evidence: Now, an atoll in the Marshall Islands may soon join that list, thanks to the joint efforts of the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services, the nonprofit Island Conservation, Colorado State University’s Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands, and many other partners. Together, they form the Wake Atoll Rat Eradication Project team. Wake Atoll, the northernmost atoll of the Marshalls, lies about 2,200 miles west of Honolulu. It comprises three coral islands, Peale, Wilkes, and Wake, which is home to an active Air Force installation. The atoll’s lagoon and surrounding waters are managed as the Wake Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and are part of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. [...] Similarly, ongoing monitoring on Wake Atoll will be necessary to verify that all rats have successfully been eliminated. For a full year, the WAREP team will respond immediately to any sign of rodents by placing additional bait and traps. To head off new incursions, Wake Island Airfield is also implementing stronger biosecurity procedures for arriving ships and planes. The base already uses rodent traps on docks, rodent guards on mooring lines, and similar measures; it will expand those efforts and add others to target potential invasives such as insects, plants, and reptiles.