Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The endangered Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) are one of the iconic creatures protected ...
[+] within the confines Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii. (Photo by: Education Images) Universal Images Group via Getty Images Calling all travel trivia buffs — see if you can answer the following questions: 1. What’s the largest U.
S. national park as well as one of the biggest in the world? 2. What U.
S. national park was the scene of a major battle that turned the tide of World War Two? 3. What U.
S. national park boasts the most wildlife species? 4. Which U.
S. national park is off limits to anyone who doesn’t have special permission to visit? The answer to all four of those questions is the same: Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii. Most people have never heard of this massive, protected area that sprawls across the western half of the Hawaiian Islands chain.
And even fewer can probably pronounce it correctly. The name Papahānaumokuākea honors two legendary Hawaiian ancestors – the earth mother goddess Papahānaumoku and her husband, the sky god Wākea. According to the Hawaiian creation story, they created the islands and their native people, as well as the first taro plant.
Established in 2006 and signed into being by President Bush, the reserve is jointly managed by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR).
MORE FOR YOU Apple iPhone 16 And iPhone 16 Pro Key Upgrades Revealed In Latest Dispatch The Backlash Against Blake Lively, Explained Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Thursday, August 15 Park superintendent Eric Roberts adds that, “Native Hawaiians, the original inhabitants of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands . . .
continue to maintain cultural connections and are actively involved in the management of the refuge and monument.” Papahānaumokuākea is also a UNESCO World Heritage site , an honor earned in 2010 due to the reserve’s pristine habitats and “deep cosmological and traditional significance for living Native Hawaiian culture.” function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.
cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.cnxel.
cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.style.
display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.contentWindow.
document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.src = '//cd.
elements.video/player.js' + '?cid=' + '62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.
setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.body.
appendChild(script); }; document.head.appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.
elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { priority: 'low' }) .
then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok', preloadResourcesEndpoint); } return response.json(); }) .
then(data => { const cssUrl = data.css; const cssUrlLink = document.createElement('link'); cssUrlLink.
rel = 'stylesheet'; cssUrlLink.href = cssUrl; cssUrlLink.as = 'style'; cssUrlLink.
media = 'print'; cssUrlLink.onload = function() { this.media = 'all'; }; document.
head.appendChild(cssUrlLink); const hls = data.hls; const hlsScript = document.
createElement('script'); hlsScript.src = hls; hlsScript.setAttribute('defer', '1'); hlsScript.
setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); document.head.appendChild(hlsScript); }).
catch(error => { console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error); }); } } loadConnatixScript(document); (function() { function createUniqueId() { return 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx'.replace(/[xy]/g, function(c) { var r = Math.
random() * 16 | 0, v = c == 'x' ? r : (r & 0x3 | 0x8); return v.toString(16); }); } const randId = createUniqueId(); document.getElementsByClassName('fbs-cnx')[0].
setAttribute('id', randId); document.getElementById(randId).removeAttribute('class'); (new Image()).
src = 'https://capi.elements.video/tr/si?token=' + '44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a' + '&cid=' + '62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; cnxel.
cmd.push(function () { cnxel({ playerId: '44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a', playlistId: 'cce06289-75b9-40f5-8676-50e517ab7eb5', }).render(randId); }); })(); Nesting Laysan Albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) on Midway Atoll.
(Photo by Sylvain CORDIER) Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images How Big Is It? Enormous. Papahānaumokuākea spans an incredible 583,000 square miles (1.5 million sq km), an area roughly the size as Alaska or Germany and more territory than all the other U.
S. national parks and monuments combined. That makes it the world’s fourth largest protected area after the Cook Islands marine reserve in the South Pacific and two vast Antarctic reserves.
Stretching around 1,350 miles (2,170 km) between Kaui and Midway Island, the reserve includes coral islands, seamounts, banks, shoals, shallow water environments and deep marine canyons. It’s also huge when it comes to wildlife — an estimated 7,000 species of plants and animals. Around seven times more than the next most biodiverse national park.
