Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area 946721 224122593 2008-07-07T12:20:43Z LadyErnie 2611785 /* Places */ {{Infobox Protected area | name = Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area | iucn_category = | image = US_Locator_Blank.svg | caption = | locator_x = 266 | locator_y = 50 | location = [[Norfolk County, Massachusetts|Norfolk]], [[Plymouth County, Massachusetts|Plymouth]], and [[Suffolk County, Massachusetts|Suffolk]] counties, [[Massachusetts]], [[USA]] | nearest_city = [[Boston, Massachusetts]] | lat_degrees = | lat_minutes = | lat_seconds = | lat_direction = | long_degrees = | long_minutes = | long_seconds = | long_direction = | area = 1,482 acres (6 km²) | established = [[November 12]], [[1996]] | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership which includes the [[National Park Service]] together with other federal, state, city, and nonprofit agencies. }} [[Image:Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.png|thumb|right|290px|Map of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.]] [[Image:Boston Harbor Islands Express ferry.JPG|thumb|right|290px|Ferries of the Harbor Islands Express link downtown Boston with some of the islands.]] The '''Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area''' is a [[National Recreation Area]] situated among the islands of [[Boston Harbor]], [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], [[Massachusetts]]. The area is made up of a collection of [[island]]s, together with a former island and a [[peninsula]], many of which are open for public recreation and some of which are very small and best suited for wildlife. The area is run by the '''Boston Harbor Islands Partnership'''.<ref name=bhilvg>{{cite web | title = Boston Harbor Islands Visitor's Guide - The Islands | url = http://www.bostonislands.org/isle_profiles.html | publisher = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership | accessmonthday = August 9 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> It includes the [[Boston Harbor Islands State Park]]. Attractions include [[hiking]] trails, beaches, the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]-era [[Fort Warren (Massachusetts)|Fort Warren]] on [[Georges Island (Massachusetts)|Georges Island]] and [[Boston Light]] on [[Little Brewster Island]], one of the oldest [[lighthouse]]s in the nation. Georges Island and [[Spectacle Island (Massachusetts)|Spectacle Island]] are served seasonally by ferries to and from [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] and [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]], connecting on weekends and summer weekdays with a shuttle boat to several other islands, [[Hull, Massachusetts|Hull]], and [[Hingham, Massachusetts|Hingham]].<ref name=bhilfs>{{cite web | title = Boston Harbor Islands Ferry Schedule | url = http://www.nps.gov/boha/parkdocs/boatschedule.pdf | publisher = National Park Service | accessmonthday = July 29 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> ==Places== The Boston Harbor Islands National National Recreation Area is made up of a series of discrete islands and other places on and around Boston Harbor. These include:<ref name=bhilvg>{{cite web | title = Boston Harbor Islands Visitor's Guide - The Islands | url = http://www.bostonislands.org/isle_profiles.html | publisher = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership | accessmonthday = August 9 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> * [[Bumpkin Island]], [[Button Island (Massachusetts)|Button Island]] * [[Calf Island (Massachusetts)|Calf Island]] * [[Deer Island (Massachusetts)|Deer Island]] * [[Gallops Island]], [[Georges Island (Massachusetts)|Georges Island]], [[Grape Island (Massachusetts)|Grape Island]], [[Great Brewster Island]], [[Green Island (Massachusetts)|Green Island]] * [[Hangman Island]] * [[Langlee Island]], [[Little Brewster Island]], [[Little Calf Island]], [[Long Island (Massachusetts)|Long Island]], [[Lovells Island]] * [[Middle Brewster Island]], [[Moon Island (Massachusetts)|Moon Island]] * [[Nixes Mate]], [[Nut Island]] * [[Outer Brewster Island]] * [[Peddocks Island]] * [[Raccoon Island (Massachusetts)|Raccoon Island]], [[Ragged Island (Massachusetts)|Ragged Island]], [[Rainsford Island]] * [[Sarah Island (Massachusetts)|Sarah Island]], [[Shag Rocks (Massachusetts)|Shag Rocks]], [[Sheep Island (Massachusetts)|Sheep Island]], [[Slate Island]], [[Snake Island (Massachusetts)|Snake Island]], [[Spectacle Island (Massachusetts)|Spectacle Island]] * [[The Graves (Massachusetts)|The Graves]], [[Thompson Island (Massachusetts)|Thompson Island]] * [[Webb Memorial State Park|Webb Memorial Park]], [[World's End (Hingham)|World's End]] Two islands ([[Castle Island (Massachusetts)|Castle Island]] and [[Spinnaker Island (Massachusetts)|Spinnaker Island]]) in Boston Harbor are not part of the National Recreation Area, and two former islands ([[Apple Island (Massachusetts)|Apple Island]] and [[Governors Island (Massachusetts)|Governors Island]]) were obliterated by [[Logan International Airport]] before the area was designated. ==Management== The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is managed by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership, a statutory body established as a federal operating committee by the park enabling legislation. The partnership consists of individual members who represent a range of federal, state, city, and nonprofit agencies, including: * [[National Park Service|United States National Park Service]] * [[United States Coast Guard]] * [[Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)|Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation]] * [[Massachusetts Port Authority]] * [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority]] * [[City of Boston]] * [[Boston Redevelopment Authority]] * [[Thompson Island Outward Bound Education Center]] * [[Trustees of Reservations|The Trustees of Reservations]] Additionally the partnership includes members representing the ''Island Alliance'', a fund-raising body dedicated to raising funds for the National Recreation Area, and the ''Boston Harbor Islands Advisory Council''. There are 13 members in total, together with 13 alternates. Apart from the representative for the Coast Guard, who is appointed by the [[United States Secretary of Homeland Security|Secretary of Homeland Security]], all the members of the partnership are appointed by the [[United States Secretary of the Interior|Secretary of the Interior]] after consultation with the appropriate agency or other body.