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| National Park Overview: |
 | The Farallon National Wildlife Refuge is a group of islands located 28 miles west of San Francisco. It sustains the largest sea bird breeding colony south of Alaska and contains 30 percent of California's nesting sea birds. Thirteen species, adding up to one-quarter of a million individuals, breed here, including the largest colonies of Brandts cormorant and western gull found anywhere.
The refuge contains more than 50 percent of the world's entire ashy-storm petrel population, a declining "species of management concern," whose breeding range is restricted to California. Thousands of endangered California brown pelican disperse from breeding sites further south to roost and feed on the refuge. Six seal or sea lion species breed or haul out to rest on the Farallon Islands.
The refuge and surrounding waters are critical habitat for the threatened Stellar's sea lion at the southernmost tip of their breeding range. Refuge management focuses on restoring the historical abundance of wildlife that existed prior to a century of human exploitation and disturbance.
Species are gradually recovering. Northern fur seals have recently returned to breed after an absence of over 100 years. Most of the refuge is a designated Wilderness Area. |
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| Area Activities |
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| History of the Area: |
| The refuge was established in 1909, but active wildlife protection and management did not begin until the early 1970s when the Coast Guard automated its light station, removed personnel, and turned over housing facilities to the USFWS. Some wildlife species have recolonized the island and others are slowly recovering. After an absence of over 100 years, elephant seals returned to breed in the early 1970s. Northern fur seals, extirpated in the early 1800s returned once again to pup in the mid-l990s. Wildlife remain vulnerable to the impacts of pollution, oil spills, and gill net fisheries. The Service has cooperative agreements with Point Reyes Bird Observatory and the U.S. Coast Guard to facilitate protection and management of the refuge. |
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| Area Accommodations |
| B&Bs / Inns | |  | Aurora Park Cottages - Calistoga, CA
More than a B&B - Aurora Park Cottages is your private vacation retreat at the top of Napa Valley. Located in a country setting in beautiful Calistoga - the spa capital of California. FREE CHAMPAGNE AND CHOCOLATES! Please tell us you found us on www.stateparks.com and we'll have some chilled champagne and chocolates awaiting your arrival at Aurora Park Cottages.
Web Site: http://www.aurorapark.com |
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...vacation cabin, weekend getaway, log cabin rental, romantic cottage, vacation home, resort, hotel, motel, bed and breakfast, country inn, campground, RV park, horseback riding stable, canoe livery, river rafting, outfitting, sporting goods store, guide service, RV rental, etc read more.... |
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| Related Links: |
| Bird Checklists of the United States - ... refuges included in a Refuge Complex. Edwards Air Force Base -- CA Farallon National Wildlife Refuge and Near-shore Waters -- Newark, CA Hopper Mountain Complex -- Ventura, CA Hopper Mountain ... | | Bird Checklists of the United States - Bird Checklists of the United States Farallon National Wildlife Refuge and Near Shore Waters Newark, California Farallon ... NWR Mammals FARALLON NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE President Theodore ... | | SanFrancisco.TheLinks.com - Best links on the net for the Greater SanFrancisco Area. These include entertainment, business ... Francisco Aquarium Society- Inc. Farallon National Wildlife Refuge San Francisco Zoo Food & Drink ... | | Defenders of Wildlife - Habitat - ... Refuge Directory Global Climate Change Farallon National Wildlife Refuge Global warming is contributing to the rattling of ... including that of Farallon National Wildlife Refuge. Rising ocean ... | | Defenders of Wildlife - Habitat - ... you. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Alaska Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Maryland Farallon National Wildlife Refuge California J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge Florida Lostwood ... | | U.S. List of Biosphere Reserves - ... Bodega Marine Reserve (University of California) Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (NOAA) Farallon National Wildlife Refuge (FWS) Golden Gate National Recreation Area (NPS) Gulf of the ... | | Wilderness.net - Farallon Wilderness - Some of these ... sea," as they were once fittingly described, were established as the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge in 1909, but the Southeast Farallons were not added until ... |
| Nature Programs: |
| The refuge supports 12 nesting seabird species including the world's largest breeding colonies of ashy storm-petrel, Brandt's cormorant, and western gull. It also contains important marine mammal pupping sites |
| Directions: |
| The refuge consists of islands approximately 30 miles offshore of San Francisco in the Pacific Ocean. It is closed to public access. However, there is an exhibit on Farallon Refuge wildlife at the San Francisco Bay Refuge Complex visitor center in Fremont, California. |
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