Our Proposal

Native Hawaiian leaders send President Obama a letter asking for the expansion of PMNM out to 200 nautical miles (from the current 50 nautical miles)

Download Letter (PDF)

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Native Hawaiian Cultural Working Group (CWG) met and approved the expansion of PMNM out to the 200 nautical mile limit with exception of waters surrounding Niihau and Kauai and to designate the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a co-trustee on the monument’s management committee.

The CWG has been in existence since 2000, originally part of the Reserve Advisory Council for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, and now under the Monument Management Board for the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The group is made up of 50 individuals located across all the main Hawaiian Islands and each with a strong tie to Papahānaumokuākea. Members include Hawaiian kūpuna (elders), researchers, educators, community organizers, advocates, as well as cultural practitioners.

The CWG sent a letter to the White House Council on Environmental Quality to express their support of expansion and to invite the administration “to further discuss the potential for monument expansion and to hear from and talk directly to the various stakeholders and the Native Hawaiian community”

Download Letter (PDF)

Obama administration representatives engaged in listening sessions on Oahu and Kauai with various stakeholders regarding the expansion

Expand Papahānaumokuākea coalition announces to the public a request to the President to use the Antiquities Act to expand the protection area for PMNM

Read Star Advertiser: Bigger Marine Sanctuary Spells a Bold Idea

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs Board voted to conditionally support the proposed boundary expansion of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Read OHA statement on Papahānaumokuākea

The Papahānaumokuākea Reserve Advisory Council votes to support the expansion of Papahānaumokuākea. The role of the Council is to provide advice and recommendations to the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries

Senator Brian Schatz submits proposal to President Obama for the expansion of PMNM. At 582,578 square miles, the proposal would create the world’s largest marine protected area by expanding the PMNM west of 163° West Longitude out to the full 200 nautical miles of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, while preserving access for local fishermen on Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau by maintaining the current boundaries of the PMNM east of 163° West Longitude

Read Press Release

Pu‘uhonua: A Place of Sanctuary, the cultural and biological significance of the proposed expansion of PMNM report, is released
Download Report (PDF)

More than 1,500 scientists worldwide, many attending the International Coral Reef Symposium, sign a letter to President Obama urging him to expand PMNM

Download Letter (PDF)

Honolulu Star Advertiser endorses the expansion of PMNM

Read Larger marine preserve makes sense

Civil Beat editorial staff endorses the expansion of PMNM

Read When It Comes To The Marine Monument, Bigger Is Better

More than 300 citizens turn out for Oahu public meeting, jointly hosted by NOAA and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, with overwhelming majority testifying in support of expansion

Public meeting held in Lihue, Kauai, jointly hosted by NOAA and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, with majority testifying in support of the expansion

Governor Ige publicly supports the expansion and the elevation of Office of Hawaiian Affairs as co-Trustee

Download Letter (PDF)

President Obama signs proclamation to expand Papahanaumokuakea