40°38′36″N 74°09′35″W / 40.64333°N 74.15972°W
Shooters Island is a 43-acre (17 ha) uninhabited island at the southern end of Newark Bay, off the North Shore of Staten Island in New York City.[1] The boundary between the states of New York and New Jersey runs through the island, with a small portion on the north end of the island belonging to the cities of Bayonne and Elizabeth in New Jersey and the rest being part of the borough of Staten Island in New York City.
In colonial times Shooters Island was used as a hunting preserve. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington used the island as a drop-off point for messages, and the place became a haven for spies.[2]
Following the war, the island's large oyster beds were heavily harvested, ultimately exhausted from over harvesting.[2]
The 43 acre Shooter's Island is between Newark Bay and the Kill Van Kull in a channel favored by cargo ships and tankers. Yet as the city began filtering its sewage in the 1970's and taking other steps to clean its waterways, wading birds began cropping up on the island.
In colonial times Shooter's Island was used as a hunting preserve. Its role changed during the Revolutionary War (1775–1783), as George Washington used the island as a drop-off point for messages, and the place became a haven for spies. Following the Revolutionary War, the island's large oyster beds were harvested so frequently that they were soon exhausted from over harvesting. In the late 1800s, the island saw human interest on a large scale.