George W. Bush

“ The Pacific Remote Islands area consists of Wake, Baker, Howland, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll, which lie to the south and west of Hawaii. With the exception of Wake Island, these islands are administered as National Wildlife Refuges by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior. These refuges are an important part of the most widespread collection of marine- and terrestrial-life protected areas on the planet under a single country's jurisdiction. ”

“ They are ideal laboratories for assessing effects of climate change without the difficulty of filtering anthropogenic impacts. Both Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef support higher levels of coral and other cnidarian species diversity (180-190 species) than any other atoll or reef island in the central Pacific, twice as many as are found in Hawaii or Florida. Palmyra atoll has one of the best remaining examples of Pisonia grandis forest found in the Pacific region. This forest type has been lost or severely degraded over much of its range due to increased human population and development. ”

“ The management plans and their implementing regulations shall impose no restrictions on innocent passage in the territorial sea or otherwise restrict navigation and overflight and other internationally recognized lawful uses of the sea in the monument and shall incorporate the provisions of this proclamation regarding Armed Forces actions and compliance with international law. ”