Hawadax Island
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Western_Aleutians.png/400px-Western_Aleutians.png)
Hawadax Island (Aleut: Hawadax;[1]) is an island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the western Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The island was formerly known as Rat Island until May 2012 when it was renamed Hawadax Island, which is an Aleut name meaning "entry" and "welcome".[2][3] The island has a land area of 10.3126 sq mi (26.7095 km²) and no permanent population. It is within the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. It is 9.3 miles (15 km) in length and 3.1 miles (5 km) in width.
The former name is the English translation of the name given to the islands by Captain
The Rat Islands are very earthquake-prone as they are on the boundary of the
Conservation and restoration
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a1/Rat_Island%2C_Aleutian_Islands.jpg/220px-Rat_Island%2C_Aleutian_Islands.jpg)
The island was heavily infested with brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), which are considered a nuisance invasive species due to their negative impact on the population of ground-nesting wild birds.[4]
The rats arrived on the island before 1780 due to a Japanese shipwreck.[5] Since then, the rats had a devastating effect on local seabirds that have no natural defenses against the rats.[6] Invasive rats are also present on 16 other islands in the Aleutian chain.[5]
In 2007, the U.S.
In June 2009, the island was declared rat-free for the first time in 229 years,[11] although the site was continually monitored for another two years for confirmation. The report found that the lead contractor which the FWS used, Island Conservation, had dropped more poisonous bait than they had proposed, including bait which was intended to be saved as a backup.[7] The FWS asked the Ornithological Council to determine if Island Conservation had exceeded the limit of their poison quantities, but the council decided not to resolve any "legal questions".[7] As of 2011[update], the State of Alaska issued a Notice of Violation and FWS law enforcement [12] is still investigating.[7] Steve Delehanty, the manager of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (which includes the island) said that, "It was a learning experience, and we made mistakes together."[7] However, he also stated, "...if you do the math this was a rip-roaring conservation success."[7] Post eradication monitoring results have shown a strong positive response in terms of bird populations and the intertidal zone.[13][14][15]
See also
- Campbell Island, New Zealand, the largest successful rat eradication.
References
- ^ Bergsland, K. (1994). Aleut Dictionary. Fairbanks: Alaska Native Language Center.
- ^ "Feature Detail Report for: Hawadax Island". US Geological Survey Board on Geographic Names. Retrieved 31 May 2012.
- ^ "It's Official!". Island Conservation. May 31, 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ Rats wipe out seabirds on Alaska island
- ^ ISBN 978-2-8317-0682-5. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
- ^ a b "Biologists aim to wipe out Rat Island". Reuters. October 2, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-02.
- ^ .
- ^ Steve Ebbert and Kathy Burek-Huntington. 2010. Anticoagulant Residual Concentration and Poisoning in Birds Following a Large-Scale Aerial Application of 25 ppm Brodifacoum Bait for Rat Eradication on Rat Island, Alaska. Proceedings of the 24th Vertebrate Pest Conference (R. M. Timm and K. A. Fagerstone,Eds.). Published at Univ. of Calif., Davis.
- ^ The Rat Island Rat Eradication Project: A Critical Evaluation of Nontarget Mortality. Prepared for Island Conservation, the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Prepared by the Ornithological Council. Final report issued December [http://alaska.fws.gov/ratislandreview-final.pdf 2010 Archived 2013-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Preliminary ecosystem response following invasive Norway rat eradication on Rat Island, Aleutian Islands, Alaska" (PDF). ISSG. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ Alaska's Rat Island rat-free after 229 years
- ^ "US Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, Report of Investigation #2009703127R001". Google Docs. Retrieved 2017-11-12.
- ^ "New Seabird Life at Hawadax Island Alaska". The Nature Conservancy. April 1, 2020. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ^ "Hawadax Island". Island Conservation. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
- ISSN 2045-2322.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Island ConservationRat Island Invasive Rat Eradication Project Environmental Assessment
- Rat Island: Block 1140, Census Tract 1, Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska United States Census Bureau
- The Rat Island Rat Eradication Project: A Critical Evaluation of Nontarget Mortality. Prepared for Island Conservation, the Nature Conservancy and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. Prepared by the Ornithological Council. Final report issued December 2010.
- US Fish and Wildlife Service, Office of Law Enforcement, Report of Investigation #2009703127R001