In celebration of Earth Day on Tuesday, Gov. Linda Lingle announced the availability of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Draft Management Plan for public review and comment. Once the plan is completed, the finished documents are intended to guide the
In celebration of Earth Day on Tuesday, Gov. Linda Lingle announced the availability of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Draft Management Plan for public review and comment.
Once the plan is completed, the finished documents are intended to guide the future management of the monument for the next 15 years.
The Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument, which encompasses the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, is the single largest conservation area in the United States and the largest marine conservation area in the world. The Monument consists of 137,797 square miles of the Pacific Ocean.
The monument was created by Presidential Proclamation on June 15, 2006.
“This vast area has a great deal of significance, not only to those concerned with protecting our environment, but to the Native Hawaiians who share such a strong cultural tie to the Northwest Hawaiian Islands,” Lingle said in a press release.
According to the Citizen’s Guide to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, the management process began in 2002. Public scoping meetings revealed key resource management issues, and vision, mission, management principles, goals and objectives were developed.
After more than 100 meetings and working group sessions, including 22 meetings in Hawai‘i and Washington, D.C., more than 52,000 public comments were submitted.
The draft management plan will address wide variety of issues, including marine pollution, human uses and protected species. The plan also includes strategies for future actions with the monument.
According to the plan, there are six priority management needs. Under these needs, 22 action plans and corresponding desired outcomes are outlined.
The six priority management needs include understanding and interpreting the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands; conserving wildlife and habitats; reducing threats to monument resources; managing human uses; coordinating conservation and management activities and achieving effective monument operations.
The 22 action plans under the six priorities are intended to provide an organizational structure for carrying out the management strategies.
Each action plan describes the issue, the history of that issue and the strategies and activities planned for the monument for the next 15 years.
“As we near the 100th anniversary of the creation of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, we reaffirm the wisdom of our ancestors in protecting this very special region,” Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett said in a press release. “From the early Polynesians who first visited these islands to today’s visitors to Midway Atoll, we share a sense of wonder over the remarkable wildlife who call Papahanaumokuakea home. Through this management plan, we hope to continue protecting and restoring their habitats so that future generations may also view them with awe.”
At the time of the Presidential Proclamation, the monument already included many federal conservation areas, including the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge and the Battle of Midway National Memorial.
Three government agencies are responsible for managing the monument: the state of Hawai‘i, the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Department of Commerce.
“The draft plan truly embodies the spirit of cooperative conservation,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration administrator.
Copies of the draft management plan are available at Hawai‘i public libraries and online at www.papahanaumokuakea.gov.
The federal comment period began April 23 and ends July 8.
Comments on the plan can be submitted through mail and must be postmarked no later than July 8. Comment can be mailed to: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, Box 50167, Honolulu, HI 96850.
Comments may also be submitted electronically by e-mailing PMNM_MMP_Comments@fws.gov.
Public meetings will be held statewide beginning June 9. The public meeting on Kaua‘i will be from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. June 23 at the Kaua‘i Beach Resort.
• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.
