Largest Protected Reserve Created

President Clinton issued an executive order creating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve. The action establishes protections for the remote and pristine coral reefs of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which comprise nearly 70 percent of America’s coral reefs. In an event at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., the President issued an Executive Order establishing the 84 million-acre Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve -- the largest protected area ever created in the United States. The action builds on a tradition of preservation for these remote islands, atolls, and submerged lagoons -- including the 1906 designation of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge -- and brings strong protections to reefs that are home to endangered monk seals and sea turtles.

Thanks to A.G. Flynn