[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 61 (Thursday, March 30, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 19201-19204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-06837]



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Vol. 88

Thursday,

No. 61

March 30, 2023

Part II





The President





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Memorandum of March 24, 2023--Conserving the Natural and Cultural 
Heritage of the Pacific Remote Islands
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88 , No. 61 / Thursday, March 30, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

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                Memorandum of March 24, 2023

                
Conserving the Natural and Cultural Heritage of 
                the Pacific Remote Islands

                Memorandum for the Secretary of the Interior [and] the 
                Secretary of Commerce

                In the middle of the Pacific Ocean lie Howland, Baker, 
                Jarvis, and Wake Islands; Johnston and Palmyra Atolls; 
                and Kingman Reef, whose surrounding reefs, seamounts, 
                and ocean are filled with some of the most diverse and 
                remarkable marine life on the planet, including sharks, 
                rays, marlin, tuna, giant clams, hawksbill turtles, 
                ancient coral forests, and whales. Uninhabited today, 
                for centuries wayfinders of Pacific Island Indigenous 
                Peoples visited these islands while navigating through 
                the expanse of the vast Pacific Ocean.

                For years, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Island 
                Indigenous communities, conservation advocates, and 
                scientists have advocated for the protection of United 
                States waters around these remote islands from 
                industrial fishing, oil drilling, and mining. Through 
                Proclamation 8336 of January 6, 2009 (Establishment of 
                the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument), 
                the President partially fulfilled these requests by 
                establishing the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National 
                Monument, which permanently protected the islands, 
                atolls, and emerged reef and 50 nautical miles of water 
                around each. Through Proclamation 9173 of September 25, 
                2014 (Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument 
                Expansion), the President took a further step to expand 
                the Monument to include 200 nautical miles--the full 
                extent of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone--
                around Jarvis and Wake Islands and Johnston Atoll. In 
                addition, some areas within the Monument are designated 
                as National Wildlife Refuges.

                The areas around Howland and Baker Islands, Palmyra 
                Atoll, and Kingman Reef that remain unprotected include 
                ecologically significant deep-water habitats and an 
                associated array of seamounts with exceptional value 
                for their biodiversity; spawning and feeding grounds 
                for skipjack, yellowfin, and bigeye tuna species; and 
                multiple apex predators that play a vital role in 
                maintaining ecological balance and resilience of the 
                ecosystem. Research continues to reveal the importance 
                of these relatively unexplored habitats to the health, 
                nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration of the 
                ocean.

                To further ensure the protection of this unique and 
                fragile area, support more abundant fisheries in 
                surrounding areas, conserve the capacity of a healthy 
                ocean to capture and store greenhouse gases that would 
                otherwise enter the atmosphere, and appropriately honor 
                ancestral, historical, and cultural connections to this 
                and other Pacific conservation areas, and by the 
                authority vested in me as President by the Constitution 
                and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby 
                direct the following:

                Section 1. Initiating National Marine Sanctuary 
                Designation. (a) Within 30 days of the date of this 
                memorandum, the Secretary of Commerce should consider 
                initiating designation of a National Marine Sanctuary 
                pursuant to the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, 16 
                U.S.C. 1431 et seq., to provide the most comprehensive 
                and lasting protections to the significant natural and 
                cultural resources of the submerged lands and waters 
                surrounding the seven islands, atolls, and reefs of the 
                Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument--both 
                within and outside the Monument boundary, to the full

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                extent of the seaward limit of the United States 
                Exclusive Economic Zone--including marine life, shoals, 
                seamounts, reefs, banks, and sediments high in minerals 
                and sequestered carbon dioxide for the benefit of 
                present and future generations.

                    (b) In any proposal of a National Marine Sanctuary 
                designation, as described in subsection (a) of this 
                section, the Secretary of Commerce shall identify the 
                anticipated timeline for the completion of the National 
                Marine Sanctuary designation process as expeditiously 
                as possible, consistent with applicable law.
                    (c) For any final designation, the Secretary of 
                Commerce shall establish a National Marine Sanctuary 
                advisory council and pursue, as appropriate, 
                opportunities to collaborate with Indigenous Peoples 
                with ancestral, historical, and cultural connections to 
                the area on planning and management.

                Sec. 2. Collaboration on Conservation. The Secretary of 
                the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce 
                (Secretaries) shall collaborate, as appropriate, 
                regarding conservation of the lands and surrounding 
                waters of the Pacific Remote Islands.

                Sec. 3. Collaborative Process on Naming. In recognition 
                of the deep and enduring cultural significance of this 
                region to the oceanic cultures of the Pacific, the 
                Secretaries shall develop and implement a process to 
                collaborate with Indigenous language experts, Native 
                Hawaiian Organizations, and other representatives from 
                Indigenous Peoples with ancestral, historical, and 
                cultural connections to the area to develop names and 
                naming conventions reflecting ancestral, historical, 
                and cultural connections for the National Wildlife 
                Refuges and any National Marine Sanctuary designated in 
                the area of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National 
                Monument and for the islands, atolls, reefs, and other 
                natural features in the area. Within 2 years of the 
                date of this memorandum and through the process they 
                develop, the Secretaries shall identify appropriate 
                names for the National Wildlife Refuges within the 
                Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and any 
                National Marine Sanctuary that is designated in the 
                area, provide a recommendation to the President on the 
                potential renaming of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine 
                National Monument, and identify appropriate naming 
                conventions and processes for naming natural features 
                within the boundaries of the Monument and any National 
                Marine Sanctuary that is designated in the area.

                Sec. 4. Recommendations on Appropriate Cultural 
                Recognition. Within 2 years of the date of this 
                memorandum, the Secretaries shall engage with Native 
                Hawaiian Organizations and relevant Pacific Island 
                Indigenous communities and coordinate with other 
                executive departments and agencies, as appropriate, to 
                provide the President with recommendations on honoring 
                the heritage, traditional practices, ancestral 
                pathways, and stopping points for Pacific Island 
                voyagers and on providing posthumous recognition for 
                the Hui Panal[amacr][revaps]au, who were Native 
                Hawaiians sent to the Pacific Remote Islands between 
                1935 and 1942, many of whom were young men from the 
                Kamehameha Schools.

                Sec. 5. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this 
                memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise 
                affect:

(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or 
the head thereof;

(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget 
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals; or

(iii) the provisions of Proclamation 8336 and Proclamation 9173, including 
those related to the rights, authorities, or exemptions for the Department 
of Defense and actions of the Armed Forces.

                    (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent 
                with applicable law and subject to the availability of 
                appropriations.
                    (c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does 
                not, create any right or benefit, substantive or 
                procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by

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                any party against the United States, its departments, 
                agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or 
                agents, or any other person.
                    (d) The Secretary of Commerce is hereby authorized 
                and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal 
                Register.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, March 24, 2023

Billing code 3395-F3-P



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[FR Doc. 2023-06837
Filed 3-29-23; 11:15 a.m.]
Billing code 3510-07-C