Franklin Island National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on Franklin Island outside

Muscongus Bay Muscongus Bay is a bay on the coast of Maine, United States, between Penobscot Bay and John's Bay. Muscongus was the name of an Abenaki village meaning "fishing place" or "many r largerock ledges." John Smith recorded the river in 1616 as Nusc ...

in the state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

. It is one of the five refuges that together make up the

Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge contains more than 50 offshore islands and four coastal parcels, totaling more than 8,100 acres. The complex spans more than 250 miles of Maine coastline and includes five national wildlife refuges — ...

, along with Petit Manan, Cross Island, Seal Island, and Pond Island. Franklin Island NWR has a surface area of .USFWS Lands Report, 30 September 2007
/ref> It is one of the smallest refuges in the United States National Wildlife Refuge system. It is part of the Town of

Friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

. The U.S. Government acquired Franklin Island in 1806 and completed construction of the Franklin Island Light in 1808. This was the third lighthouse built in Maine. The U.S. Lighthouse Service and its successor, the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

, continued to staff the lighthouse for 160 years before the station was automated in 1967. 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 othe ...

acquired Franklin Island in 1973, making this the first island acquired for the Petit Manan National Wildlife Refuge Complex. Franklin Island once supported one of the largest

common eider The common eider (pronounced ) (''Somateria mollissima''), also called St. Cuthbert's duck or Cuddy's duck, is a large ( in body length) sea-duck that is distributed over the northern coasts of Europe, North America and eastern Siberia. It breed ...

colonies in Maine. The eider colony was decimated by avian cholera in the mid-1980s. The population has slowly recovered, and a 2003 survey documented over 330 pairs of eiders and over 100 pairs of great black-backed and herring gulls. Franklin Island is closed to public use during the seabird nesting season: April–August. It is open during daylight hours the rest of the year.

References

Profile of Maine Coastal Islands National Wildlife Refuge
* Protected areas of Knox County, Maine National Wildlife Refuges in Maine Islands of Knox County, Maine Islands of Maine {{Maine-protected-area-stub