Islands Airfields: Sand and Eastern Research Paper

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This airfield is still currently open and operated by a handful of U.S. government contractors.

As Naval Air Base and later Naval Air Facility, the Navy operated and maintained facilities and provided services and materials to support aviation activities. Due to their remote Pacific location, the islands were often used as repositories for waste materials (DFW, 2011). Past operations and activities included construction, fuel and oil storage, dry cleaning, pest control, refueling, aircraft and vehicle maintenance, a power plant, pesticide applications, firing ranges, landfills, and hazardous waste storage. Receptors most likely to be affected by contamination include migratory birds, the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal and the threatened Green Sea Turtle (DFW, 2011). Most recently, nearly 50,000 albatross chicks were killed after the tsunami following the March, 2011 earthquake off the coast of Japan (DFW, 2011).

Midway is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean and enjoys a tropical climate. There are no active streams on either Sand Island or Eastern Island. There are no urban areas or urban populations on the island either (DOI, 2011). While operating as a Naval Air Facility, the majority of the residents were military personnel.

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Since 1988, Midway Atoll and the airfield on Eastern Island have also been designated as a wildlife refuge. It provides nesting grounds for several species of seabirds. In addition, a wide variety of sea creatures, including dolphins and Hawaiian monk seals, thrive within the atoll's coral reef, which extends five miles in diameter (DFW, 2011).

Midway Atoll was closed to visitors in January, 2002. The abundant wildlife, sparkling white beaches and historical sites were just beginning to attract significant numbers of tourists when the USFWS closed the island to visitors. Currently, an additional 55 sites are considered eligible for the National Register and will be reused, secured, or otherwise protected, including the Commercial Pacific Cable buildings (built in 1904 and 1905), marine barracks, seaplane hangar and ramps, torpedo shops, radar buildings, gun emplacements, pillboxes, and Eastern Island runways (DOI, 2011). There is currently much demand to make the atoll into a war memorial, which would also help top solidify its position as one of the most influential places, and airfields of all time.

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