Western & Pacific Network applauds new national marine monuments’ designations

[B]HONOLULU[/B]—Tuesday’s announcement by the White House that President Bush designated “…three new marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean totaling more than 195,000 square miles, an area greater than Oregon and Washington combined” is being applauded by the organizations and individuals in Hawaii who took part in the October 2008 meeting in Honolulu with representatives of James Connaughton, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

In a message to local supporters, Marjorie Ziegler, executive director of The Conservation Council For Hawaii, said, “This is a major victory for ocean ecosystems. The designations include the spectacular Mariana Trench and the coral reefs and waters around three uninhabited islands in the Northern Mariana Islands, Rose Atoll (American Samoa) and seven islands along the equator in the central Pacific.

William Aila, chairman of the Native Hawaiian Council, Papahanaumokukea Reserve Advisory Committee said, “With this monument designation, the Chamorro and Carolinian people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas have co-management of their waters.”

[B]Supporters[/B]

Conservationists were not alone in their support for the designation of these marine monuments. Former Western States Bush Campaign chair Mario Rodriguez was among several prominent GOP supporters (including former U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin) who petitioned the President for the strongest protections for the monument encompassing these unique geologic and biological resources.

“It’s surprising that the Mariana Islands, and the Mariana Trench, including the deepest point on earth, have not until now been considered for protection,” Rodriguez said. “President Bush, with a bold stroke of his pen, became the Teddy Roosevelt of the oceans, cementing his legacy as the ocean president and the U.S. position as the world leader in marine conservation. The President should be commended for demonstrating that conserving our ocean resources is not a partisan issue and the peoples of the CNMI and the future generations of the world are the beneficiaries.”

“Every Administration needs to be as credible with conservation as they are on taxes and national security,” he added.

[B]Opportunities for the CNMI[/B]

As a result of the Monument designation, the Marianas should get a visitors center, an enforcement boat, co-management, an advisory council to the monument, federal jobs, and international media attention.

Discussing the expected visitor and scientific centers, Lincoln Lighthill, a LEED accredited Architect at Jensen Architects in San Francisco, said, “A place of such geological and biological uniqueness deserves a facility for public education, research and ecotourism that properly introduces the world to the little-known natural and cultural treasures of the CNMI. It would seem to call for a new standard in sustainable, carbon-neutral design.”

On Saipan, where tourism, still the main industry, has fallen from 700,000 to 400,000 visitors a year in 10 years, the Hotel Association and the Chamber of Commerce have endorsed the monument because such designation will mean a boost their visitor industry and offer a significant contribution to the economy of the CNMI.

The primary opposition to the National Monument designations has been generated by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. Based in Honolulu, Wespac remains under at least two active federal investigations for the misuse of federal funds for political lobbying and possible conflicts of interest charges.

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[B]FACT SHEET[/B]

1. The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument consists of three components:

– The first component of this monument is the waters and submerged lands encompassing the coral reef ecosystem of the three northernmost islands. These islands represent some of the westernmost territory in the United States – 5,600 miles from California. They are home to more than 300 species of stony corals.

– The second component is the Marianas Trench. The trench, the site of the deepest place on Earth, is approximately 940 nautical miles long and 38 nautical miles wide within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States.

– The third component is a series of active undersea volcanoes and thermal vents. Twenty-one active hydrothermal submarine volcanoes and vents support life in the harshest conditions imaginable. Many scientists believe extreme conditions like these could have been the first incubators of life on Earth. Further research will allow us to learn more about life on the bottom of the sea.

2. The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments protects the pristine coral reef ecosystems around Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, and Wake Island—the site of a pivotal battle in World War II and an important military base today. These areas support a large number of nesting seabirds and migratory shorebirds, and their pristine coral reefs contain hundreds of thriving fish species and large apex predators and are also home to endangered turtles.

3. The Rose Atoll Marine National Monument protects the pristine coral reef ecosystem around a remote part of American Samoa. One of its most striking features is the pink hue of fringing reef caused by the dominance of reef building coralline algae. Rare species of nesting petrel, shearwaters, and terns also thrive on this island, and the waters surrounding it are a home for many species depleted elsewhere in the world, including giant clams and reef sharks.

The President also announced America’s first new UNESCO World Heritage Site nominations in 15 years. The two sites are the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument (in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands) and Mount Vernon. Only two sites can be nominated each year.

In designating the marine areas, the President made explicit that nothing in the proclamations impairs or otherwise affects the activities of the U.S. Department of Defense. Among other things, the DoD is ensured full freedom of navigation in accordance with the law of the sea, and the U.S. Navy can continue effective training to maintain its antisubmarine warfare and other capabilities.
[I] Source: The White House[/I]