Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge protects coral reef ecosystems, native wildlife and plants, and provides opportunities for scientific research on and around Navassa Island

Navassa Island

Navassa Island is a small, uninhabited island in the Caribbean Sea, claimed as an unorganized unincorporated territory of the United States, which administers it through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Haiti, which claims to have had sovereignty over Navassa since 1801, also claims the island...

 (see that article for the territorial history of Navassa). The National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge

National Wildlife Refuge is a designation for certain protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's premiere system of public lands and waters set aside to conserve America's fish, wildlife and plants...

 is located 35 miles (56 km) west of the Tiburon Peninsula of Haiti

Haiti

Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...

. The refuge encompasses 1344 acres (5.4 km²) of land and a 12 nautical mile (22.2 km) radius of marine habitat around the island.

Navassa Island features large seabird colonies including over 5,000 nesting Red-footed Booby

Red-footed Booby

The Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, is a large seabird of the booby family, Sulidae. As suggested by the name, adults always have red feet, but the colour of the plumage varies. They are powerful and agile fliers, but they are clumsy in takeoffs and landings...

 (Sula sula). Navassa is home to four endemic lizard species including two, Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis

Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis

The Navassa Island iguana was a subspecies of rhinoceros iguana of the genus Cyclura that was found on the Caribbean island of Navassa...

and Leicocephalus erimitus, thought to be extinct before rediscovery in 1998.

Navassa Island NWR is administered as part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex

Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex

Caribbean Islands National Wildlife complex is an administrative unit of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service which oversees National Wildlife Refuges in Navassa Island, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.-Puerto Rico:...

. Due to hazardous coastal conditions, and for preservation of species habitat, the refuge is closed to the public.