Culebra National Wildlife Refuge

National wildlife refuge in the Puerto Rico archipelago

Culebra National Wildlife Refuge

IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area)

Location in Puerto Rico

Location| Puerto Rico, Caribbean
Nearest city| Culebra, Puerto Rico
Coordinates| 18°20′18″N 65°15′29″W﻿ / ﻿18.3382888°N 65.2579344°W﻿ / 18.3382888; -65.2579344[1]
Area| 5.86 km2 (1,450 acres)
Established| 1909
Governing body| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Website| Culebra National Wildlife Refuge

The Culebra National Wildlife Refuge (Spanish: Refugio nacional de vida silvestre de Culebra) is a National Wildlife Refuge in Puerto Rico. It is part of the Caribbean Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex, which is a unit of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is the site of the former Camp Roosevelt.[2]

The wildlife refuge covers an area of 1,450 acres (5.86 square kilometers) or one quarter of the island municipality of Culebra, protecting all of its outlying islands and keys (with the exception of the privately owned Key Norte), and the wetlands and mangroves found in Ensenada Honda and southeast Culebra. The national refuge also includes the forested areas around Monte Resaca, the highest point in Culebra.[3]

## History

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Portions of the island of Culebra were first designated a wildlife reserve in 1909 in accordance with an order proclaimed by then President Theodore Roosevelt. At the time, Culebra was administered by the United States Navy, and several areas were used for gunnery and bombing practice by the Navy and the Marine Corps until 1976. Portions of the Navy-administered lands were returned to the Puerto Rican government in 1977 while jurisdiction over the rest of the zone was passed to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. On-site administration of the refuge was established in 1983.[4]

## Background

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More than 50,000 seabirds of 13 species breed and nurture their young at the refuge annually, with the largest sooty tern nesting in the Culebra archipelago being found on Peninsula Flamenco.

Many other bird species permanently call Culebra home while three species of sea turtles, including leatherback and hawksbill, use the waters surrounding Culebra and nest on refuge beaches.

Coral reef ecosystem of Puerto Rico

## Gallery

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*   *   *   *   *   *   * Volunteers relocating sea turtle nests at Culebra NWR.

## References

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1. ^ "Culebra National Wildlife Refuge". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
2. ^ "Southeast Archeological Center". NPS Gov.
3. ^ "Culebra National Wildlife Refuge". FWS.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-22.
4. ^ "Culebra National Wildlife Refuge". FWS.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-22.

This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

## External links

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* Puerto Rico portal

* Refuge website

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Protected areas of Puerto Rico

Federal|

| National Estuarine Research Reserves|

* Bahía de Jobos

|

National Forests|

* El Yunque

National Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Río Icacos
* Río Mameyes
* Río de la Mina

Wilderness Areas|

* El Toro

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Cabo Rojo
* Culebra
* Desecheo
* Laguna Cartagena
* Vieques

Commonwealth|

| State Forests|

Aguirre
Boquerón
Cambalache
Carite
Ceiba
Cerrillos
Guajataca
Guánica
Guilarte
Los Tres Picachos
Maricao
Monte Choca
Nuevo Milenio
Piñones
Río Abajo
San Patricio
Susúa
Toro Negro
Vega

|

Other Forests|

Bosque del Pueblo

Nature Reserves|

Aguas Buenas Cave System
Caja de Muertos
Caño Martín Peña
Caño Tiburones
Cerro Las Tetas
Cibuco Swamp
Condado Lagoon
Cueva del Indio
Cuevas Las Cabachuelas
Hacienda Belvedere
Humacao Nature Reserve
Joyuda Lagoon
Inés María Mendoza
La Cordillera Reef
Las Bocas Canyon
Mona and Monito Islands
Northeast Ecological Corridor
Planadas-Yeyesa
Puerto Mosquito
Punta Petrona
San Cristóbal Canyon
San Juan Ecological Corridor
Tortuguero Lagoon
Tourmaline Reef

Conservation Easement Sites|

El Rabanal
Foreman Conservation Easement
Montes Oscuros
Palmas del Mar Tropical Forest

Conservation Zones|

Northern Karst

Marine Reserves|

Isla Verde Reef

Protected Natural Areas|

La Robleda Natural Protected Area
Sierra Pandura

Research Reserves|

Mata de Plátano Field Station
Sierra de Jájome

Parques Nacionales|

Parque Nacional de las Cavernas del Río Camuy
Julio Enrique Monagas Park

* Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources

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National Wildlife Refuges of the United States

* Alabama
* Alaska
* Arizona
* Arkansas
* California
* Colorado
* Connecticut
* Delaware
* Florida
* Georgia
* Hawaii
* Idaho
* Illinois
* Indiana
* Iowa
* Kansas
* Kentucky
* Louisiana
* Maine
* Maryland
* Massachusetts
* Michigan
* Minnesota
* Mississippi
* Missouri
* Montana
* Nebraska
* Nevada
* New Hampshire
* New Jersey
* New Mexico
* New York
* North Carolina
* North Dakota
* Ohio
* Oklahoma
* Oregon
* Pennsylvania
* Rhode Island
* South Carolina
* South Dakota
* Tennessee
* Texas
* Utah
* Vermont
* Virginia
* Washington
* West Virginia
* Wisconsin
* Wyoming

* American Samoa
* Guam
* Puerto Rico
* U.S. Minor Outlying Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

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