Number: 2016-10
WHEREAS, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is a UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing nearly 140,000 square miles and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world; and
WHEREAS, the monument was declared in 2006 and includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and surrounding waters from the shoreline out to 50 nautical miles; and
WHEREAS, there is a long history of federal protection for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, including designation of the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, creation of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940 (extending protection to all species in the Refuge), President Bill Clinton’s designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve in 2000 and 2001, and President George W. Bush’s designation of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in 2006; and
WHEREAS, Papahānaumokuākea was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 and is one of only 28 mixed (natural and cultural) World Heritage Sites in the world and the first in the United States; and
WHEREAS, the monument is exceptionally diverse with near-pristine ecosystems supporting more than 7,000 marine species (a quarter of which are believed to be unique to Hawai‘i); 14 million seabirds representing dozens of species; and species previously unknown to science; and
WHEREAS, the monument includes predator-dominated ecosystems with strong populations of sharks, groupers, and other apex predators, which have been heavily overfished elsewhere and represent more than half the biomass in the monument; and
WHEREAS, the name, “Papahānaumokuākea,” commemorates the union of two Hawaiian indigenous ancestors – Papahānaumoku and Wākea – who gave rise to the entire Hawaiian Archipelago, the kalo (taro) plant, and the Native Hawaiian people; and
WHEREAS, Papahānaumokuākea is considered a sacred area from which the Native Hawaiian people believe life springs and to which spirits return after death, and is also a place where Hawaiian cultural practitioners of today go to deepen lineal ties to their ancestors and gods; and
WHEREAS, the monument protects traditional Hawaiian habitation sites, heiau (temples), ko‘a (fishing grounds and shrines), culturally significant species such as sharks, sea turtles, and other ‘aumākua (ancestral family gods), and the flight paths and foraging habitat of seabirds observed during traditional ocean voyaging by canoe; and
WHEREAS, nationally significant historic sites are also protected in the monument, including the Battle of Midway National Memorial, shipwrecks, and other archeological features representing the various periods of human occupation of the Hawaiian Islands; and
WHEREAS, the current boundaries of the monument do not fully protect the habitat and travel routes for protected whales, monk seals, sea turtles, sharks, and albatrosses; and
WHEREAS, in April 2016, representatives of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group wrote to the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality noting their support for expanding the monument’s boundaries out to 200 nautical miles – the limit of the United States’ Exclusive Economic Zone – excluding the waters around Ni‘ihau and Kaua‘i; and
WHEREAS, the Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group’s proposal to expand the monument’s boundaries comes at a critical time when pollution, overfishing, mining, invasive species, and climate change are seriously damaging the health of the world’s oceans; and
WHEREAS, a growing body of science shows that large fully protected marine areas, such as Papahānaumokuākea, are more resilient to climate change and essential to mitigating the impacts of a warming planet; and
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation’s Hawai‘i affiliate, Conservation Council for Hawai‘i, is active in local, state, and national efforts to expand the monument’s boundaries; and
WHEREAS, with the global spotlight on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress in Honolulu on September 1-10, 2016, expanding the monument’s boundaries now would be timely and appropriate; and
WHEREAS, on this 10th anniversary of the monument’s creation, there is an opportunity for the Obama Administration to expand the area of protection nearly fivefold, thus leaving a cultural and environmental legacy for future generations.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in its Annual Meeting assembled June 16-19, 2016 in Estes Park, Colorado, calls upon President Barack Obama to expand the boundaries of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument out to 200 nautical miles using his authority under the Antiquities Act of 1906.