The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is the single largest conservation area under the U.S. flag, and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. It encompasses 139,797 square miles of the Pacific Ocean  - an area larger than all the country’s national parks combined.

The extensive coral reefs found in Papahānaumokuākea - truly the rainforests of the sea - are home to over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Many of the islands and shallow water environments are important habitats for rare species such as the threatened green turtle (pictured above) and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. On less than six square miles of land over 14 million seabirds representing 22 species breed and nest. Land areas also provide a home for four species of bird found nowhere else in the world, including the world’s most endangered duck, the Laysan duck.

Photo: Mark Sully

The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. It encompasses most of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands and atolls stretching 1,200 miles northwest of the island of Kaua‘i. The Refuge includes a rich, varied, and unique natural, cultural, and historic legacy. Small islands and islets provide critical breeding grounds and nesting sites for endangered, threatened, and rare species that forage on land and throughout the coral reef and shallow waters of the marine environment. On June 15, 2006, the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge was overlain with a new designation as part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

In this photo, Great Frigatebirds and Red-Footed Boobies enjoy a beautiful day in the sun.

Photo: Sarah Youngren/USFWS