After eight long years of more hits on the environment and animals than not, president Bush officially designated three different U.S.marine national monuments
covering a combined 200,000 square miles of ocean for preservation.
Mariana’s Trench Marine National Monument. This trench is five times longer than the Grand Canyon and the deepest area of the earth. It is home to underwater volcanoes and thermal vents. The Marianas are located north of Guam, SE of Japan, and west of the Marshall Islands.
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument south and west of Hawaii. This monument will help preserve irreplaceable trees, grasses, and birds from near the equator to monk seals, sea turtles, whales and coral reefs.
Rose Atoll Marine National Monument an island east of American Samoa is home to giant clams, reef sharks, and an abundance of beautiful rose-colored corals—Rose Atoll.
There won’t be any oil drills in these areas at least. No “resource destruction or extraction, waste dumping, or commercial fishing,” will be allowed, according to an Environmental New Service article. The areas will be free passage areas however, and allow research and recreation.
This couldn’t happen at a better time because it was reported this evening on the news that the Great Barrier Reef off of Australia is showing the biggest decline in its coral ecosystem in 400 years!
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2009/2009-01-06-02.asp