 | | Port Angeles, Washington | |
| | Wildlife Preserves & Refuges | | |
| | Copalis National Wildlife Refuge | | There are 870 coastal rocks and reefs extending for more than 100 miles along Washington's Pacific coast from Cape Flattery to Copalis Beach. Many are rocky outcroppings exposed at low tide, while others are high pinnacles of rock with salal, salmonberry, and a few stunted conifers. During migration the total populations of seabirds, waterfowl, and shorebirds may exceed a million birds. Interpretive panels at Lake Ozette, Rialto Beach, Second Beach, Ruby Beach, and Kalalock give information about the islands. Olympic National Park provides access to 50 miles of beaches with views of the islands. |
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| | Dungeness National Wildlife Refuge | | The refuge is located along the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. The refuge hosts one of the world's longest natural sand spit, which softens the rough sea waves to form a quiet bay and harbor, gravel beaches, and tide flats. The refuge provides habitat for a wide diversity of wildlife species. Over 250 species of birds and 41 species of land mammals have been recorded on the refuge along with eight species of marine mammals. |
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| | Flattery Rocks National Wildlife Refuge | | Olympic National Park provides access to 50 miles of beaches with views of the islands. Washington Islands are included in three national wildlife refuges: Flattery Rocks, Quillayute Needles, and Copalis. All islands, except Destruction Island, are included in Washington Islands Wilderness Area. Migrating birds sometimes swell the population to over one million. |
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| | Olympic Wilderness | | The area sits at 876,669 acres and is Washington's largest Wilderness area. Olympic is also one of the most diverse wilderness areas in the U.S. The heart of the Olympic Wilderness is made up of the rugged Olympic Mountains and some of the most pristine forests left south of the 49th Parallel. The Temperate Rainforest valleys of the west and south flanks of the mountains receive 140 to 180 inches of precipitation annually with Mt. Olympus (7,980 feet), the highest peak in the Olympic Mountains receiving around 250 inches and over 100 feet of snow. Mt. Olympus has the third largest glacial system in the conterminous U.S. next to Mt. Rainier and Mt. Baker also in Washington State. |
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| | Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge | | The island contains one of the last 2 nesting colonies of tufted puffins in the Puget Sound area. About 1,000 harbor seals depend upon the island for a pupping and rest area .Approximately 70 percent of the nesting seabird population of Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca nest on the island, which includes one of the largest nesting colonies of rhinoceros auklets in the world and the largest nesting colony of glaucous-winged gulls in Washington. |
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| | Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge | | These islands are protected from human disturbance, yet are close to abundant ocean food sources. They are a vital sanctuary where 14 species of seabirds nest and raise their young. Most of the coastal islands are designated as wilderness. |
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| | Washington Islands Wilderness | | The entire wilderness is in Washington. More than 600 islands, rocks, and reefs comprise Washington Islands National Wildlife Refuges (WINWRs). The islands range in size from less than one acre to about 36 acres, and most drop abruptly into the sea. The three refuges combined in WINWR are 125-acre Flattery Rocks, 300-acre Quillayute Needles, and 60-acre Copalis, stretching from Cape Flattery all the way south to Copalis. |
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