Protection Island is an island located in the Strait of Juan de Fuca just north of Discovery Bay in northeastern

Jefferson County, Washington Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,977. The county seat and only incorporated city is Port Townsend. The county is named for Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson County wa ...

, United States. The island has a land area of . It is a federally protected National Wildlife Refuge; boats are not permitted within for the safety and health of wildlife on and near the shores. There is only one individual still living on the island not associated with the government. Marty Bluewater has lifetime use of his inholding cabin on the island's southern bluffs. The island also houses a caretaker, a volunteer hired by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, to watch over the island and take care of its many inhabitants. Boat trips from nearby Port Townsend, Washington provide ecotourism visits for viewing wildlife from the adjacent waters. Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to find the island. In 1790 it was given the name ''Isla de Carrasco'', in honor of Juan Carrasco. It was given its present name by

George Vancouver Captain George Vancouver (22 June 1757 – 10 May 1798) was a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791–1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America's northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coasts of what a ...

in 1792. Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge was designated in 1982 to protect the entire island and its coast. Approximately 70 percent of the nesting seabird population of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca nest on the island, which includes one of the largest nesting colonies of

rhinoceros auklet The rhinoceros auklet (''Cerorhinca monocerata'') is a seabird and a close relative of the puffins. It is the only extant species of the genus ''Cerorhinca''. Given its close relationship with the puffins, the common name rhinoceros puffin has b ...

s in the world and the largest nesting colony of glaucous-winged gulls in Washington. The island contains one of the last two nesting colonies of tufted puffins in the Puget Sound area. It is on the flyway for many migrating birds. Seals (harbor and elephant), sea lions, orcas, and other cetaceans are often seen nearby. About 1,000 harbor seals depend upon the island for a pupping and rest area. The refuge is closed to visitation to protect the fragile habitat. Visitors may view the island by boat; a 200-yard off-shore buffer is enforced to ensure adult birds are not flushed from their nests. The waters surrounding the North Olympic Peninsula support five additional refuges: Flattery Rocks, Quillayute Needles, Copalis, Dungeness, and San Juan Islands. Protection Island is managed as part of the

Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex Washington Maritime National Wildlife Refuge Complex is an administrative grouping of six National Wildlife Refuges in Washington, managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. It includes: * Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge (, ) ...

Gallery

File:Protection Island (WA).jpg, Satellite image File:Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge.jpg, Birds nesting on Protection Island File:Rhinoceros auklet - Protection Island NWR.jpg, The refuge is home to 17,000 pairs of nesting

s Gull (Larus) nest with eggs, Protection Island NWR, Jefferson County, Washington, USA.jpg, Gull nest on the refuge File:Fratercula cirrhata, Protection Island NWR, Washington, USA.jpg, A tufted puffin swims in the refuge

References

External links

Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service {{authority control National Wildlife Refuges in Washington (state) Protected areas of Jefferson County, Washington Islands of Washington (state) Landforms of Jefferson County, Washington Uninhabited islands of Washington (state) Strait of Juan de Fuca