Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument

Map of islands and their locations in the Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is a group of unorganized, mostly unincorporated United States Pacific Island territories managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior. These remote refuges are "the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction".^{[citation needed]} They protect many endemic species including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water birds, land birds, insects, and vegetation not found elsewhere.

The Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument was proclaimed a national monument on January 6, 2009 by U.S. President George W. Bush. The monument covers 86,607 square miles (55,428,480 acres, spanning areas to the far south and west of Hawaii: Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, Howland Island, Baker Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, and Wake Island. At Howland Island, Baker Island, Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef the terrestrial areas, reefs, and waters out to 12 nautical miles (radius) are part of the National Wildlife Refuge System. For all of the areas, fishery-related activities seaward from the 12 nmi (22 km) refuge boundaries out to the 50 nmi (93 km) NMM boundary (about 100 nmi (190 km) square across) are managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 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 will also include unique trees and grasses and birds adapted to life at the Equator; the rare sea turtles and whales and Hawaiian monk seals that visit Johnston Atoll; and some of the most pristine and spectacular coral reefs in the world. Resource destruction or extraction, waste dumping, and commercial fishing will be prohibited in the new monument areas. Research, free passage, and recreation will be allowed.

Geography

Location and area

The following islands constitute the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument:

• Baker Island, an atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 1,830 nmi (3,389 km) southwest of Honolulu, coordinates 0°13′N 176°31′W, about half way between Hawaii and Australia. The atoll has a total area of 129 km², of which 2.1 km² is land and 127 km² is water.

• Howland Island, an island in the North Pacific Ocean 1,815 nmi (3,361 km) southwest of Honolulu, coordinates 0°48′N 176°38′W, about half way between Hawaii and Australia. The island has a total area of 139 km², of which 2.6 km² is land and 136 km² is water.

• Jarvis Island, an island in the South Pacific Ocean 1,305 nmi (2,417 km) south of Honolulu, coordinates 0°23′S 160°01′W, about half way between Hawaii and the Cook Islands. The island has a total area of 152 km², of which 5 km² is land and 147 km² is water.

• Johnston Atoll, an atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 717 nmi (1,328 km) southwest of Honolulu, coordinates 16°45′N 169°31′W, about one-third of the way from Hawaii to the Marshall Islands. The atoll has a total area of 276.6 km², of which 2.6 km² is land and 274 km² is water.

• Kingman Reef, a reef in the North Pacific Ocean 930 nmi (1,722 km) south of Honolulu, coordinates 6°23′N 162°25′W, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa. The reef has a total area of 1,958.01 km², of which 0.01 km² is land and 1,958 km² is water.

• Palmyra Atoll, an atoll in the North Pacific Ocean 960 nmi (1,778 km) south of Honolulu, coordinates 5°53′N 162°05′W, about half way between Hawaii and American Samoa. The atoll has a total area of 1,949 km², of which 3.9 km² is land and 1,946 km² is water.

• Wake Island's submerged waters.

Climate

Because the islands are scattered throughout the ocean, the climate is different on each island. Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands have an equatorial climate, with scant rainfall, constant wind, and burning sun. Johnston Atoll and Kingman Reef have a tropical climate, but are generally dry, with consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation. Palmyra Atoll has a hot, equatorial climate. Because the atoll located within the low pressure area of the Intertropical 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.

Population

The islands have no indigenous inhabitants. On Johnston Atoll in previous years, an average of 1,100 U.S. military and civilian contractor personnel were present, but as of May 2005 all U.S. government personnel had left the island. Four to 20 Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife staff live at Palmyra Atoll. The 4 other islands are usually uninhabited.

Public entry to the islands is by special-use permit from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service only and generally restricted to scientists and educators. Only Palmyra Atoll has a serviceable runway; Baker Island, Howland Island, and Johnston Atoll had airstrips in earlier times but they have since been abandoned and are no longer operational.

See also

• National Wildlife Refuge
• United States Minor Outlying Islands
• Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument
• Navassa Island, an NWR in the Caribbean Sea
• Bibliography of Wake Island

External links

• Copy of official map (PDF)

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.