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Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park

Coordinates: 42°19′7″N 70°56′45″W / 42.31861°N 70.94583°W / 42.31861; -70.94583
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Spectacle Island, in Boston Harbor, and part of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Behind Spectacle Island is Thompson Island.
Map showing the location of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Map showing the location of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Map showing the location of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
Map showing the location of Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
LocationNorfolk, Plymouth, and Suffolk counties, Massachusetts
Nearest cityBoston, Massachusetts
Coordinates42°19′7″N 70°56′45″W / 42.31861°N 70.94583°W / 42.31861; -70.94583
Area1,482 acres (6.00 km2)[1]
EstablishedNovember 12, 1996
Governing bodyBoston Harbor Islands Partnership which includes the National Park Service together with other federal, state, city, and nonprofit agencies.
WebsiteBoston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area

Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park is a combination national recreation area and state park situated among the islands of Boston Harbor. The park is made up of 34 islands and peninsulas[2][3] and is managed by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership.[4] Twenty-one of the islands are also included in the Boston Harbor Islands Archeological District.

The park is significant for a wide range of natural and cultural resources, including three national historic landmarks, unique geological features, archaeological resources resulting from thousands of years of occupation of the islands by indigenous people of Massachusetts, and complex natural communities.[4]

Attractions include hiking trails, beaches, the Civil War-era Fort Warren, and Boston Light, the oldest lighthouse station in the United States.[5] Georges Island and Spectacle Island are served seasonally by ferries to and from Boston, and Peddocks Island is served by a ferry from Hingham.[6]

In 2008, Peddocks Island was used for filming scenes in Martin Scorsese's Shutter Island.[7]

List of islands and peninsulas

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Map of the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.

The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is made up of islands and peninsulas on and around Boston Harbor. These include:[8][9]

Though they are located in Boston Harbor, neither Castle Island nor Spinnaker Island belong to Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Other former islands (Apple Island, Governors Island and Noddle's Island) were obliterated by the formation of East Boston and the expansion of Logan International Airport before the creation of the national recreation area.

Management

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The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is managed by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership,[10] 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:

Apart from the representative for the Coast Guard, who is appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security, all the members of the partnership are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior after consultation with the appropriate agency or other body.[11][12][13]

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.[14]

Access

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Ferries of the Harbor Islands Express link downtown Boston with some of the islands.

Boston Harbor City Cruises offers ferry service from Long Wharf to Georges and Spectacle Islands. Ferry service from Hingham to Peddocks Island is also available.[6]

Deer Island, Nut Island, Worlds End, and Webb Memorial are accessible by road from the mainland. Moon Island and Long Island are closed to the public.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Listing of acreage – December 31, 2011" (XLSX). Land Resource Division, National Park Service. Retrieved December 16, 2012. (National Park Service Acreage Reports)
  2. ^ "Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area". June 27, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. ^ "World's End (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c "Boston Harbor Islands: A Partnership Park". Boston Harbor Islands. March 19, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ "National Historic Landmark nomination for Boston Light". National Park Service. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved June 18, 2006.
  6. ^ a b "Ferry Schedule". Boston Harbor Islands. Boston Harbor Islands. Archived from the original on July 24, 2024. Retrieved August 8, 2024.
  7. ^ Riglian, Adam (April 14, 2008). "DiCaprio, Scorsese filming on Peddocks Island". The Patriot Ledger. GateHouse Media. Archived from the original on October 27, 2008. Retrieved May 21, 2008.
  8. ^ US Geological Survey 7.5 minute series topographic map "Hull" 1971
  9. ^ "Island Facts". Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. October 30, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ^ "Boston Harbor Islands Partnership - Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
  11. ^ "Islands Partnership - Governance". Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Archived from the original on October 5, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2006.
  12. ^ "Islands Partnership - Membership". Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Archived from the original on August 30, 2006. Retrieved October 6, 2006.
  13. ^ "Public Law 104-33, 110 Stat. 4093 Sec. 1029. Boston Harbor Islands Recreation Area". Retrieved October 6, 2006.
  14. ^ "Boston Harbor Islands - General Management Plan" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved October 19, 2006.

Bibliography

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Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area.
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