And a quarter of those are endemic, meaning they’re found nowhere else on the planet. Like the Laysan Teal, the world’s rarest and most endangered duck. More than 14 million seabirds breed, nest and rear their chicks on islands in the national monument.
The reserve also harbors Hawaii’s most important monk seal colony, the state’s largest green turtle nesting area, and important dolphin resting areas. “Overall monument-wide water quality parameters suggest relatively good conditions due primarily to the monument’s remoteness and current regulations that limit access,” says Ivan Vincente of the U.S.
Fish & Wildlife Service. “Due to the monument’s remoteness and protections, there are relatively few impacts from humans.” But that’s not to say that Papahānaumokuākea hasn’t been impacted by humans.
“Past activities permanently altered some areas, and in some cases, resulted in habitat degradation,” Vincente adds. “Human activities outside the monument, such as deposition of marine debris, can result in living resource, habitat, and water quality degradation. Other concerns including climate change and coral bleaching, diseases, and invasive species can threaten native biodiversity and habitats.
” Spinner dolphin ply the waters around at Midway Atoll where they feed in the shallows. (Photo by ..
. [+] Rick Loomis) Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Can You Ever Visit? To safeguard the reserve’s fragile marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and its historic and cultural treasures, visiting the national monument (by sea or air) is strictly prohibited to those who don’t have permission to visit. “It's only by a permit that is issued by the monument's co-managers,” says Roberts, and most pertain to “research, education, conservation and management, Native Hawaiian practices, special ocean use, and recreation (at Midway Atoll).
“These restrictions apply, regardless if it’s a public or private vessel with very few exceptions — mainly innocent passage, military and law enforcement activities, and force majeure. Innocent passage is a maritime tradition that allows vessels to pass through restricted waters as long as they don’t anchor, make landfall, fish, dive or otherwise make physical contact with the reserve or its flora and fauna. One way to get around those restrictions is to volunteer with the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “The Service offers volunteer opportunities for those interested in contributing to the recovery of these species and restoration of their habitats,” Vincente explains.
“Typically lasting a minimum of six months, Service volunteers assist with seabird monitoring, invasive species control, and habitat restoration. Volunteers are a critical component of carrying out the Service’s mission and provide once in a lifetime experience given the unique cultural, historical, and ecological resources of the refuge and monument.” You can also visit virtually on the national monument website.
A squadron of Douglas "Devastator" torpedo bombers unfold their wings for a takeoff abroad the USS ...
[+] Enterprise during the battle of Midway in June 1942. Bettmann Archive How Did It Change the Course of World War Two? In June of 1942, just six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the Japanese dispatched a large fleet to destroy the American base on Midway Atoll and what they hoped would be a knock-out punch of the U.S.
Pacific fleet. Four days of intense fighting during one of history’s largest-ever naval and aerial battles culminated in an overwhelming American victory and such heavy losses (including four aircraft carriers) that the Japanese Imperial Navy never recovered. Nowadays the tiny island is home to both the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and the Battle of Midway National Memorial .
Neither is open to the general public, but like the national monument, there are several ways to visit virtually . Although it gained global headlines during the world war, Papahānaumokuākea has a much longer human history. Ancient Polynesians arrived around 1000 AD, establishing settlements on Nihoa and Mokumanamana islands.
Stone agricultural terraces and other relics suggest they stayed for around 700 years. Following the “discovery” of the Hawaiian Islands by Captain Cook and his crew in 1778, the islands were exploited for guano and bird eggs and feathers to such an extent that President Teddy Roosevelt established a nature reserve to protect the seabirds in 1909, the start of a century long journey that culminated in the creation of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. In addition to the rich coral reefs that lie beneath the surface, the reserve also preserves the remains of the many ships that have wrecked over the years, from 19 th -century whalers and a sidewheel sloop that saw action during the Civil War to Battle of Midway ships including Japanese aircraft carriers and the USS Yorktown .
.
