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Contact Jim: jdipeso@rep.org (253) 740-2066 / 2009 Archive / 2008 Archive / 2007 Archive / 2006 Archive / 2005 Archive
A Legacy as Big as an Ocean
August 27, 2008
The announcement received scant media notice amidst the barrage of questions about Georgia and presidential politics.
But if President Bush follows through fully on his interest in conserving large stretches of marine waters and habitats, the decision will be a spectacular achievement on par with the Wilderness Act, the Alaska Lands Act, and other seminal points in the history of conservation.
On August 25, Bush sent a memo to three of his Cabinet secretaries directing them to make a recommendation on setting aside areas of U.S. territorial islands and waters in the central and western Pacific Ocean that contain, White House spokesman Tony Fratto said, “some of the world's most biodiverse coral reefs and habitat, and some of the most interesting and compelling geological formations in all our oceans.” That would include the Mariana Trench, the bottom of which is as deep as one can get anywhere on earth.
In addition to corals, Bush's memo mentioned that the areas contain sea turtles, migratory birds, marine mammals, and other threatened creatures. The wildlife and geological features make up “objects of historic and scientific interest,” criteria that would qualify them for protection under the Antiquities Act as national monuments.
The memo does not mention protecting areas containing deep sea corals in the Gulf of Mexico. Senator Mary Landrieu, a Louisiana Democrat, made a stink about that idea, and went so far as to introduce legislation to block Bush and his successor from using the Antiquities Act to establish marine monuments anywhere under U.S. control.
How big could these Pacific monuments potentially be? Big. Really big. In 2006, when Bush used the Antiquities Act to establish the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, he protected nearly 90 million acres. The proposed protected areas in the central Pacific alone would be more than five times larger – 496 million acres. That's big enough to hold every national park, national forest, and national wildlife refuge, plus nearly half the Bureau of Land Management's holdings.
It's too early to say the degree of protection that may be established. Bush asked the secretaries of Interior, Commerce, and Defense to weigh military needs and access to energy, mineral, and fishing resources in making their recommendations.
It's clear, however, that with the clock ticking toward January 20, 2009, Bush wants to move fast. If he decides on a high level of protection, on par with the Hawaiian monument, Bush could rightfully claim to have protected more of America than any previous president. That would be a legacy to amaze anyone, even his most severe critics.
Drop him an encouraging note at comments@whitehouse.gov.
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