Hazy Islands Wilderness

Hazy Islands Wilderness
IUCN category Ib (wilderness area)
Hazy Islet, Hazy Islands Wilderness
Location within Alaska
Location	Petersburg Borough, Alaska, USA
Nearest city	Edna Bay, Alaska
Coordinates	55°53′N 134°35′W
Area	32 acres (13 ha)
Established	1970
Governing body	US Fish and Wildlife Service

Hazy Islands Wilderness, at 32 acres (16 ha), is Alaska's smallest wilderness area. It was officially designated as Wilderness in 1970 by the United States Congress. The islands are located west of Coronation Island in the Alaska Panhandle area. Hazy Islands Wilderness comprises five small islands and is home to 10 species of birds, including Brandt's cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus). It has no anchorages or campsites, and human visitation is discouraged to protect the birds.

Gulls and sea lions at Hazy Islands Wilderness

Name

The name for the islands in the Tlingit language is Deikee Noow, which can be translated as Outer (Deikee) Fort (Noow), although the word "noow" is also the name for a treeless rock formation. It figures into the "Raven Cycle' story of when Yéil (Raven) stole freshwater from Gánóok (Petrel).

Description

Hazy Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1912, which became designated as Wilderness in 1970, and incorporated into the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge, Gulf of Alaska Unit, in 1980.

Big Hazy Island and the four smaller islands provide predator-free nesting areas for large populations of:

• common murres
• pigeon guillemots
• glaucous-winged gulls
• horned puffins
• tufted puffins
• Brandt's cormorants

See also

• List of U.S. Wilderness Areas
• Wilderness Act