'These unique coral reef ecosystems and active undersea volcanoes, along with the deepest area on Earth - the Mariana Trench - well deserve the protections the refuge system will provide.' 'We welcome these new lands and waters into the National Wildlife Refuge System,' said Rowan Gould, Fish and Wildlife Service Acting Director. These refuges are included in the area designated by the president. The refuge system already includes a number of refuges in the ocean, including Howland Island, Baker Island, Jarvis Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuges. Fish and Wildlife Service has extensive experience in the Pacific Ocean.

When President Bush designated the new monuments – the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, and Marianas Trench National Monument – he delegated the decision on how the areas would be managed to the Secretary of the Interior. “I can think of no organization more qualified to oversee these pristine areas and their diverse wildlife than the U.S. “The National Wildlife Refuge System is the world's largest and most professionally managed system of lands dedicated to wildlife conservation,” Kempthorne said. Fish and Wildlife Service the responsibility for overall management of the three new marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean designated by President Bush earlier this month. – Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today expanded the National Wildlife Refuge System by 54 million acres, or 58 percent, by assigning the U.S.

Wake atoll national wildlife refuge