| Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument | |
|---|---|
IUCN category V (protected landscape/seascape) | |
 Green sea turtle atPalmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge | |
 Interactive map of Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument | |
| Location | CentralPacific Ocean |
| Area | 313,818,892 acres (1,269,980.00 km2)[1] |
| Created | January 6, 2009 (2009-01-06) |
| Administrator | John Klavitter, Superintendent,U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Website | Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument |
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ThePacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, formerly namedPacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, is a group of unorganized, mostly unincorporatedUnited StatesPacific Island territories managed by theUnited States Fish and Wildlife Service of theUnited States Department of the Interior and theNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of theUnited States Department of Commerce.[2][3] These remote refuges are "the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction".[2][3] They protect manyendemic species includingcorals,fish,shellfish,marine mammals,seabirds, water birds, land birds,insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere.[4]
The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument was proclaimed anational monument on January 6, 2009, by U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush[2][3] and follows his June 6, 2006, creation of thePapahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in theNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands. The original area was about 83,000 square miles (210,000 km2). It was expanded on September 25, 2014, by U.S. PresidentBarack Obama. The monument covers 490,343 square miles (1,269,980 km2),[1] spanning areas to the far south and west of Hawaii:Baker Island,Howland Island,Jarvis Island,Johnston Atoll,Kingman Reef,Palmyra Atoll, andWake Island. At Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, the terrestrial areas, reefs, and waters out to 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) (radius) are part of theNational Wildlife Refuge System. ForBaker Island,Howland Island,Kingman Reef, andPalmyra Atoll, fishery-related activities seaward from the 12 nmi (22 km) refuge boundaries out to the 50 nmi (93 km) MNM boundary (about 100 nmi (190 km) square across) are managed by NOAA. ForJarvis Island,Johnston Atoll, andWake Island, fishery-related activities seaward from the 12 nmi (22 km) refuge boundaries out to the 200 nmi (370 km) MNM boundary (U.S.EEZ waters) are managed by NOAA. The land areas at Wake and Johnston Atolls remain under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Air Force, but the waters from 0 to 12 nmi (22 km) are protected as units of the National Wildlife Refuge System. The monument is closed to commercial fishing and other resource extraction activities, such asdeep sea mining.[5]
The monument includesendemic trees, grasses, and birds adapted to life at the equator, the rare sea turtles and whales and Hawaiian monk seals that visit Johnston Atoll, and high-qualitycoral reefs. U.S. federal law prohibits resource destruction or extraction, waste dumping, and commercial fishing in the monument areas. Research, free passage, and recreation are allowed.
On June 17, 2014, U.S. PresidentBarack Obama proposed using his executive powers to expand themarine protected area to 782,000 square miles (2,030,000 km2). Sport fishing is exempt, and public comments were solicited.[6] He then signed a proclamation on September 25, 2014, expanding the monument to six times its original size, resulting in 490,343 square miles (1,269,982 square kilometers)[1] of protected area around these tropical islands and atolls in the south-central Pacific Ocean. Expanding the monument protected the deep coral reefs, seamounts, and marine ecosystems unique to this part of the world, which are also among the most vulnerable areas to the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification.[5] Specifically, it expanded the boundaries to the 200 nautical-mile outer limits of the U.S. EEZ around Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, and Jarvis Island while leaving in place the 50 nautical-mile boundaries for Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll and Howland and Baker Islands created by the 2009 proclamation.[7][8]
In September 2017,Trump Administration U.S. Interior SecretaryRyan Zinke recommended that the U.S. government reduce the monument's boundaries by an unspecified amount.[9] By the end of his term in office, in January 2021, former President Trump had not followed this recommendation.
In March 2023, President Biden directed the Secretary of Commerce to consider making the monument and additional areas within the U.S. EEZ aNational Marine Sanctuary, as well as to study a renaming of the monument, its islands, and their related national wildlife refuges.[10] Following a collaborate process with Pacific Island communities and report published in March 2024,[11] Biden renamed the monument as Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument on January 2, 2025, to recognize traditional voyages and cultural connections in the region.[12]
On April 17th, 2025, PresidentDonald Trump signed an executive order removing protected status from areas of the national monument. The executive order restored commercial fishing access from 50 to 200 nautical miles (the limit of the U.S.Exclusive economic zone) from the land.[13] Previously the area had been the largestMarine protected area in the world.[5]
The following islands form the basis of the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument:
South of the monument is thePhoenix Islands Protected Area, with a size of 408,250 km2 (157,630 sq mi), which was created by the government ofKiribati.[14]
Because the islands are scattered throughout the ocean, the climate is different on each island. Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands have anequatorial climate, with scant rainfall, constant wind, and burning sun. Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef have atropical climate but are generally dry, with consistent northeasttrade winds with little seasonal temperature variation. Palmyra Atoll has a hot, equatorial climate. Because the atoll is located within the low-pressure area of theIntertropical Convergence Zone where the northeast and southeast trade winds meet, it is extremely wet with between 4,000–5,000 mm (160–200 in) of rainfall each year.[4]
A recent study in the journalClimatic Change suggests the expanded reserve could make pelagic fish populations in the Pacific more resilient toocean warming.[15] Researchers found that by 2060, warmer temperatures will attract skipjack tuna from the Western Pacific to the protected waters of the monument, away from areas that are heavily fished.[8]
Although the islands have no permanent residents, the seven islands that make up the marine national monument are stepping stones that connect Hawaii to Micronesia and other Polynesian sea voyaging cultures. The voyage from Hawaii to the neighboring Marshall Islands once included a stop at Johnston Atoll. Wake Atoll is geographically, culturally, and historically linked to the people who live in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Kingman, Palmyra, Jarvis, Howland, and Baker are connected to the Republic of Kiribati. Voyaging and culture link all of these islands.[16]
Wake has a current transient population of ca. 125 military personnel and contractors. Johnston Atoll had a peak population of 1,100 military and civilian contractor personnel in 2000, but it was evacuated by 2007. From 2010 through 2021, volunteer biologists lived and worked on the island in groups of 5, but since May 2021, the island has had no permanent inhabitants. Four to twentyNature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff live at Palmyra Atoll. The four other islands are usually uninhabited.
Public entry to the islands is by special-use permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It is generally restricted to scientists and educators.[4] Only Wake Island and Palmyra Atoll have serviceable runways; Jarvis, Johnston Atoll, Baker, and Howland Islands had airstrips in earlier times but they have long been abandoned and are no longer operational.
