Badger Island, located on the Columbia River upstream of McNary Dam and near the Town of Wallula (WA), is a long, narrow island of about 15 acres owned and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of McNary National Wildlife Refuge. Badger Island is the location of the only known nesting colony of American white pelicans in the State of Washington, a species that is listed as endangered by the State. Consequently, the island is closed to both the public and researchers in order to avoid human disturbance to nesting pelicans that might cause abandonment of the colony. American white pelicans first nested on Badger Island in 1997 (ca. 20 breeding pairs) and the colony has grown to over 1,000 breeding pairs by 2009. Pelicans nest on the ground in at least three disjunct areas of the island: the upstream tip, half way down the island on the eastern shore, and the interior of the island. Much of the pelican colony is concealed from view from the water and from the air by dense shrub vegetation; the size of the colony is estimated by counts of adults from aerial photos taken of the island.
