Forrester Island (Alaska)

Dall Island from space, with Forrester Island in the foreground left

Forrester Island (Haida: Gasḵúu) is an island in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located off the coast of the Alaska Panhandle, near its southernmost portion, 20 miles (32 km) west of Dall Island, in the Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area. The island is 5.2 miles (8.4 km) long and covers an area of 3.97 sq mi (10.29 km2).[1][2][3] It is wooded and mountainous, rising 814 feet (248 m) in elevation.[1][4] In 1970, the area was designated the Forrester Island Wilderness, with 2,832 acres (1,146 ha) in the National Wilderness Preservation System.[5][6] It is part of the Gulf of Alaska unit of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.

Forrester Island wilderness

Forrester Island was originally named "Santa Cristina" by Juan Pérez in 1774. In 1775, Francisco Antonio Maurelle labeled the island "San Carlos", and in 1778 William Douglas named it "Douglas Island". Royal Navy officer George Dixon named the island "Forrester Island" in 1787, which was the name adopted by George Vancouver on the Vancouver Expedition in 1793.[1] In 1912, U.S. President William Howard Taft signed a law creating the Forrester Island Refuge, which included Forrester Island, Lowrie Island and Wolf Rock. The island hosts rookeries of Steller sea lions.[7] The longest recorded migration of a Steller sea lion was 1,600 miles (2,600 km) between Forrester Island and Cape Newenham in Bristol Bay.[8]

  1. ^ a b c "Forrester Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  2. ^ "GEOGRAPHIC IDENTIFIERS: 2010 Census Summary File 1: Block 3471, Block Group 3, Census Tract 1, Prince of Wales-Hyder Census Area, Alaska". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  3. ^ DC10BLK_C02198_027 (PDF) (Map). United States Census Bureau. April 5, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2013.
  4. ^ BookletChart: Hecate Strait to Etolin Island: NOAA Chart 17420 (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 February 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  5. ^ "Refuge Establishment". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. September 8, 2008. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  6. ^ "Forrester Island Wilderness". Wilderness.net.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Jemison, Lauri (2006). Trip Report: Sightings of Branded Steller Sea Lions In Southeast Alaska and Northern British Columbia 10–25 July & 22–30 August, 2006 (PDF). Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  8. ^ "Steller Sea Lion (Eumetopias jubatus)". Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Retrieved August 20, 2013.