the end of 1989, six "headstarted" females had given birth to 10 

 pups and Head Start Project females are becoming the principal 

 component of the atoll's reproductively active females. During 

 the 1970s, juvenile seals were seen only occasionally on the 

 beaches of Kure. As a result of the Head Start Project, immature 

 seals now constitute a large proportion of the population and the 

 trend in declining numbers at Kure Atoll appears to be reversing. 



Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge Field Station at Tern 

 Island 



As part of its management program for the Hawaiian Islands 

 National Wildlife Refuge, the Fish and Wildlife Service maintains 

 and operates a field station on Tern Island at French Frigate 

 Shoals, 500 miles west-northwest of Honolulu. The island, 

 initially 11 acres in size, was expanded to 37 acres in 1942 by 

 the Navy for use as an aircraft runway. The expansion was 

 accomplished by constructing a sheet-metal bulkhead and back- 

 filling with sand dredged from the adjacent lagoon. The small 

 group of buildings on the island constitute the only permanently 

 staffed facility in the entire Refuge. 



Among other functions, the Fish and Wildlife Service's staff 

 and facilities at Tern Island provide critical support for monk 

 seal research and management activities. In cooperation with the 

 National Marine Fisheries Service, the Refuge staff help to: 

 locate and remove emaciated, prematurely weaned monk seal pups 

 from French Frigate Shoals; remove and destroy marine debris that 

 potentially could entangle and thereby injure or kill seals; 

 conduct year-round censuses of seals on French Frigate Shoals; 

 provide logistical support for various monk seal research and 

 management activities; and provide an enforcement presence to 

 discourage unauthorized landings on French Frigate Shoals. 



Because of funding constraints and deteriorating facilities 

 on Tern Island, the Fish and Wildlife Service in recent years has 

 considered abandoning the island in favor of seasonal field 

 camps. For many reasons, among them those noted above, the 

 Commission wrote to the Service in 1986 urging that personnel be 

 kept on the island year-round. Special appropriations by 

 Congress for continuing operations at Tern Island have addressed 

 recent funding needs and the Service has maintained staff on the 

 island year-round over the past three years. 



Long-term operation of the field station remains uncertain, 

 however, due to severe deterioration of the seawall that protects 

 the island. Gaps formed by years of corrosion and wave action 

 have recently begun to cause serious erosion problems. As a 

 result, the integrity of the runway is being threatened and long- 

 buried cables, fuel tanks (at least some still containing fuel) , 

 and other debris, once covered when the island was being built 

 up, are now being exposed. The debris, as well as pockets and 



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