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Quillayute Needles
National Wildlife Refuge
Along 100 miles of Washington's Pacific coast
from Flattery Rocks south to Copalis Beach in
Jefferson County, WA   
E-mail: Kevin_Ryan@fws.gov
Phone Number: 360-457-8451
Visit the Refuge's Web Site:
http://www.fws.gov/refuges/field/wa_Quillayute.htm
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  Overview
Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge
Quillayute Needles Refuge consists of a portion of 870 islands, rocks, and reefs extending for more than 100 miles along Washington's coast from Cape Flattery to Copalis Beach. These islands are protected from human disturbance, yet are close to abundant ocean food sources.

They are a vital sanctuary where 14 species of seabirds nest and raise their young. During migration the total populations of seabirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds may exceed a million birds. Sea lions, harbor seals, sea otters, and whales may also be seen around the islands. Most of the coastal islands are designated as wilderness.


Getting There . . .
The refuge is located over 100 miles of Washington's coast from Flattery Rocks south to Copalis Beach. These islands are closed to the public in order to protect seabird nesting sites. Islands can be viewed from coastal highway or ocean beaches.

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Wildlife and Habitat
The Washington Islands refuges are well-known for their large populations of landbirds and seabirds. The islands and rocks in this area provide habitat for over 70% of Washington's nesting seabirds and are among the largest colonies in the continental United States. Species that make up the 200,000 breeding seabird population include fork-tailed storm-petrels, Leach's storm-petrels, double-breasted cormorants, Brandt's cormorants, pelagic cormorants, black oystercatchers, glaucous-winged gulls, western gulls, common murres, pigeon guillemots, ancient murrelets, Cassin's auklets, rhinocerous auklets, and tufted puffins. The refuges hold more than half of the west coast's breeding population of fork-tailed storm petrels in the contiguous United States.

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    Alert!
The refuge is closed to the public.




Recreation and Education Opportunities
Interpretation
Photography
Wildlife Observation
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Managment Activities

The three refuges on the Washington Coast are managed to preserve and protect habitat for seabirds and other wildlife. Collectively the refuges total over 430 acres. Surveys and monitoring are a significant part of the biological program.

The refuges are within the boundary of Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary and Olympia National Park. The three agencies cooperate on research programs and other issues that may have impacts on the resources.

The Copalis, Flattery Rocks, and Quillayute Needles refuges, part of which are designated as the Washington Islands Wilderness, are closed to visitation to protect wildlife and other natural, cultural, and/or other resources consistent with the conservation purpose(s) of the refuges.

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