Why Palmyra?

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained
By Arlen McCluskey

Fresh winds sweep the ocean swells, and the air is sweet with excitement for the next great voyage of Hōkūle‘a, the celebrated Polynesian voyaging canoe. Her destination is the little-known and far-flung atoll of Palmyra, of the Line Islands. Palmyra is far removed from Hawai‘i. It lies almost half the distance from Hawai‘i to Sāmoa, and is, by any measure, a marvelous and singular place. The atoll is an uncommonly pristine and untouched wonder of the natural world.

Indeed, it is so unusual that scientists, naturalists, and researchers from all corners of the globe ache at the thought of visiting it. It’s not hard to understand why. Charles Kennel, Director of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, put it to words, stating, “Palmyra … is a virtual treasure chest of science that has never been fully explored.” It is, sadly, one of the few remaining ecosystems of its kind that have escaped the brutal injuries of environmental degradation caused by human activity.

In January of 2009, Palmyra Atoll was granted wide-ranging protection as a National Marine Monument. The monument designation extends the commercial no-fishing zone surrounding the remote islands from 12 nautical miles to 50. The area of protected ocean wilderness grew from about half a million acres to 13 million. Conservationists have breathed a collective sigh of relief. The designation is important for many reasons. Dr. J.E. Maragos, a Coral Reef Biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, spoke of just a few of the things that make Palmyra special. “Particularly unique to Palmyra,” Maragos says, “are its large, diverse and unharvested stocks of reef and near-shore fisheries, its unusual submerged reefs jutting seaward for many miles beyond the atoll islets, and its beautiful shallow reef pools and coral gardens off the east end in which are found many diverse and colorful fish and other marine life. These pools are easily snorkeled and are the most spectacular that I have ever seen, after having dived on thousands of Pacific reefs over the past 30 years.” The comparisons that Maragos draws between Palmyra Atoll and other once-similar environments around the world are striking.

Palmyra consists of an oval ring of islets covering nearly 600 acres of land with thick vegetation nestled among several lagoons and encircled by more than 15,000 acres of pristine coral reefs. An atoll is usually a ring-like perimeter reef encircling a lagoon, upon which rests at least one low coral island. Palmyra was formed by coral growth on the fringes of an ancient volcano. The atoll is located in an area known as the intertropical convergence zone, where trade winds from the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere collide, rise and dump rainfall as they cool off at higher elevations. Because of this, Palmyra receives an average of 175 inches of rain each year. This creates a particularly friendly environment for plants.

Unlike many other atolls, Palmyra is especially well suited for supporting life—complex life. It is home to many species of plants and animals that continue to thrive in a healthy and stable ecosystem. One of the most amazing things about the atoll is its variety. Visitors are often left speechless by the staggering and beautiful array of plants, birds, sea life, and terrestrial animals that populate the sanctuary. The waters that surround Palmyra are home to large marine mammals, like pilot whales, bottle nosed dolphins, and melon headed whales (and the occasional Hawaiian monk seal). The atoll is a significant foraging habitat for the green turtle, which is threatened worldwide by human activities, mostly through hunting of adults and collection of eggs. The endangered hawksbill sea turtle also makes use of Palmyra. Manta rays, peacock groupers, and convict tangs live in the lagoons of Palmyra.

On land, stands of Pisonia beach strand forest still survive, some of the last in the Pacific. Pisonia trees, considered the redwoods of the Pacific, are between 70 and 100 feet tall. One of the world’s largest invertebrates, the coconut crab, also lives on Palmyra. This creature, so named for its fondness for cracking open coconuts with its very large claws, is in serious decline around the world because of overexploitation by humans. The coconut crab shares Palmyra with the orange land crab and the purple land crab.

The Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge is important to seabirds as well. It is the only suitable seabird nesting area within 450,000 square miles of ocean. It is home to one of the largest colonies of nesting red-footed boobies in the world, at around 6,250 pairs. Brown boobies, masked boobies, brown noddies, black noddies, sooty terns, great frigatebirds, Pacific golden plovers, wandering tattlers, bristle-thighed curlews, and ruddy turnstones all rely on Palmyra for their continued survival. Some of these birds number in the tens of thousands. Others number as few as 39 individuals. The stakes couldn’t be higher for conservation efforts.

Although a greater area around Palmyra is now protected by law, the journey is far from over. New challenges are fast approaching. What we can learn at Palmyra—about global climate change, coral reefs, invasive species, and island and marine restoration—promises to inform and strengthen conservation for islands and coasts around the world. Taken as a whole, the gains are very encouraging. It is hoped that the journey of Hōkūle‘a to Palmyra will draw back the curtain on one of the most promising examples of wildlife conservation in the world. This inspiring story may be only the beginning of a new era of environmental husbandry and responsible natural resource management. It’s time to chart a new course.

PHOTO CREDITS: FWS, TNC