All Refuges
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Howland Island
National Wildlife Refuge | US Minor Outlying Islands
Wildlife & Habitat
About the Refuge
Resource Management
Resource Management
Resource Management
The refuge is a managed as a highly-restricted marine protected area.
Management goals include:
Conserving, restoring, managing, and protecting native terrestrial habitats that are representative of remote tropical Pacific islands, primarily for the benefit of seabirds;
Conserving, managing, and protecting native marine communities that are representative of remote tropical Pacific islands;
Contributing to the recovery, protection, and management efforts for all native species with special consideration for seabirds, migratory shorebirds, federally listed threatened and endangered species, and species of management concern;
Protecting, maintaining, enhancing, and preserving the wilderness character of Howland’s terrestrial and marine communities;
Preserving Howland’s biological, cultural, and historic resources
Monitoring coral reefs and response of corals to periodic bleaching events
Polynesian rats were eliminated from the island sometime after 1938, and feral cats were eliminated from the island by 1986. Today the most numerous breeding seabird species at Howland are the lesser frigatebird (
Fregata ariel
), masked booby (
Sula dactylatra
), and sooty tern (
Onychoprion fuscatus
).
Page Photo Credits
–
James Maragos/USFWS
Last Updated: Mar 10, 2014