The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500


Dear President Biden,

On behalf of the undersigned organizations representing local, regional, and national interests, we write to express our strong support for expanding the boundaries of the Pacific Remote Islands (PRI) Marine National Monument to include Howland Island and Baker Island, Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll out to 200 nautical miles—the full extent of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). We also encourage you to honor the cultural and historical significance of the area by renaming the islands and atolls to respect the Indigenous peoples and cultures of the Pacific, and by engaging a co-management framework to include a broader spectrum of oceanic Indigenous communities.

Today, the world’s ocean faces a biodiversity and climate crisis. Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history, and the window of opportunity to halt and reverse the worst impacts of climate change is closing. Intact natural ecosystems such as the Pacific Remote Islands are more resilient to the effects of climate change, and can help in the fight against biodiversity loss. It is therefore imperative not only to the Pacific region, but to all of us, that we act on this opportunity to preserve and sustain nature so that it may continue to sustain us.

Further, the Pacific Remote Islands have connected nature and culture since time immemorial. These islands served as stopping points during cross-Pacific migration and voyaging for Indigenous Pacific Islanders before and since colonization, and for commercial and military interests in the modern era. Their distance from populated land and minimal human impact to their ecosystems uniquely positions them as a critical location in the Pacific for the learning and practice of traditional voyaging, which is dependent on healthy ecosystems with intact biological indicators such as animal movements and behaviors. Expanding PRI’s boundaries to the legal limit of the U.S. EEZ is an important commitment to the preservation and prosperity of Indigenous cultures, traditional voyaging, and to Pacific Island Nations and neighbors.

The waters of PRI also contain some of the last relatively pristine ocean wilderness on the planet. They are home to threatened and endangered species including sharks, turtles, seabirds, whales, manta rays, and more. The current protections afforded by PRI are inadequate for sensitive, long-ranging wildlife that use the U.S. waters beyond 50 nm to hunt, feed, and breed. In addition, the health of the protected, nearshore ecosystems within the current boundaries of PRI rely heavily on that of the unprotected offshore ecosystems. The value of expanding PRI to protect our ocean’s biodiversity and unique Pacific habitats is immense, while also ensuring the continued health of the precious coral reef ecosystems within the existing boundaries of PRI by managing these areas as a whole.

As organizations from across the United States, we stand in support of the vision of the local leaders and Pacific Island peoples spearheading this effort, who have intimate knowledge of this region’s needs and cultural and biological importance. We support their request to ensure Pacific Islanders are engaged in the process to give this area a name that better reflects its identity, individuality, and importance, as well as their request to ensure that Pacific Island communities are properly represented at the highest levels of the management and decision-making processes for PRI.

President Biden, you have the opportunity to honor Indigenous cultures and practices, bolster the resilience of these important ocean ecosystems in the face of climate change, and protect marine biodiversity from threats poised to grow in the future. Expanding the two remaining areas of PRI to the full extent of the EEZ would serve as a gift to future generations, and ensure the U.S. continues its strong record of ocean conservation leadership.