(mysterious intro music)
(sound of waves crashing)
(drum music)
(sound of waves crashing)
Narrator 1: This is one of the last wild places on Earth.
1200 miles of ocean wilderness in our own backyard.
Larger than all our national parks put together filled with
priceless treasures.
Safe Haven for corals, fish, Honu, monk seals, dolphins,
and seabirds.
Northern most site of ancient Hawaiian culture celebrated in
chants and stories.
These are the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
(soft instrumental music)
Narrator 2: These are the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Their under sea forests and mountain ranges comprise the
largest remote reef system in the world.
This archipelago is home to thousands of unique plants and
animals.
One quarter of which are found nowhere else on earth.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands have been accorded
The nation's highest form of marine environmental
protection.
They are the largest single area dedicated to conservation
in the history of our country.
Narrator 1: Visits to these islands
(background Hawaiian chant)
by native Hawaiians,
for cultural and spiritual practices continue today.
Nainoa Thompson: This community effort is about
making sure people know how special and how important
those islands are from a cultural
and an ecological point of view and why we need to protect
them.
We say those islands are kūpuna.
We say those islands are sacred and we mean it,
all of this to me, boils down to protecting what we,
what we love and what we care for and making sure we act on
it in a way in which is we believe is right for not just the
islands, but for humanity.
(instrumental music)
Narrator 2: For almost a century.
The United States government has considered it vital to
protect the fragile beauty and priceless treasures of the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
In 1909, President Theodore Roosevelt
signed an executive order to
create the Hawaiian Islands Reservation.
At the turn of the 21st century,
the government turned its attention to dwindling coral reefs
and took action to protect them.
The U.S coral reef task force was formed in 1998 and the
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands with its vast expanse of
healthy reefs, drew renewed interest.
In 2000, President Bill Clinton created
the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve.
Hawaiʻi governor, Linda Lingle, signed regulations in 2005,
establishing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands state waters
as a marine refuge.
And then on June 15th, 2006,
the most significant and far reaching action took place.
President Bush signed a proclamation,
creating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands
Marine National Monument.
-: The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are a beautiful and
special place. Our duty is to use the land and seas wisely,
or sometimes not use them at all.
The national monument we're establishing today covers nearly
140,000 square miles larger than 46 of our 50 states,
itʻs a big deal.
(applause)
(instrumental music)
Narrator 1: As a national marine monument,
the fragile lands and waters of the Northwestern Hawaiian
Islands are protected by strong regulations
and enforcement tools.
Six principles guide and direct these protections.
The national monument preserves access for native Hawaiian
cultural activities.
It provides for carefully regulated educational and
scientific activities.
It will enhance visitation in a special area
around Midway Atoll.
It prohibits unauthorized access.
It will phase out commercial fishing over a five-year period
and it bans the extraction of resources and the dumping of
waste.
(instrumental music)
Narrator 2: The U.S Fish and Wildlife Service with the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
are charged to work with the
State of Hawaiʻi and the public to manage the monument.
It's an example of cooperative conservation,
the best way to protect the environment we all share.
Narrator 1: The Northwestern Hawaiian islands
are filled with living wonders.
They are places of fragile, irreplaceable beauty.
Native Hawaiian culture and history
are integrally connected to them.
Narrator 2: And they're the largest protected
marine area in the world.
More than 100 times larger than Yosemite National Park.
This national monument honors our nation's commitment to the
world to be good stewards of Earth's natural resources.
Narrator 1: It safeguards the environment around us
for ourselves, our children, and all future generations.
(drum music)