esecheo Island supports important populations of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world, such as the Desecheo Anole, Desecheo Ameiva, and Desecheo Dwarf Gecko. Before the introduction of invasive rats, the island hosted large colonies of breeding seabirds, including the world’s largest Brown Booby colony and an important Red-footed Booby colony. But, due to the destruction of native vegetation and predation on eggs and chicks by these invasive rats, seabirds no longer nest on Desecheo and many plants and animals are threatened.

In response to this threat, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Island Conservation, and other key partners, including the US Department of Agriculture, Bell Laboratories, and Tomcat, made the island safe once again for seabirds, the island’s endemic lizards, three endemic arachnids, and the federally Threatened Higo Chumbo cactus by removing invasive rats.

In July 2017, one year after the final phase of this ambitious operation, conservation biologists confirmed that these predators are absent from the island, and the operation was declared a success. This project, the largest conservation operation of its kind to date in the region, enables the island to return to its former and rightful status: the most important seabird colony in the region. The refuge lost this status due to the presence of invasive mammals for almost a century.

With the island free of invasive species, native plants and animals will once again be able to thrive in their natural habitat. Coral reefs in the Marine Reserve surrounding Desecheo (managed by the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources) are also expected to benefit from the island’s restoration; increased vegetation will reduce soil erosion into the sea, and the seabirds will provide valuable nutrients to the adjacent marine ecosystems.