June 16, 2016
The Honorable Barack Obama
President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
I am writing to propose that you exercise your authority under the Antiquities Act to proclaim a
thoughtful expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) based on
the analysis and recommendations presented in this letter. This proposal would create the
world’s largest marine protected area.
On March 23, 2016, I wrote expressing my conditional support for an expansion of the PMNM,
provided that we could address the concerns of key Hawai‘i stakeholders regarding boundaries,
governance, and resources. You responded promptly by directing officials from the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ), the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and
the Department of the Interior (DOI) to visit Hawai‘i and to engage with state and county
government leaders, Native Hawaiians, fishermen, scientists, and environmental groups. As a
result of these meetings and subsequent discussions, I support expansion of the PMNM as
described below.
The best available science indicates that expanding the PMNM will strengthen an ecosystem that
sustains tuna, swordfish, sharks, seabirds, sea turtles, and Hawaiian monk seals. This
strengthening will, in turn, support more productive fisheries outside the PMNM and provide a
vigorous carbon sink to combat climate change. Protecting this region more thoroughly will also
preserve undiscovered biodiversity for future discoveries, and maintain a reservoir of genetic
diversity that will allow marine species the greatest possible chance of adapting to environmental
change. Moreover, the expanded region contains significant bio-cultural resources and
archaeological sites that further justify use of the Antiquities Act.
The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) host some of the planet’s most intact and extensive
coral reefs, which serve as the backbone of an ecosystem that supports the world’s largest
repository of seabirds and the highest density of apex predators. The adult corals that sustain and

 The Hon. Barack Obama
June 16, 2016
Page 2
grow these reefs are concentrated within the current boundaries of the PMNM, but research
taking place today strongly suggests that as juveniles, they spend much of their time beyond
those boundaries but within the proposed expansion area. Thus, by expanding the monument, we
protect both the corals and the marquee species they support: tuna, swordfish, sharks, seabirds,
sea turtles, and Hawaiian monk seals.
Expanding the PMNM will protect biodiversity, including undiscovered species and largely
undocumented ecosystems around sea mounts, ridges, and the deep ocean floor. The genetic
variation present in large populations of marine species holds the single best hope for adaptation
and resilience against ocean warming and acidification. Preserving this genetic diversity
depends on conservation, and scientists have established that the larger the scale of a marine
protected area, the greater its conservation effect. Additionally, the NWHI have one of the
world’s highest concentrations of unique species not found anywhere else on the globe. The
prevalence of these unique species provides a further warehouse of genetic diversity that can
support resilience and adaptation to climate change throughout the Pacific, and, potentially, the
world.
The expansion would directly combat climate change. In the same way that intact forests
sequester carbon, healthy ocean ecosystems provide a vigorous carbon sink that lowers the
amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Simply put, the best scientific data available
support the use of your authorities under the Antiquities Act to expand the PMNM.
The NWHI also contain cultural and historical sites that the current boundaries of the PMNM do
not fully protect. The upcoming 75th anniversary of the decisive Battle of Midway will draw
attention to the remains of the World War II era wrecks discovered and documented in this
region. Of the six major vessels lost by the American and Japanese navies in that battle,
however, only one full ship has been found—the U.S. carrier Yorktown—and it lies outside the
current boundaries of the PMNM. However, the search for three of the Japanese ships—the
Koga, Soryu, and Akagi—has narrowed, and archaeologists and scientists expect discoveries
outside the current boundaries of the PMNM. Thus, extending the PMNM’s boundaries would
protect not only the Yorktown, but potentially many of the other lost ships, aircraft, and sailors
and marines from that significant battle, along with as yet undiscovered wrecks from other times.
Over and above their place in modern history, the NWHI also served Native Hawaiians as an
ancient pathway up and down the Hawaiian Archipelago—a pathway that they navigated for 400
to 500 years guided by careful observations of the stars, ocean currents, and marine life. Today,
this route connects Native Hawaiians to their cultural heritage of ocean exploration and

