James Mason

During the month of August, the community of St. Paul Island will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the North Pacific Fur Seal Convention of 1911.

St. Paul Island has played host to an estimated 300 of Alaska's 500 species of birds, which has made it a popular tourist destination for hardcore birdwatchers.

The wreck of a Japanese sailing ship in the mid-1700s gave the island of Howadax the nickname 'Rat Island.' St. Paul authorities, however, are proud to report that a massive rat-ridding effort has left the island rodent free.