Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge, National wildlife refuge in Honolulu County, United States.
Pearl Harbor National Wildlife Refuge is a protected area in Honolulu County, on the island of Oʻahu, made up of three separate units: Honouliuli, Waiawa, and Kalaeloa. Each unit covers a different type of habitat, from wetlands and brackish ponds to coastal shrubland, all situated around Pearl Harbor.
The refuge was created in 1972 as a direct response to the loss of wetland habitat caused by the construction of the Reef Runway at Honolulu International Airport. It was one of the first mitigation refuges of its kind established in the United States following a major infrastructure project.
The refuge is home to the aeʻo, a native Hawaiian stilt, and the ʻōpaeʻula, a small red shrimp found in very few places outside Hawaii. From the Betty Bliss Memorial Overlook, visitors can watch these animals moving through shallow water and along the pond edges.
The Betty Bliss Memorial Overlook is the only part of the refuge open to the public without prior authorization, and it offers a clear view over the wetlands. Anyone wishing to enter the interior units needs to arrange access with the refuge management in advance.
The Kalaeloa unit contains anchialine pools, small bodies of water that have hidden underground connections to the ocean through volcanic rock. This type of water body is found in only a handful of places on Earth and supports animals found nowhere else.
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