Expanding Pacific Remote Islands Monument

Expanding Pacific Remote Islands Monument

Palmyra Atoll. Photo by Jan Witting

Oceans 5 supported a project to help expand the Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument (PRI). On June 17, 2014, President Barack Obama announced his intention to consider expanding the PRI to protect important ocean resources and on September 25, 2014, he acted.

Before the recent expansion, the PRI extended roughly fifty miles around seven islands, including Jarvis, Johnston, Wake, Howland, Baker, Palmyra and Kingman. It totaled about 225,000 square kilometers. The new declaration expands the existing Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, one of the most pristine tropical marine environments in the world, to six times its current size, resulting in more than 1.2 million square kilometers (490,000 square miles) of protected area.

Oceans 5 provided a one-time grant to the Center for American Progress to help build public support for PRI expansion. These funds also supported the activities of multiple organizations, including National Geographic Society, SeaWeb, Marine Conservation Institute, and Pew Charitable Trusts.