Welcome to Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
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Midway, part of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, is one of the world's most spectacular wildlife experiences. Nearly two million birds call it home for much of each year, including the world's largest population of Laysan Albatrosses, or "gooney birds". Hawaiian monk seals, green sea turtles and spinner dolphins frequent Midway's crystal blue lagoon.
Midway became an "overlay" refuge in 1988, while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy. With the closure of Naval Air Facility Midway Island in 1993, there began a transition from bullets to birds, a change in mission from national defense to wildlife conservation. |
Laysan Aalbatross Pair
Photo credit: Suzanne Canja |
Midway is one of the most remote coral atolls on earth. Yet, it is much, much more!
- the last link in a global telegraph system, inaugurated by a message from President Teddy Roosevelt on the Fourth of July, 1903
- a landing site for Pan Am Clippers enroute across the Pacific Ocean in the late 1930s
- the focus of a 1942 battle that changed the tide of war in the Pacific
- from July 1942 to the end of hostilities, Midway served as a submarine base that aided in bringing the war to a close
- naval air facility that played a pivotal role in support of the Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War
For more information:
Matt Brown, Refuge Manager
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Box 50167
Honolulu, Hawai‘i, 96850
(808) 674-8237
E-mail: matt d_brown@fws.gov
