|  | Navassa is an uninhabited, 5 km² island in the Caribbean Sea between Haiti andJamaica administered by the U.S. Department of Interior. The USGS participated in two science expeditions to Navassaorganized by the Center for Marine Conservation. The first team of 8scientists spent July 24 to August 5, 1998 on Navassa. The secondexpedition occurred between April 29 and May 12, 1999 and was supported bya vessel, film crew and explorers from the Quest, an Australian adventuregroup and film production enterprise. The team conducted an inventory ofnatural resources of the island for the Department of Interior, Office ofInsular Affairs. Preliminary results of the inventories have increased thenumber of terrestrial species known to the island from 150 to more than650. On the last day of the first trip, the group found a single livingspecimen of the palm treePseudopheonix sargentti saonae var.navassana. Further explorationduring the second trip proved the specimen to be the last living example ofthis endemic palm, which had been common on the island as late as 1928. National Wildlife Refuge Status The information collected during these expeditions was instrumental in the decision in 1999 to make Navassa a National Wildlife Refuge, under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The refuge was established to preserve and protect the coral reef ecosystems and the marine environment, to restore and enhance native wildlife and plants, and to provide opportunities for wildlife research. This refuge is closed to the public.
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