Management

Three Co-Trustees

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is administered jointly by three co-trustees – the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior and the State of Hawai'i. According to Proclamation 8031, which established the Monument, management responsibilities are portioned out as follows:

The Secretary of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), has primary responsibility regarding the management of the marine areas of the Monument, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior.

The Secretary of the Interior, through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), has sole responsibility for the areas of the Monument that overlay the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, the Battle of Midway National Memorial, and the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce.

The State of Hawaiʻi, through the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), has primary responsibility for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge and State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll. Nothing in the Proclamation diminishes or enlarges the jurisdiction of the State of Hawaiʻi.

On December 8, 2006, a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed by Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, and Hawaiʻi Governor Linda Lingle, which provides for coordinated administration of all the Federal and State lands and waters within the boundaries of the Monument. The MOA established the institutional arrangements for managing the Monument, including representation of Native Hawaiian interests by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on the Monument Management Board.

The Co-Trustees are committed to preserving the ecological integrity of the Monument and perpetuation of the NWHI ecosystems, Native Hawaiian culture and other historic resources.

Senior Executive Board

A Senior Executive Board – composed of a senior-level designee from the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Interior, and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources – provides policy guidance to their respective agency staff assigned to carry out Monument management activities.

Seven Co-Managers

The day-to-day management of the Monument is overseen by a seven-member management board comprised of two sub-agencies of each Co-Trustee, plus the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Ecological Services U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Refuges

State of Hawaiʻi - Division of Aquatic Resources State of Hawaiʻi - Division of Forestry and Wildlife

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

See graphic of PMNM Management Structure.

Monument Management Plan

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Management Plan was finalized in 2008. The management plan is comprehensive and represents the planning processes of three distinct agencies. The plan guides the work of the Monument Management Board and its individual agencies for a period of 15 years.

Use the links below to download any or all of the five volumes. A limited number of copies are available on CD and in print. For additional information, please contact the Monument offices by calling 808-725-5800 or emailing info@hawaiireef.gov.

• Volume I (The Final Plan - 8MB)
  
• Volume II (Environmental Assessment - 5 MB)
• Volume III (Appendices & Supporting Documents - 8 MB)
  
• Volume IV pages 1-41 (Midway Conceptual Site Plan- 6 MB)
• Volume IV pages 42-86 (Midway Conceptual Site Plan- 9 MB)
  
• Volume V pages 1-297 (Response to Comments - 8 MB)
• Volume V pages 298-595 (Response to Comments - 17 MB)
  
  Additional FWS supporting documents please visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Pacific Region web page: http://www.fws.gov/pacific/planning/
  
  For a easy to understand summary of the final plan and the responses to public comment on the draft plan, download
  Ka Palapala Ho‘omaopopo Vol.2 Issue 3 (5MB)

For archives of draft management plan, click here.