President Bush, conservationist

Give credit where it’s due: in the last days in office, President Bush has cemented his legacy of marine conservation.  In designating nearly 200,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean and islands a marine national monument, Mr. Bush has preserved a massive, vibrant chunk of one of the world’s most overlooked and threatened ecosystems.

Globally, oceans are being pushed to the brink by overfishing, which is changing the way these ecosystems function.  The announcement of the monument is a bright spot, for several reasons:

- Marine conservation has lagged behind terrestrial conservation.  By preserving such a wide swath of habitat, the United States has taken an important step to increase the amount of oceans protected globally.

- The monument fosters species threatened elsewhere and preserves intact populations of large predators.  In degraded areas, most of the large, predatory species have been severely depleted.  Sharks and other vital species are present in good numbers; it’s critical to preserve such areas where the natural balance of species is intact.

- The area protected includes some of the most productive spots in the Pacific.  Though immense, large portions of the Pacific Ocean have low densities of marine life.  The monument preserves a bountiful area.

It’s not the first time Mr. Bush has acted with foresight: in 2006, he created the slightly smaller Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.  Together, the two monuments are probably the most important contribution any president has made to oceans and marine life.  Environmental organizations like the Pew Environmental Group were quick to praise the action.  

Click here to read the account in the New York Times.