In one of his last executive orders before he left the White House in 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt established Culebra as a national wildlife refuge. Today this archipelago is one of only two nesting sites in the United States for the leatherback sea turtle, one of the world's largest marine reptiles. It and three other endangered species of turtles--the loggerhead, green, and hawksbill turtles--are protected by the wildlife refuge.
Although Culebra was a national wildlife refuge, the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps began to use it as a practice-bombing range during World War II. Culebrans massively protested the decision, especially when word leaked out that the Navy planned to relocate them to Vieques.
Arguments between Culebrans and the U.S. government didn't end with the war. Molotov-cocktail-throwing violence erupted in 1971, with several islanders imprisoned for their hostile acts of defiance. President Richard Nixon finally brought peace to Culebra by ending all weapons training on the island. By 1975 the Navy swabbies and Marine Corps leathernecks had ceased shelling the island.
The leathernecks may be long gone, but the leatherbacks are still here. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 190, Culebra, PR 00775 (tel. 787/725-0115), gathers statistics about the nesting sea turtles and takes applications from ecotourists who want to participate in its nightly patrols from April to July. Early reservations are advised.
