Welcome to the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument, formerly known as the Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument! The Monument encompasses approximately 490,000 square miles of open ocean, coral reef, and island habitats, making the total area of the Monument nearly five times the size of all the U.S. National Parks combined and nearly twice the size of the state of Texas. Within the boundaries of the Monument rest seven national wildlife refuges: Howland, Baker, and Jarvis Islands, Johnston, Wake and Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef.
Recognizing the cultural heritage of the Indigenous Peoples and communities of the Pacific Islands by renaming the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument as the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument

The cultural heritage of the Indigenous Peoples and communities of the Pacific Islands was recognized by the White House in January 2025 with the renaming the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument as the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument.

The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Commerce collaborated with Indigenous cultural leaders to inform renaming of the existing Pacific Remote Islands National Monument to honor the area’s heritage, ancestral pathways, and stopping points for Pacific Island voyagers, and to inform posthumous recognition for the Hui Panalāʻau.

This action has supported the telling of a fuller story of our Nation’s history, while advancing opportunity for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Communities.

To see the full announcement from the White House, link here.

To read the story of the Hui Panalā‘au of the Equatorial Pacific Islands link here

To view the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Renaming and Cultural Recognition Assessment Report link HERE 

To view a recording of the PRIMNM Renaming Assessment Presentation from May 14, 2024 link here

To view the PRIMNM Renaming Presentation from FesPAC 2024 by Narrissa Spies (Brown) link here

To view the August 19th Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument (PRIMNM) Renaming Effort Update Webinar link here

To view the Addendum to the March 2024 PRIMNM Renaming and Cultural Recognition Assessment Report link here

Visit Us

Due to its remote location, the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument is not easily accessible to the general public. Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is the only refuge that allows recreational access with a visiting vessel Special Use Permit. Access to all other refuges within the Monument are primarily limited to management activities or research through the use of a Special Use Permit.

Location and Contact Information

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  • Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument
    300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room 5-231 Honolulu, HI 96850-5000
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    About Us

    The Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument was established on January 6, 2009 under the authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906, but expanded to its current size on September 25, 2014. The Monument represents one of the last frontiers of scientific discovery in the world and is a safe haven for Central Pacific biodiversity. The Monument and the national wildlife refuges within it protect entire ecosystems – from coral reefs to deep seamounts, abyssal plain, and volcanic features.

    The national wildlife refuges within the Monument are:

    Map of all four Marine National Monuments of the Pacific
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    What We Do

    Managed in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Service is dedicated to protecting and conserving the biodiversity that enriches the areas that make up the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. The PRIMNM is one of five Marine National Monuments co-managed by the Service. 

    Our Organization

    The PRIMNM Community Group

    The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA have a continued partnership with the Udall Foundation to enlist selected members of the community to form the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument Community Group. This group provides consultation to our agencies on Monument management, care, and effective stewardship, while also providing a forum to discuss ideas and opportunities regarding the management of the Monument, represented in the Monument Management Plan.

    Our Species

    The Monument is home to one of the largest and most pristine collections of tropical islands, coral reef, seamounts and deep sea protected areas on the planet. Species such as sea turtles, marine mammals, whales, sharks, and manta rays have large migration and foraging ranges that exist throughout the expanded Monument.    

    Home to  seabirds, shorebirds, rare plants, land crabs, vibrant coral reefs, sea turtles, whales and dolphins, sharks, manta rays and even the plankton that are the basis of ocean food-web; thousands of species - some that have large migration and foraging ranges - exist throughout the expanded Monument.    

    Our Library

    Here you will find library collections containing a variety of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publications, reports, fact sheets, media and documents along with other reference material.

    Amateur radio operation at Baker NWR
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    Jarvis Island NWR Amateur Radio draft CD September 23 2023.pdf

    Amateur radio operation is an existing use at Jarvis Island NWR; however, it is not a common use. The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, and its predecessor, the Pacific Reefs National Wildlife Refuge Complex (Complex) receive sporadic requests (every few years) for amateur radio...

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    Get Involved

    You can support your the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument or the national wildlife refuges within it by joining organizations such as the National Wildlife Refuge Association that actively supports and advocates for the National Wildlife Refuge System. Volunteer opportunities can also be found at volunteer.gov. 

    Projects and Research

    Since the establishment of the Monument, the Service has worked with partner agencies in maintaining some of the most protected and biodiverse areas of the Pacific Ocean. The Monument contains significant objects of scientific interest and was designated to protect and sustain many endemic species, including corals, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, seabirds, water birds, land birds, insects, and vegetation. These areas also contain pristine deep sea and open ocean ecosystems with unique biodiversity, and approximately 348 seamounts that provide habitat for colonies of deepwater corals that are many thousands of years old.