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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Rat Eradication on Four Islands in Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working on an environmental impact statement (EIS) for potential alternative actions (ranging from no action to various methods of eradication) to address nonnative invasive rats on four Aleutian Islands (Great Sitkin, Amchitka, Kiska, and Attu) within Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The scoping period ended on November 7, 2024. For more information about the proposed project, visit: Rat Eradication on Four Aleutian Islands EIS

The Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge stretches from the spectacular volcanic islands of the Aleutian chain to the Inside Passage, and north to the Chukchi Sea, providing essential habitat for marine mammals and some 40 million seabirds, representing more than 30 species.
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      About Us

      Small black and white bird with orange bill perches on gray and green cliff.
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      Least auklet perches on a cliff on St. Paul Island in the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

      Much of the refuge has been protected as a national wildlife refuge national wildlife refuge
      A national wildlife refuge is typically a contiguous area of land and water managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  for the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats for the benefit of present and future generations of Americans.

      Learn more about national wildlife refuge       for over a century, and we recognize that refuge lands are the ancestral homelands of Alaska Native people. Development of sophisticated tools and the abundance of coastal and marine wildlife have made it possible for people to thrive here for thousands of years. Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge stretches across the traditional homelands of the Unangax̂/Aleut in the Aleutian and Pribilof Islands, as well as smaller parcels on the homelands of Alutiiq/Sugpiak, Yup’ik/Cup’ik, Iñupiat, Dena'ina, Tlingit, Haida, and Eyak peoples. 

      Most of the refuge is federally designated Wilderness. 

      What We Do

      Man in USFWS uniform assists woman gathering grass. A ship is in the bay behind them.
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      Captain John Faris assists Unangax elder Helen Ford as she gathers grass for weaving on Attu Island.

      We conserve, protect, and restore the diverse lands, waters, wildlife, and cultural resources of the refuge through excellence in education, outreach, and a program of scientific research on marine resources. Our vision is a viable, abundant, and resilient community of marine life which scientists, indigenous communities, and the public are actively engaged in conservation.

      Our Organization

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      The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manages an unparalleled network of public lands and waters called the National Wildlife Refuge System. With more than 570 refuges spanning the country, this system protects iconic species and provides some of the best wildlife viewing opportunities on Earth.
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      Our Species

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      Birds

      The islands and coastal lands of the Alaska Maritime Refuge are bird magnets for seabirds whose only other home is the ocean; for birds migrating along Asian routes and needing to rest and eat; for birds that evolved on these remote islands and breed nowhere else.

      Bright green fish, a sculpin, close-up in a tidepool with colorful orange and pink background.
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      Fish

      The abundance of seabirds and marine mammals that breed and raise their young on the lands of the Alaska Maritime Refuge is due to the banquet of marine foods in surrounding waters.

      Two sea otters in a blue calm ocean. One appears to be waving it's left paw as if to say hello.
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      Mammals

      On the mainland areas of the refuge, the native mammals are similar to those of nearby areas. On islands, however, native land mammals are either absent or sometimes unique because they have been isolated in their development since the Ice Age. Marine mammals use these coastal lands to breed, raise their young, and rest.

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      Plants

      From the windswept and treeless Aleutian and Pribilof Islands to the lush forests of southeast Alaska, remote island habitats are home to unique plant species, including the endangered Aleutian Shield Fern.

      Our Library

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      Conservation in Color: Alaska's Wildlife
      Download these digital coloring pages created by Alaskan artists to learn more about wildlife and conservation, while creating works of art.
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      18 Items

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      So much of our work depends on volunteers, Friends, and partnerships.

      Projects and Research

      Smiling woman takes a selfie. She is wearing layers and a hood. There are survey flags, birds, a grassy hill, and another person over her shoulder and in the distance.
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      We study marine birds, watching for changes in the marine environment that signal conservation problems. Our monitoring program provides long-term, time-series data. When the data reveal biologically-significant changes, scientists can test hypotheses about the causes of those changes. This long-term monitoring program is an integral part of the management of the Alaska Maritime Refuge. The information it provides is used to define "normal" variability in demographic parameters and identify patterns that fall outside norms, thereby signaling conservation issues. The Research Vessel Tiĝlax̂is key to accomplishing our mission.

      A cisco fish with coloring dusky gray to bluish on the back, silvery on the sides, and white on the underside being held laying on its side across two hands.
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      Restoring Coregonines

      The cisco (Coregonus artedi) and the bloater (Coregonus hoyi) both played critical roles in the trophic dynamics of the Great Lakes. They were the primary native prey species for top predator fish such as the lake trout. By the 1950’s, however, overfishing and competition with non-native, plankton-eating prey fish (alewife) caused the collapse of these native prey species, and subsequently...

      Restoring Coregonines