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June 16, 2016
Page 3
stewardship, as demonstrated by the Polynesian Voyaging Society’s Mālama Honua voyage
around the world.
Mālama Honua started with a trip around the NWHI, where master navigators were able to help
apprentices hone their craft. The NWHI provide the ideal conditions to practice this traditional
art, and expanding the PMNM will help maintain the biological character of the NWHI that
traditional navigators rely on to find their way. Thus, the benefits to the ecology of the NWHI
also reinforce and strengthen its capacity to connect Native Hawaiians today to their cultural and
historic heritage.
Greater marine protection for the NWHI and its surrounding waters will protect their unique
ecology and their historical and cultural value, but this region also supports a variety of Hawai‘i
residents and businesses. I will not support an expansion proposal that does not adequately take
these interests into account. Recreational and subsistence fishing; cultural practices and ocean
sports; and commercial longline fisheries—these traditional and customary practices all depend
on access to and use of waters that currently lie outside the PMNM.
Engagement by your Administration with Hawai‘i’s recreational, cultural, and commercial
stakeholders has identified their core concerns:





Boundaries—the precise contours of where the PMNM would expand;
Governance— PMNM co-trustee status for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to give Native
Hawaiians additional authority to protect the cultural and historical assets within the
monument; and
Resources—personnel and funding for research, exploration, management, educational
opportunities and enforcement.

Based on engagement with leaders from interested communities, I have the following
recommendations on how to address these concerns and to develop an expansion proposal that
can draw widespread public support.
Boundaries. Residents of Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau have expressed a strong interest in maintaining
their longstanding culture of fishing, and I insist on their continued, unchanged access to fishing
grounds. In addition, Hawai‘i has a lengthy tradition of recreational and subsistence uses of the
ocean including fishing, diving, canoe paddling, and sailing. Moreover, Hawai‘i’s longline fleet
has fished in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for decades. The responsible and sustainable
practices of our longline fleet have resulted in Honolulu’s recognition as one of the nation’s ten
most productive fishing ports.
Recommendation: Protect environmental, scientific, historical, and cultural assets by
expanding the regions of the PMNM west of 163° West Longitude PMNM out to the full

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June 16, 2016
Page 4
200 nautical miles of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. This would increase the area
protected in the PMNM from 139,800 to 582,578 square miles.
Preserve recreational, subsistence, and commercial uses by excluding any expansion of
the current southeastern boundary of the PMNM east of 163° West Longitude towards the
Main Hawaiian Islands. The non-expansion area would include a particularly active
fishing spot near NOAA Weather Buoy 51101. I have enclosed a map which depicts the
recommended expansion.
Governance. The PMNM holds special significance for Native Hawaiians, and Governor David
Ige has requested that OHA become a co-trustee for the PMNM, along with the Department of
Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the State of Hawai‘i. I join him in making this
request because OHA’s enhanced status will provide Native Hawaiians with greater input into the
proper management of the monument to preserve and enhance its cultural and historical
significance.
Recommendation: Amend the PMNM governing documents to recognize OHA as a cotrustee. Under Executive Order 8031, which established the PMNM, the co-trustees
maintain their respective jurisdictions and areas of expertise. As such, recognizing OHA
as a co-trustee will not alter or change the authority of any existing co-trustees, but,
instead, ensure that Native Hawaiian perspectives will have representation in
deliberations by a co-trustee with the appropriate jurisdiction.
Resources. Expanding the PMNM will create vast opportunities to better understand the unique
ecology of our Hawaiian Archipelago, but this can only occur if sufficient funding exists for
research, conservation, and management in an expanded PMNM.
Recommendation: The ambitious scale of this proposal has inspired interest from
government managers, philanthropic organizations, and individuals to support the
expansion. I am confident this interest will grow into commitments if a concrete
proposal emerges supported by key stakeholders in Hawai‘i.
A thoughtful expansion of the PMNM will continue Hawai‘i’s long history of sustainable use of
the land and oceans into the future, and help ensure that we can give our children the legacy of a
healthy, vibrant Pacific Ocean. I hope you will consider this proposal, and if you agree that it
has merit, I respectfully request that you pursue a course of engagement, especially on Kaua‘i
and on O‘ahu, which would allow the public an appropriate opportunity to provide written
comments, oral testimony, or both before you determine whether to exercise your authority under
the Antiquities Act.

 The Hon. Barack Obama
June 16, 2016
Page 5
I appreciate the respectful and pro-active engagement by your Administration on this issue, and I
look forward to continuing this collaborative process. As we commemorate the tenth anniversary
of the establishment of the PMNM, I believe this proposal aptly recognizes that milestone.
Sincerely,

BRIAN SCHATZ
United States Senator
Enclosure
cc:

Christy Goldfuss, Managing Director, Council on Environmental Quality
Sally Jewell, Secretary of the Interior
Penny Pritzker, Secretary of Commerce
Dan Ashe, Director, Fish and Wildlife Service
Dr. Kathy Sullivan, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere