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the community newspaper for east oahu since 1987
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First Lady Laura Bush and Governor Lingle announce the name of the Northwestern Hawaiian Island Marine National Monument. Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Department of the Interior, at the podium
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Marine National Monument Named by MICHELE VAN HESSENSun Correspondent Archived April 2007 article First Lady Laura Bush made a historical visit to Washington Place to unveil the chosen name Papahanaumokuakea for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument (NWHI). In 2006, President George W. Bush made the decision to designate the NWHI as a Marine National Monument instead of a sanctuary, which allows the federal government to establish a collaborative effort in protecting the region for future generations. Governor Linda Lingle and Lt. Governor James Aiona, Jr. are now proactively pursuing efforts to have the monument declared a World Heritage site. The name Papahanaumokuakea was formed from several words to reflect an ancient Hawaiian tradition concerning the genealogy and formation of the Hawaiian Islands. Federal, native Hawaiian cultural practitioners Uncle Buzzy Agard and Aunty Pua Kanahele, resource managers, scholars, state agencies and teachers participated in naming this region. The power to grant national monuments began with President Theodore Roosevelt, who declared Devils Tower in Wyoming as the very first national monument without Congressional approval because he thought Congress was moving too slowly to protect its natural beauty. National monuments are managed by the National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service or the Bureau of Land Management. Papahanaumokuakea is now the largest National Monument protected area in the history of the state, encompassing 140,000 square miles of coral reefs from the shoreline to three miles offshore. The island chain is home to the critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles and has 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are exclusively indigenous. For more information about Papahanaumokuakea, contact Kekuewa Kikiloi, Native Hawaiian Cultural Program Coordinator of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument at e-mail: Kekuewa.kikiloi@noaa.gov |
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