National Park Idea
to the Oceans
"Places like Yellowstone and Yosemite were already in federal protection, but in the next 100 years, America’s “best idea” would include 413 areas and more than 84 million acres of vast wilderness, scenic rivers, military battlefields, presidential homes and more."
Read the National Geographic Op-Ed
by John Bridgeland and Sylvia Earle
What is Paphanaumokuakea?
Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument is the largest protected American conservation area and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world.
Need some help?
Visit https://www.papahanaumokuakea.gov/ to learn more.
President George W. Bush
In 2005, President Bush designated Papahanaumokuakea as a national monument, creating the world largest protected marine reserve. This area encompassed nearly 140,000 square miles and contained more than 7,000 marine species and almost 70 percent of the nation's tropical, shallow-water coral reefs.
President Barack Obama
In 2016, President Obama more than quadrupled the size of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument to 582,578 square miles of land and sea in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.