President Bush designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument on June 15th. This ensures immediate protection to 140,000 square miles of largely uninhabited islands, atolls, coral reef environments and underwater seamounts. "To put this area in context, this national monument is more than 100 times larger than Yosemite National Park," Bush said. "It's larger than 46 of our 50 states, and more than seven times larger than all our national marine sanctuaries combined. This is a big deal." The tropical waters of the National Monument contain more than 4500 miles of thriving coral reef habitat and more than 7000 marine species. The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to the near 1400 remaining endangered monk seals. They also provide critical breeding grounds for threatened sea turtle populations. The proclamation charges the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior to work with the State of Hawaii to develop a management plan for the largest no-take marine conservation area in the world, just ahead of the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Officials say their intent is to preserve zoned access for native Hawaiian activities, educational and scientific expeditions. Permits for recreational and tourist visits will be allowed. Commercial fishing will be phased out over a five-year period. Project AWARE Foundation thanks the divers and water enthusiasts involved in supporting this and other marine conservation priorities. For more about the new Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument and ways divers can help conserve fragile underwater environments visit www.projectaware.org.