Following a tradition started by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909, on June 15, 2006, President George W Bush established the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, setting apart 139793 square miles of federal lands and waters to protect the area's significant natural, cultural, and historic resources. The monument will be managed by the Department of the Interior's US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in close coordination with the State of Hawai'i.

Included within the National Monument are two National Wildlife Refuges: the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge extending from Nihoa Island to Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. Midway Atoll also is designated as the Battle of Midway National Memorial. The National Monument also includes the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve administered by NOAA and the State Marine Refuge managed by the State of Hawai'i. - US Fish and Wildlife Service