In a step that has me completely baffled, but may do a measure in redeeming him in the eyes of the environmentally friendly, President George W Bush has sent a memo to cabinet secretaries proposing the designation of two new marine national monuments within US jurisdiction.

The proposed monuments – loosely termed; as far as I can tell there will be no massive brass or bronze statues anywhere – are the Central Pacific Islands and areas around the Northern Mariana Islands.

One of the monuments, the Central Pacific Islands, would equate to a size four and a half times all the US National Parks, and measure in at close to the size of Alaska. The area would include eight islands and coral reef atolls in the Line Islands and American Samoa, and their surrounding waters.

The second area would cover parts of the Northern Mariana Islands, located in the Western Pacific, including the area that is known as the Mariana Trench, the deepest yet recorded part of our planet’s oceans.

The president of the Environmental Defense Fund, Fred Krupp, commented, saying that “The president is on the cusp of conserving more ocean territory than any leader has ever done. That’s an amazing legacy to leave the nation.”

He went on to add that the “President’s focus on ocean protection, first with Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in Hawaii and now with these proposed monuments, is the kind of leadership we need now and from future presidents to ensure our world beneath the waves is protected, explored, studied and cherished.”

One of the areas within the Central Pacific Islands region, Kingman Reef, has recently been the focus of intense study. What researchers found was that Kingman Reef was “…a picture-perfect healthy coral ecosystem that contained more fish than any other coral reef ecosystem in the world.” The study also discovered that the area contained “…the world’s greatest proportion of top predators (including sharks), a key indicator of ecosystem health.”

“There are very few places on earth like the Central Pacific Islands,” said David Festa, vice president, Oceans at EDF. “It is a place that time forgot: spectacular wildlife, stunning beauty and almost no people or even human activity. A monument designation will celebrate and protect this extraordinary place.”

While Bush noted that consideration would be provided for energy development, mining, and fishing, the EDF hopes that the areas will receive full protection. Without it, such activities “…could harm the seabirds, turtles, and other wildlife that lives in these areas.”

Such a decision could be made by the time Bush leaves office.

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Quotes sourced from EDF Press Release

Image Credit J.E. Maragos of the Palmyra Atoll via EDF