WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will use his legal authority Thursday to create the world’s largest fully protected marine reserve in the central Pacific Ocean, demonstrating his increased willingness to advance a conservation agenda without the need for congressional approval.
By broadening the existing Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Monument from almost 87,000 square miles to more than 490,000 square miles, Obama has now protected more acres of federal land and sea by executive power than any other president in at least 50 years, and makes the area in question off-limits to commercial fishing.
The proclamation will mean added protections for deep-sea coral reefs and other marine ecosystems that administration officials believe are among “the most vulnerable” to the negative impacts of climate change.
While the new designation is scaled-back version of an even more ambitious plan the administration had first floated in June, it marks the 12th time Obama will have exercised his power under the 1906 Antiquities Act to protect environmental assets. The decision to continue to allow fishing around roughly half the area’s islands and atolls aims to limit any economic impact on the U.S. fishing interests.
The unilateral move comes as the administration has found it nearly impossible to achieve many of its other domestic priorities. Consumed by foreign crises and blocked legislatively at home by congressional Republicans, the president and his aides have worked methodically to pursue their environmental objectives through executive action.
“I hope we’re at a tipping point,” said Kristen Brengel, said senior director of policy for the National Parks Conservation Association, noting that many of the bills aimed at creating new parks and wilderness areas are stalled on Capitol Hill. “It’s every community’s right to go to the president and say, ‘We just can’t get this passed by Congress, can you step in and help us there?’ “
White House counselor John Podesta made it clear during a dinner last week celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Wilderness Act that Obama was eager to designate additional national monuments before leaving office. Obama still trails many of his predecessors when it comes to using the Antiquities Act: Bill Clinton created 23 national monuments during his tenure, according to the NPCA, while Franklin D. Roosevelt designated 22.
“He is using the Antiquities Act not to save or preserve anything, but as a political weapon before the election,” Bishop said, adding that his committee has sought to advance wilderness bills but encountered resistance from Democrats who objected to provisions that allowed for motorized vehicle use in some areas.
