Hazy Islands Wilderness, at 32 acres (16 ha), is Alaska's smallest wilderness area. It was officially designated as Wilderness in 1970 by the United States Congress. The islands are located west of Coronation Island in the Alaska Panhandle area. Hazy Islands Wilderness comprises five small islands and is home to 10 species of birds, including Brandt's cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). It has no anchorages or campsites, and human visitation is discouraged to protect the birds.
Name
The name for the islands in the Tlingit language is Deikee Noow, which can be translated as Outer (Deikee) Fort (Noow), although the word "noow" is also the name for a treeless rock formation. It figures into the "Raven Cycle' story of when Yéil (Raven) stole freshwater from Gánóok (Petrel).
Description
Hazy Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1912, which became designated as Wilderness in 1970, and incorporated into the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Gulf of Alaska Unit, in 1980.[2]
Big Hazy Island and the four smaller islands provide predator-free nesting areas[3] for large populations of:
- common murres
- pigeon guillemots
- glaucous-winged gulls
- horned puffins
- tufted puffins
- Brandt's cormorants[4]
References
- ^ Protected Area Profile for Hazy Islands Wilderness from the World Database on Protected Areas. Retrieved May 2 2023.
- ^ US Fish & Wildlife Service - Alaska Image Library
- ^ "GORP - Hazy Islands Wilderness Area". Archived from the original on 2010-05-14. Retrieved 2010-05-13.
- ^ "Hazy Islands Wilderness". Wilderness Connect. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
See also