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
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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, Acting Refuge Manager
Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge
Box 50167
Honolulu, Hawai‘i,
96850
(808) 674-8237
E-mail: matt d_brown@fws.gov
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