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| Federal Waters in the NWHI The federal waters of the NWHI begin at the outer edge of the state's 3-mile boundary and extend for 50 miles in all directions. Below you will find information on the various attempts to protect the federal portion of the NWHI, including marine monument, the Executive Orders that still govern the NWHI, the NWHI Marine Refuge Act, and the old sanctuary designation process. Before the proclamation was signed into law, two processes were under consideration for protecting the federal waters of the NWHI. First, the NWHI National Marine Refuge Act, which is still working its way through Congress. Second was the sanctuary designation process under NOAA. Although a lot of work done for the sanctuary will be put towards implementing the monument, it is no longer necessary to go through the whole designation process because the monument was established. Latest Protections: The NWHI National Marine Monument On June 15, 2006, a presidential proclamation was issued declaring the NWHI the first marine monument. As the process to implement this decision develops, the public must continue to be involved at every stage of decision-making to ensure this irreplacable public trust resource is fully protected. Learn more about the NWHI Monument On-going Protections: The Executive Orders & NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve In 2000, President William Clinton issued an Executive Order creating the NWHI Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. The 84 million acres of the Reserve are now managed as a monument. The jurisdiction of the Reserve stretched from the edge of the state's 3-mile boundary out 50 miles. The Executive Orders created a baseline of protection for the NWHI and were incorporated into the monument proclamation. Learn more about the Executive Orders The NWHI National Marine Refuge Act In an effort to provide the strongest possible protection for the NWHI, Rep. Ed Case (D- 2nd) introduced new Federal legislation to create a one-of-a-kind national marine refuge for the federal waters in the NWHI. The Old Sanctuary Designation Process Under NOAA's sanctuary proposal, advocates were pushing for "a sanctuary like no other" in the NWHI because traditional sanctuaries allow a wide range of commercial and recreational activities that are detrimental to the natural and cultural resources of the protected area. Learn more about the sanctuary designation process. |
State Waters in the NWHI The State of Hawai'i governs a 3-mile wide zone around the major land masses in the NWHI. On September 29, 2005, Governor Linda Lingle heeded overwhelming public support and signed the regulations to create a visionary refuge that fully protects the cultural and natural resources of the NWHI, while prohibiting all commercial and recreational fishing. Governor Lingle also announced that she supports extending regulations similar to the state's visionary refuge to the federal waters in the NWHI, including protection for Native Hawaiian cultural access rights, access for only appropriate scientific uses, prohibition of all commercial extractive uses. This means protecting the NWHI as whole ecosystem and not by arbitrary boundary divisions. Learn more about the State's Refuge. |
KAHEA is an alliance of Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) cultural practitioners, environmental activists and others concerned with protecting customary and traditional rights and our fragile environment.
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