The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands were originally protected by President Teddy Roosevelt who established the Hawaiian Islands Bird Reservation in 1909. President Franklin D. Roosevelt broadened the protections to all wildlife and formed the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge in 1940. And in 2006 President George W. Bush created Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to protect and preserve the marine waters and their wildlife and historic, cultural and scientific riches. Today’s designation will expand the existing Marine National Monument by 442,781 square miles, bringing the total protected area to 582,578 square miles.
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