Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a U.S. national monument and World Heritage Site, spans 582,578 square miles of ocean. It includes ten islands and atolls in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. First established by President George W. Bush in 2006 at 140,000 square miles, President Barack Obama expanded it more than fourfold in 2016, pushing its boundary to the exclusive economic zone limit. This made it one of the largest protected areas on Earth.

The monument shelters over 7,000 marine species, with a quarter endemic to Hawaii and some found nowhere else. Only 5.8 square miles of land rises above sea level, yet this land is critical for many terrestrial species.

History

Ancient archaeological sites important to Native Hawaiians are present, and deeper waters hold shipwrecks, submerged aircraft, and World War II battle remains. Commercial fishing is banned here. In 2025, President Joe Biden designated its marine areas as the Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary.

Geography

Geographically, the monument protects ocean waters, more than 30 submerged banks and seamounts, reefs, and the ten Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and atolls. Its boundary starts offshore of Nīhoa island in the southeast, east of 163° W, near Niʻihau and just northwest of Kauaʻi.

From there, it stretches 1,200 miles northwest to Kure Atoll. The marine boundary extends to the exclusive economic zone limit for areas west of 163° W, crossing the International Date Line past Kure Atoll. The full area covers about 582,578 square miles, larger than all U.S. national parks combined and nearly the size of the Gulf of Mexico.

About 132,000 square miles of the monument belong to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, designated in 2000. It also includes Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge (590,991.50 acres) and the Battle of Midway National Memorial, the Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll, and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands State Marine Refuge. All islands are part of Hawaii except Midway Atoll, which is part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands. Henderson Field on Midway Atoll provides public airport access.

French Frigate Shoals Airport on Tern Island was maintained until the 2010s but is now inactive. The Tern Island field station, run by the Fish and Wildlife Service, was abandoned in 2012 after a severe storm destroyed its infrastructure. Hurricane Walaka destroyed East Island in the shoals in 2018, though it has recently begun restoring itself.

Administration

Administration is shared among four co-trustees: the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, the State of Hawai‘i, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA). The Secretary of Commerce and NOAA oversee marine areas. The Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service manage Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the Battle of Midway National Memorial, and the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.

The State of Hawai‘i and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources handle the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge and State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll. OHA is responsible for Native Hawaiian interests, customs, rights, practices, and religious traditions. A Senior Executive Board develops policy, and a seven-member management board includes representatives from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service, FWS’s Ecological Services and Refuges, DLNR’s Aquatic Resources and Forestry and Wildlife divisions, and OHA.

Historically, Native Hawaiians view the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a place where life begins and returns after death, with kinship between nature and humanity. Archaeological remains exist on Nīhoa and Mokumanamana. After the U.S. annexed Hawaii, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation on February 3, 1909, to protect seabirds from over-harvesting. President Franklin D. Roosevelt converted it into the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in 1940.

Subsequent protections included Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge in 1988 and Kure Atoll State Wildlife Sanctuary in 1993. President Bill Clinton established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve on December 4, 2000, via Executive Order 13178, initiating a process to designate the waters as a National Marine Sanctuary. In 2005, Governor Linda Lingle declared parts of the area.