6Howland Island
Much like the previously-mentioned Baker Island, you won’t find a lot of tourists here on nearby Howland Island either. Still, if you are intrigued enough to want to see this place you need to get approval from the USFWS (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Of course, the reason why the two islands came under US ownership is not at all glamorous. In two words: “Seabird droppings.” During the 1840s, US farmers found out that seabird droppings was actually fantastic fertilizer.
Thus, in 1857 the powers that be enacted the Guano Act. It remains in place to this day. The USA has the legal right to actually claim and “mine” any unclaimed islands for it.
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