Why Laysan
Laysan, known natively as Kauō meaning egg, is a secluded landmass encompassing 1,016 acres situated roughly 930 miles northwest of Honolulu. Positioned in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, it stands as the second largest individual island in the region, spanning about one mile by one and a half miles. Its central feature is Lake Laysan, an interior hypersaline water body resting roughly 7.9 feet above sea level, with a salt concentration three times higher than the surrounding ocean. The terrain reaches its peak height of 50 feet atop a prominent sand dune across the northern section, while approximately 735 acres of fringing reefs encircle the shores.
Recognized for harboring the highest biodiversity among the leeward islands, Laysan supports a remarkable array of wildlife. The island is the exclusive habitat for the world's rarest duck species, the endemic Laysan duck, alongside the Laysan finch. Beyond these resident land birds, eighteen other bird species depend on the territory and its interior lake for nesting and refuge. These include vast populations of albatrosses, frigatebirds, terns, and boobies. In addition, Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles frequently inhabit the surrounding waters and coastal areas.
Whaling vessels from Massachusetts recorded the first sightings of the island in the 1820s, and the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi officially annexed the territory in 1857. Intensive guano mining took place during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, altering the island's landscape. The introduction of rabbits as a food source during this era resulted in catastrophic ecological damage, as the animals consumed the local plant cover. This loss of vegetation triggered severe dust storms and drove numerous indigenous species to extinction, including unique sandalwood trees, native fan palms, several insect species, and land birds such as the Laysan rail, millerbird, and honeycreeper.
Following its designation as a protected bird sanctuary in 1909, expeditions succeeded in completely removing the invasive rabbits by 1923. Today, Laysan remains an uninhabited natural reserve overseen by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Restoration programs have focused on removing non-native plants like invasive sandbur grass and restoring native vegetation such as bunchgrass to rebuild natural nesting habitats. While conservation efforts continue to revitalize the ecosystem, marine garbage carried by ocean currents presents an ongoing concern for the island's bird populations.
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