<ref name=bhadm>{{cite web | title = Islands Partnership - Governance | url = http://www.bostonislands.org/manage/manage_admin_partner.html | publisher = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership | accessmonthday = October 6 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref><ref name=bhmem>{{cite web | title = Islands Partnership - Membership | url = http://www.bostonislands.org/manage/manage_admin_partner2.html | publisher = Boston Harbor Islands Partnership | accessmonthday = October 6 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref><ref name=bhleg>{{cite web | title = Public Law 104-33, 110 Stat. 4093 Sec. 1029. Boston Harbor Islands Recreation Area | url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/boha/parkdocs/PL104-33.html | accessmonthday = October 6 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> In practice, day to day management of each individual island or other site is the responsibility of one of the partner agencies or other bodies. The partnership provides a consistency and coordination across the whole park.<ref name=parkpl>{{cite web | url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/boha/parkdocs/fgmp/BOHA_gmp.pdf | title = Boston Harbor Islands - General Management Plan | publisher = National Parks Service | accessmonthday = October 19 | accessyear = 2006}}</ref> ==Transportation== Harbor Islands Express offers ferry service from Long Wharf at Christopher Columbus Park to Georges and Spectacle Islands. Free service to additional islands is available from Georges Island.[http://www.nps.gov/boha/planyourvisit/upload/boatschedule.pdf] ==References== <references /> ==Bibliography== *[[The Boston Globe]], [http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2006/06/03/harboring_recreation/ "Harboring recreation"], Guest Editorial, [[June 3]], [[2006]]. *Kales, Emily, Kales, David, "All About the Boston Harbor Islands", Hewitts Cove Publishing, 1983. *Mikal, Alan, "Exploring Boston Harbor", Christopher Publishing House, North Quincy, Massachusetts, 1973. ISBN-13: 978-0815803034 *Northeastern Naturalist, Volume 12, Issue sp3, July 2005. Articles on the Boston Harbor Islands. [http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request=get-toc&issn=1092-6194&volume=12&issue=sp3] *Richburg, Julie A., [http://www.umass.edu/nrc/faculty/profile.patterson.html Patterson, William A.], III, [http://www.umass.edu/nrc/nebarrensfuels/publications/pdfs/Richburg_Patterson_Histveg_BOHA.pdf "Historical Description of the Vegetation of the Boston Harbor Islands, 1600-2000"], Northeastern Naturalist, v.12, Special Issue 3, 13-30, 2005. *Sammarco, Anthony Mitchell, "Boston's Harbor Islands", Images of America series, 1998. ISBN 0-7524-0900-X *Sherman, Annie, [http://www.bostonmagazine.com/shopping_style/articles/the_other_islands "The Other Islands: The Harbor Islands make for an easy day trip for sunbathers, history buffs—and especially the traffic-weary"], [[Boston magazine]], May 2007 issue. *[[Edward Rowe Snow|Snow, Edward Rowe]] **"The Islands of Boston Harbor", 1935. ISBN 0-396-08349-8 [http://www.commonwealtheditions.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=31] **"Sailing Down Boston Bay", Yankee Publishing Company, 1941. *[http://www.kellscraft.com/EventsBoston/EventsBostonscontent.html "Some Events of Boston and Its Neighbors"], printed for the State Street Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1917. *[http://www.kellscraft.com/EventsBoston/EventsBoston04.html "The Islands of Boston Harbor"], in "Some Events of Boston and Its Neighbors", Chapter 4, printed for the State Street Trust Company, Boston, Massachusetts, 1917. *Sweetser, M.F., "King's Handbook of Boston Harbor", Moses King Corporation, Boston, 1882; reprinted in 1988 by Applewood Books, and The Friends of Boston Harbor Islands. ISBN 9999021565. This book was written about the time when the first Boston almshouse was being built on Long Island. == Further reading == *[[Metro International|Metro]] (Boston edition) newspaper, [http://www.readmetro.com/show/en/Boston/20070801/2/1/ "Boston Harbor Islands"], Boston Neighborhood section, [[August 1]], [[2007]], p. 14. ==External links== *[http://www.nps.gov/boha/ Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area] *[http://www.bostonislands.org/default.asp Boston Harbor Islands Visitor Guide] *[http://www.bostonharbor.com/ Boston Harbor resources site] *[http://www.harbormasters.org/charts/13270_1.gif NOAA Soundings Map of Boston Harbor] *[http://www.islandalliance.org/ Island Alliance (Boston Harbor)] *[http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/metroboston/harbor.htm Boston Harbor Islands] - [[Department of Conservation and Recreation (Massachusetts)|Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation (DCR)]]. *[http://www.tbha.org/resources_bestofboston.htm The Boston Harbor Association resources] *{{wikitravel}} {{Protected Areas of Massachusetts}} {{USNRAs}} [[Category:Geography of Boston, Massachusetts]] [[Category:National Recreation Areas of the United States]] [[Category:Islands of Massachusetts]] [[Category:Protected areas of Massachusetts]]