Two rain forest preserves and a coral reef are home to unique tropical animals including the Flying Fox, Pacific Boa, sea turtles, and an array of birds and fish. The park contains paleotropical rain forests, pristine coral reefs, and magnificent white sand beaches. A new park visitor center is located in Pago Plaza office building located on the island of Tutuila. The park was authorized on October 31, 1988. Park lands are on three separate islands; Tutuila, Ofu and Tau, and total 9,000 acres. All of the lands are leased from the respective villages.
Maine ocean islands provide the only nesting sites for Atlantic puffins in the United States. Eastern Egg Rock in the midcoast region, Seal Island and Matinicus Rock at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and Machias Seal Island and Petit Manan Island off the downeast coast provide habitat for more than 4,000 puffins each summer.