U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), Interior; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
Notice of availability for the draft monument management plan and environmental assessment; announcement of public meetings; request for comments.
This notice advises the public that NOAA, FWS, and the State of Hawai‘i's Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), and Office of Hawaiian Affairs have prepared a Draft Monument Management Plan (MMP) and associated environmental assessment (EA) for the Papaha
To ensure consideration, we must receive written comments by July 8, 2008.
The Draft MMP and EA are available on the FWS and NOAA Web sites
Susan White, FWS Superintendent, phone (808) 792–9480.
On June 15, 2006, President George W. Bush established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument by issuing Presidential Proclamation 8031 (Proclamation) (71 FR 36443, June 26, 2006) under the authority of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431) (the Antiquities Act).
On December 8, 2006, the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior and the Governor of Hawai‘i signed a Memorandum of Agreement to jointly manage Federal and State lands and waters within the Monument as Co-Trustees and to collectively protect, conserve, and enhance Monument marine and terrestrial habitats and resources.
On February 28, 2007, President Bush amended the Proclamation to rename the Monument—Papaha
Proclamation 8031 reserves all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), including emergent and submerged lands and waters out to a distance of approximately 50 nautical miles from the islands.
The Monument is approximately 100 nautical miles wide and extends approximately 1,200 miles around coral islands, seamounts, banks, and shoals. The area includes the:
• Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve,
• Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge/Battle of Midway National Memorial,
• Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge,
• Hawaii State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll, and
• State of Hawai‘i's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge.
NOAA maintains responsibility for managing the NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, included within the Monument, and has primary responsibility regarding the management of the marine areas of the Monument, in consultation with FWS.
Refuge areas within the Monument, including the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the Battle of Midway National Memorial, and the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, are managed by FWS.
The State maintains responsibility for managing state lands and waters within the Monument, including the NWHI State Marine Refuge and State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll.
As directed by Proclamation 8031, the Co-Trustees modified NOAA's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Proposed National Marine Sanctuary Draft Management Plan (available at
The Draft EA of the MMP was developed in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
FWS' refuge comprehensive conservation planning requirements, State of Hawai‘i's DLNR planning needs along with consultation with the Office of Hawaiian Affairs regarding Native Hawaiian traditional and cultural resources, rights and practices, and other elements were also incorporated into the Draft MMP. The National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 (Refuge Administration Act), as amended by the National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act of 1997 (16 U.S.C. 668dd–668ee), requires the FWS to develop a comprehensive conservation plan (CCP) for every national wildlife refuge. The purpose for developing a CCP is to provide refuge managers with a 15-year strategy for achieving refuge purposes and contributing toward the mission of the National Wildlife Refuge System, consistent with sound principles of fish and wildlife management, conservation, legal mandates, and FWS policies. In addition to conserving wildlife and their habitats, CCPs identify wildlife-dependent recreation available to the public.
Two alternatives are analyzed in the Draft MMP and EA; a No Action Alternative and a Proposed Action Alternative (the preferred alternative). Under the No Action Alternative, the Co-Trustees would continue to implement activities to address priority management needs based on agency-specific plans. Under the Proposed Action Alternative, the Co-Trustees would implement new and expanded activities, in addition to ongoing activities, to manage high priority needs.
The Monument's priority management needs are to: understand and interpret Monument resources, conserve wildlife and habitats, reduce threats to Monument resources, manage human activities, facilitate coordination, and achieve effective operations. Action plans consisting of multiple strategies and activities address the priority management needs. The 22 action plans and corresponding desired outcomes follow.
Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment—including your personal identifying information—may be made publicly available at any time. While you can ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying information from public review, it cannot be guaranteed that we will be able to do so.
We will hold a statewide series of meetings where you will have opportunities to ask questions about the MMP and provide formal comments. Except for the Washington, D.C., meeting, each meeting will include two sessions—Session 1 will be an informal “talk story” session, and Session 2 will be a more formal meeting where you may present comments. Session times will be the same on each date, Session
After the comment period ends for the Draft MMP and EA, we will analyze the comments and address them in the final MMP.