U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces New Papahanaumokuakea Co-Manager
Managing a national monument national monument
A national monument is established by executive order of the president or by Congressional legislation. The Antiquities Act authorizes the president to proclaim “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” as national monuments. The National Wildlife Refuge System helps manage three national monuments: Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington state, Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument in Alaska and Tule Lake National Monument in California.
Learn more about national monument won't be anything new for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's newly appointed superintendent of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument; he's been a monument manager for more than 2 1/2 years. The Service has selected Thomas R. Edgerton, currently monument manager at the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in Arizona, as its new co-manager for Papahanaumokuakea, joining counterparts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and State of Hawai'i, as well as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Edgerton will assume his new role on November 7, trading one of the largest stretches of sparsely developed lands in the contiguous United States for one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. His past 29-year career has taken him from coast to coast, from the shores of Virginia to the high deserts of Oregon and the wilds of Alaska. He has worked for several agencies within the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service.
"We are pleased to have someone with proven success managing a national monument representing the Service on the Papahanaumokuakea management board," said Barry Stieglitz, project leader for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. "Tom's experience in working with other partners and the general public, as well as his background with the National Wildlife Refuge System, will undoubtedly serve him well in his new role."
Edgerton will assume responsibilities for managing the 101-year-old Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, stretching from Nihoa to Pearl and Hermes Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, and the Battle of Midway National Memorial.Year-round field camps are located on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals and Laysan Island. Midway Atoll includes a small town and a fully certified airport offering emergency operations for commercial air traffic.A small visitor program at Midway allows the public to learn about and experience the natural, cultural, and historic wonders that led Papahanaumokuakea to be inscribed as a World Heritage Site earlier this year.
"I expect to feel right at home at Papahanaumokuakea Both it and the Grand Canyon-Parashant boast of being home to countless biological, archaeological, and historic treasures, and both are certainly very remote and expansive regions," Edgerton said. "My time at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge gave me a feel for island and coastal management, and I greatly look forward to expanding my knowledge as well as working with our Papahanaumokuakea partners."
The Papahanaumokuakea Monument Management Board consists of representatives from NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service, the State of Hawai'i's Department of Land and Natural Resources (Divisions of Aquatic Resources and Forestry and Wildlife), Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service's Ecological Services Office and the National Wildlife Refuge System. The board coordinates management of Papahanaumokuakea, which in addition to the two national wildlife refuges includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve that turns 10 years old later this year, and the State's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge and State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll.One of the board's primary tasks is to coordinate a joint permitting system for the monument.
Edgerton replaces the former FWS Superintendent, Susan White, who transitioned into the Project Leader position for the Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex.In that role, White oversees the other three marine national monuments created subsequent to Papahanaumokuakea: the Marianas Trench, Rose Atoll, and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments.
A national monument is established by executive order of the president or by Congressional legislation. The Antiquities Act authorizes the president to proclaim “historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest” as national monuments. The National Wildlife Refuge System helps manage three national monuments: Hanford Reach National Monument in Washington state, Aleutian Islands World War II National Monument in Alaska and Tule Lake National Monument in California.
Learn more about national monument won't be anything new for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's newly appointed superintendent of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument; he's been a monument manager for more than 2 1/2 years. The Service has selected Thomas R. Edgerton, currently monument manager at the Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument in Arizona, as its new co-manager for Papahanaumokuakea, joining counterparts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and State of Hawai'i, as well as the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.
Edgerton will assume his new role on November 7, trading one of the largest stretches of sparsely developed lands in the contiguous United States for one of the largest marine protected areas in the world. His past 29-year career has taken him from coast to coast, from the shores of Virginia to the high deserts of Oregon and the wilds of Alaska. He has worked for several agencies within the Department of the Interior, including the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and Fish and Wildlife Service.
"We are pleased to have someone with proven success managing a national monument representing the Service on the Papahanaumokuakea management board," said Barry Stieglitz, project leader for the Hawaiian and Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex. "Tom's experience in working with other partners and the general public, as well as his background with the National Wildlife Refuge System, will undoubtedly serve him well in his new role."
Edgerton will assume responsibilities for managing the 101-year-old Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, stretching from Nihoa to Pearl and Hermes Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, and the Battle of Midway National Memorial.Year-round field camps are located on Tern Island in French Frigate Shoals and Laysan Island. Midway Atoll includes a small town and a fully certified airport offering emergency operations for commercial air traffic.A small visitor program at Midway allows the public to learn about and experience the natural, cultural, and historic wonders that led Papahanaumokuakea to be inscribed as a World Heritage Site earlier this year.
"I expect to feel right at home at Papahanaumokuakea Both it and the Grand Canyon-Parashant boast of being home to countless biological, archaeological, and historic treasures, and both are certainly very remote and expansive regions," Edgerton said. "My time at the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge gave me a feel for island and coastal management, and I greatly look forward to expanding my knowledge as well as working with our Papahanaumokuakea partners."
The Papahanaumokuakea Monument Management Board consists of representatives from NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and National Marine Fisheries Service, the State of Hawai'i's Department of Land and Natural Resources (Divisions of Aquatic Resources and Forestry and Wildlife), Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and the Fish and Wildlife Service's Ecological Services Office and the National Wildlife Refuge System. The board coordinates management of Papahanaumokuakea, which in addition to the two national wildlife refuges includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve that turns 10 years old later this year, and the State's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Refuge and State Seabird Sanctuary at Kure Atoll.One of the board's primary tasks is to coordinate a joint permitting system for the monument.
Edgerton replaces the former FWS Superintendent, Susan White, who transitioned into the Project Leader position for the Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex.In that role, White oversees the other three marine national monuments created subsequent to Papahanaumokuakea: the Marianas Trench, Rose Atoll, and Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments.
