HONOLULU—Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne today joined Mrs. Laura Bush in announcing the new Native Hawaiian name for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument. A re-naming ceremony in Honolulu included Gov.Linda Lingle of Hawaii; James Connaughton, Chairman of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality; and Deputy Secretary of Commerce David A. Sampson.
The new name, Papahānaumokuākea, comes from an ancient Hawaiian tradition concerning the formation of the Hawaiian Islands. Mrs. Bush and the Secretary yesterday visited Midway Atoll, part of the national monument under the department’s jurisdiction.
Attached are the fact sheet from the Council on Environmental Quality and the Presidential Proclamation.