West Sister Island is an island of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

located in the

Western Basin of Lake Erie The Western Basin of Lake Erie is the shallow flat basin that comprises the western third of the lake that borders the U.S. states of Michigan and Ohio and the Canadian province of Ontario. The shallowest section of Lake Erie is the western basin w ...

. The island, jointly owned by the

United States 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, m ...

and 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 ...

, is Ohio's only designated

Wilderness Area Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...

, the West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge. Most of the island is covered with trees. Tall hackberry trees make up most of the canopy, with poison ivy on the ground.

Polygonatum ''Polygonatum'' , also known as King Solomon's-seal or Solomon's seal, is a genus of flowering plants. In the APG III classification system, it is placed in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Nolinoideae (formerly the family Ruscaceae). It ha ...

and a great variety of

fern A fern (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta ) is a member of a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. The polypodiophytes include all living pteridophytes exce ...

s, wildflowers,

mushrooms A mushroom or toadstool is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground, on soil, or on its food source. ''Toadstool'' generally denotes one poisonous to humans. The standard for the name "mushroom" is ...

, and other plant life can also be found. The island is part of the Pelee Archipelago which also includes East Sister Island and

Middle Sister Island Middle Sister Island is a island in Lake Erie. Along with West Sister Island (in Ohio, USA) and East Sister Island, it is part of the Pelee Archipelago in the western basin of Lake Erie, and is considered to be the "most natural and undisturbe ...

(both in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

). West Sister Island is roughly 13 miles west of Rattlesnake Island, 14.5 miles east of Turtle Island, and 8.75 miles due north of the Ohio mainland.

Lighthouse

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses m ...

was established on the westernmost point of West Sister Island in 1848 to mark the west end of the South Passage through Lake Erie's

Bass Islands The Bass Islands are three American islands in the western half of Lake Erie. They are north of Sandusky, Ohio, and south of Pelee Island, Ontario. South Bass Island () is the largest of the islands, followed closely by North Bass Island () ...

. Standing on a stone foundation, the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms w ...

and brick tower rises to a height of . The West Sister Island Lighthouse is still an active

aid to navigation In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...

, and is one of the oldest lighthouses to survive on the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...

History

Ironically, after being established as a wildlife refuge in 1937, the island was used by the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

for

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during si ...

practice during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Although the wildlife population and the lighthouse were not significantly damaged, the keeper's house was destroyed. It is also reported that fuel tanks jettisoned by dive bombers can still be found on the island. West Sister Island was a popular stop for

bootleggers Bootleg or bootlegging most often refers to: * Bootleg recording, an audio or video recording released unofficially * Rum-running, the illegal business of transporting and trading in alcoholic beverages, hence: ** Moonshine, or illicitly made an ...

during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholi ...

. The island provided a certain level of visual cover from the authorities for

rum runners Rum-running or bootlegging is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. Smuggling usually takes place to circumvent taxation or prohibition laws within a particular jurisdiction. The ...

crossing the lake. When approached by these authorities, bootleggers would often dump their illegal stash overboard. Legend has it that bottles of prohibition-era alcohol can still be found on the bottom of the lake around the island. West Sister Island was once rumored to be the final resting place of missing

Teamsters The International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT), also known as the Teamsters Union, is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of The Team Drivers International Union and The Teamsters National Union, the ...

boss

Jimmy Hoffa James Riddle Hoffa (born February 14, 1913 – disappeared July 30, 1975; declared dead July 30, 1982) was an American labor union leader who served as the president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) from 1957 until 1971. ...

. It was speculated that after his abduction in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, he was brought by boat to the island and buried. The island's jungle-like environment would have made discovery of his remains difficult; however these conditions would also have made the deposit of his remains difficult, therefore the island is not one of the more widely considered possibilities in the case.

Wildlife Refuge

The West Sister Island National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1937 by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

"as a refuge and breeding ground for migratory birds and other wildlife...," specifically designated to protect the largest wading bird

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materi ...

ing colony on the U.S.

. The refuge is managed by the staff of the

Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge of the United States, which is located in the state of Ohio. This refuge was established in 1961, under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, the purpose of the refuge being created wa ...

as a wilderness area, as provided under the Federal Wilderness Act. To protect it, public access is permitted for research only. The refuge, which has a surface area of , was recognized in 2000 as part of a globally

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Inte ...

. West Sister Island provides nesting habitat for 40% of all the nesting herons and egrets in the U.S. Great Lakes.

In popular culture

The wildlife refuge was featured in a 2007 episode of the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Chan ...

TV series ''

Dirty Jobs ''Dirty Jobs'' is an American television series that originally aired on the Discovery Channel in which host Mike Rowe is shown performing difficult, strange, disgusting, or messy occupational duties alongside the job's current employees. The sh ...

'' with

Mike Rowe Michael Gregory Rowe (born March 18, 1962) is an American television host and narrator. He is known for his work on the Discovery Channel series '' Dirty Jobs'' and the series '' Somebody's Gotta Do It'' originally developed for CNN. He hosted ...

. Due to the large number of birds vomiting and defecating from high in the trees the island is referred to as "Vomit Island" in the program."Dirty jobs"

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. In the animated television series ''

Transformers Animated ''Transformers: Animated'' is an American Superhero fiction, superhero animated television series based on the Transformers (toy line), ''Transformers'' toy line. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios and Hasbro, Hasbro Entertainment and an ...

'', the Dinobots reside in refuge on an island called "North Sister Island", located in Lake Erie, a fictional reference to West Sister Island.

References

Notes

External links

* * West Sister Island Light.
Refuge website
at boatnerd.com. {{authority control Protected areas of Lucas County, Ohio National Wildlife Refuges in Ohio Protected areas established in 1937 Islands of Lake Erie in Ohio Landforms of Lucas County, Ohio 1937 establishments in Ohio