground stick nests, with pink colored clouds in the distance.
Baker Island National Wildlife Refuge
300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 5-231
Honolulu, HI 96850
pacific_reefs@fws.gov

Marine National Monuments of the Pacific This is the public inbox for all refuges within the marine national monuments in the Pacific. pacific_reefs@fws.gov

Stefan Kropidlowski Deputy Superintendent, Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument stefan_kropidlowski@fws.gov

John Klavitter Monument Superintendent, Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument john_klavitter@fws.gov