Bush Administration to Designate Three New Marine National Monuments in the Pacific Ocean

Pew applauds historic action of the Bush administration

Brown Booby and nest on Maug Island. Seabird populations in the Northern Mariana Islands are significant for Micronesia, and Maug and Uracus islands support regionally important seabird colonies. Credit: NOAA, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Russell Moffitt, photographer

Photos of the Mariana Trench for media use

On Tuesday January 6, 2009, President Bush will designate three new marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean that total an area of more than 195,561 square miles in size - larger than the states of Oregon and Washington combined. When added with the already established Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, President Bush will have designated monuments protecting 335,358 square miles of ocean and thus protected more of the world's marine environment than any other person in history. These new marine monuments will be larger than the entire U.S. National Park system, and more than double the area of U.S. ocean now protected.

More information on the three designated areas

Media Resources

PRESS RELEASE: Pew Environment Group: Join the U.S. in setting aside Australia's treasured Coral Sea - Pew Environment Group - 7 January 2009

PRESS RELEASE: New Ocean Monuments Give President Bush a Blue Legacy - Pew Environment Group - 5 January 2009

Japanese translation - New Ocean Monuments Give President Bush a Blue Legacy (PDF) - Pew Environment Group - 5 January 2009

Fact sheets and maps

Mariana Trench fact sheet (PDF)

Map of the Mariana Trench (PDF)

A Scientific Case for the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument (PDF)

The Economic Impact of a proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument (PDF)

Global Ocean Legacy fact sheet (PDF)

Map of the Pacific Marine Monuments (PDF)

Images for media use

Photos of the Mariana Trench

Broadcast quality footage is available at the following FTP address: 70.86.53.74
Username: mariana Password: monument

Latest News

Marine National Monument Act (VIDEO) - ABC news - 6 January 2009

Bush Set To Protect Marine Preserves In Pacific - NPR - 6 January 2009

US vows 'huge' marine protection - BBC - 6 January 2009

Bush designates ocean conservation areas in final weeks as president - The Guardian - 6 January 2009

Bush to Protect Three Areas in Pacific - Washington Post - 6 January 2009

Bush to make Pacific's Mariana Trench a national monument - USA Today - 6 January 2009

Bush to create three marine monuments - Los Angeles Times - 6 January 2009

Bush to Protect Vast New Pacific Tracts - New York Times - 5 January 2009

More news

Contact Us

Jay Nelson
Director, Ocean Legacy
(907) 321-5030
(907) 586-8000
jnelson@pewtrusts.org

Media Inquiries
Dave Bard
Communications Officer, Pew Environment Group
(202) 778-4551
dbard@pewtrusts.org

Global Ocean Legacy: Protecting the Special Places in the Sea

World-scale marine reserves—places where no fishing or other extractive activity is allowed—protect our global marine heritage for future generations and celebrate our shared ocean legacy.

Building on the historic precedent of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, our aim—over the next five years—is to establish three to four large, world-class, no-take marine reserves that will provide ecosystem-scale benefits and help conserve our global marine heritage.

Global Ocean Legacy is a project initiated by the Pew Environment Group in partnership with the Oak Foundation, the Robertson Foundation and the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation.

Support for the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument

Community leaders in the Mariana Islands are calling on the public to support the proposed monument; citing the positive benefits to industry, education, and the environment.

A broad spectrum of the Mariana Islands public is calling on President George W. Bush to designate the proposed monument citing the positive benefits for conservation, tourism, education, and research.

Watch videos from Friends of the Monument

Letters of support for the monument

Learn more about the proposed Mariana Trench National Monument