Project Description
MIDWAY ATOLL
MIDWAY ATOLL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE, USA
Laysan Albatross glides over the ocean surface.
When Midway Atoll is once again safe for seabirds, we will have our staff, partners, and supporters to thank for their dedication to protecting some of the Pacific’s most precious species.
WES JOLLEY
Project Manager
In 2015, scientists made a gruesome discovery on Midway Atoll. Invasive mice were attacking and even killing adult and juvenile albatross, posing a major threat to seabirds including the world’s largest Laysan Albatross colony.
Starting in 2016, the USFWS Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Island Conservation, and partners began developing a comprehensive plan to protect imperiled seabirds by removing invasive mice.
Jolley and his team worked with the USFWS to perform rigorous trials for the operation, plan for the management of native wildlife, and map the island’s remaining military infrastructure, which includes bunkers, a cafeteria, and even a bowling alley. Now, the partnership is organizing the last remaining details and preparing to remove the invasive mice from Midway in July 2020.
Once free from invasive mice, Midway Atoll will once again be a safe refuge for over 3 million breeding seabirds, including our world’s oldest known wild bird: Wisdom, the 68-year old Laysan Albatross.
A Laysan Albatross makes a sharp turn to catch an air current. Credit: Frans Lanting
National Geographic photographer Frans Lanting and videographer Christine Eckstrom endorse our campaign as Albatross Ambassadors to raise the remaining funds necessary to restore Midway.
