Address Sequim, WA 98382, USA Established 1982 | Area 2.668 km² | |
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Location Jefferson County, Washington, United States Nearest city Port Townsend, Washington Governing body U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Website Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge Management United States Fish and Wildlife Service Similar Pierce National Wildlife R, Toppenish National Wildlife R, Camp Wooten Retreat C, Stretch Point State Park, Steptoe Battlefield State Park | ||
Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge is located near the mouth of Discovery Bay in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Jefferson County, Washington. 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 auklets 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. 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 Complex.