Flower Island is one of the

San Juan Islands The San Juan Islands are an archipelago in the Pacific Northwest of the United States between the U.S. state of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The San Juan Islands are part of Washington state, and form the core of ...

San Juan County, Washington San Juan County is a county located in the Salish Sea in the far northwestern corner of the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 17,788. The county seat and only incorporated city is Friday Harbor, located on Sa ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The uninhabited, rocky island has a land area of and is almost completely devoid of vegetation. Located off the coast from

Spencer Spit State Park Spencer Spit State Park is a public recreation area ran under the Washington State Parks. It covers (a total of 7,840 feet of shoreline) on the eastern shore of Lopez Island in San Juan County, Washington. It overlooks the Strait of Juan de Fuc ...

, it is a popular nesting location for

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders. Until the 21st century, m ...

. Flower Island was occupied for two summers in the 1930s by Floyd and Ruth Schmoe and their children while Floyd Schmoe was studying at the

Friday Harbor Laboratories Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL), is a marine biology field station of the University of Washington, located in Friday Harbor, San Juan Island, Washington, United States. Friday Harbor Labs is known for its intensive summer classes offered to co ...

. Because the island was not, at the time, listed on tax rolls, the Schmoes were able to claim squatters' rights. Currently, Flower Island is part of the

San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge The San Juan Islands National Wildlife Refuge is in the San Juan Islands of the Salish Sea, north of Puget Sound, in the State of Washington. Created in 1976, it comprises 83 small, uninhabited islands, scattered throughout the San Juans, with a c ...

and is managed by the

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with oth ...

. As with almost all of the islands in the refuge, human access is prohibited and boats may not approach to within .

References

{{authority control San Juan Islands Uninhabited islands of Washington (state)