Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre de Culebra
Commissioned by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, the Culebra National Wildlife Refuge is one of the nation's oldest. The total protected area comprises some 1,500 acres of the island. It's a lure for hikers and bird-watchers: Culebra teems with seabirds, from laughing gulls and roseate terns to red-billed tropic birds and sooty terns. Maps of trails in the refuge are hard to come by, but you can stop by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service office east of the airport to find out about trail conditions and determine whether you're headed to an area that requires a permit. The office also can tell you whether the leatherback turtles are nesting. From mid-April to mid-July, volunteers help monitor and tag these creatures, which nest on nearby beaches, especially Playa Resaca and Playa Brava.
