The monument will get a Hawaiian name, but it has not yet been selected.

FILM IMPRESSED BUSH

Resources under the protection of the monument and associated National Wildlife Refuges and Hawai'i state reserves are enormous.

"I was given the rare, precious opportunity to sail and dive in this area. It helps us understand the beauty, the diversity and the power of a living reef," said Nainoa Thompson, the Kamehameha Schools trustee and Polynesian Voyaging Society president who two years ago navigated the voyaging canoe Hokule'a through the entire chain.

"It's a benchmark. It's a school. It's our teacher. In Hawai'i we have a sanctuary, a pu'uhonua (refuge), a place where we let ecology evolve in a natural way. This is our gift to humankind, our contribution to the planet," he said.

Bush aligned himself to the cause of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on April 5, when he met with environmental filmmaker Jean-Michel Cousteau and saw his film on the the islands, "Voyage to Kure." Gov. Linda Lingle and other Hawai'i officials were there.

"The president was impressed with the diversity of the wildlife after watching the film," said Russell Pang, Lingle's chief of media relations.

Sen. Fred Hemmings, R-25th (Lanikai, Hawai'i Kai), who was among those in the White House screening room, said the monument is not likely to be an economic boon to the state, but it creates a legacy for future generations.

"Hawai'i is at the tip of the spear when it comes to conservation initiatives," Hemmings said. "This will clearly be one of the largest conservation sanctuaries in the world."

It is difficult to describe the grandeur of these islands.

Last month, The Honolulu Advertiser published a series of stories entitled "Ocean Odyssey," describing the islands through the eyes of scientists conducting research there. In the water, they saw impossibly large schools of fishes, including hundreds of ulua and dozens of sharks at one site called Rapture Reef.

The clouds over the vast reefs of French Frigate Shoals were tinted green from the sunlight reflected off aquamarine waters. The seaweed on the rocky faces of Gardner Pinnacles were rich in browns, greens, reds and yellows, enriched by the guano that capped the worn oceanic rocks. Swirling flocks of seabirds —terns, boobies, frigatebirds, noddies and albatrosses — haunted the skies over Nihoa.

A surprised environmental community, which has urged strong protections for the wildlife of the region, was supportive of Bush's initiative, but cautious.

The Hawaiian-environmental alliance, Kahea, has long backed a national monument rather than a sanctuary, because it more closely resembles the Hawaiian concept of a pu'uhonua — a pure refuge, Kahea director Cha Smith said.

"That was what we wanted from the beginning. Now we have to be sure that the monument program works in close partnership with the state and the Fish and Wildlife Service to ensure seamless management," Smith said.

"The devil's in the details —what kinds of protections are in place and what kinds of uses are allowed," said Greenpeace oceans specialist John Hocevar.

Hawai'i Sierra Club director Jeff Mikulina called the decision to establish a monument a "bold step."

"By placing this area out of reach of fishing, commercial activities and human meddling, we are doing a tremendous favor to generations yet to come. Some places we just need to let 'be,' " Mikulina said.

"I was really surprised," said Ellen Athas, director of ecosystems protection at the Ocean Conservancy. She said her organization approves of the permanent protection a monument provides, but is concerned that "what we don't know yet is what protections this monument is going to put into place."

'A BOLD STEP'

The head of the Hawai'i Audubon Society's Northwestern Hawaiian Islands campaign, Keiko Bonk, reflected some of the anxiety among environmental groups.

"It's a bold step for the president. Some people are really very thrilled and happy. Some more hesitant. They want to make sure that the plan includes all the restrictions" that have been under discussion in the sanctuary designation process, Bonk said.

Bill Brown, director of Bishop Museum, was the science adviser to Clinton Administration Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt when they both argued for establishment of the region as a national monument. After receiving legal advice that recommended against it at that time, President Clinton created the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve and launched the proposed national marine sanctuary process.

That process, under way for six years, has included public scoping meetings, as well as the production of a set of draft regulations, a draft environmental impact statement and draft management plan, all of which were to be released during the next few weeks. White House officials suggested that the work won't be lost, since most of it has led to the monument decision, and will be employed in the operation of the monument.

Brown still feels the monument is a better choice than a sanctuary.

"I think it's great, and it's kind of fascinating that he (Bush) is doing it. I'm optimistic that this is a significant step forward," Brown said.

The administration itself spared no superlatives.

"It's the single-largest act of ocean conservation in history. It's a large milestone," said Conrad C. Lautenbacher, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "It is a place to maintain biodiversity and to maintain basically the nurseries of the Pacific. It spawns a lot of the life that permeates the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com.