Editing Midway Atoll (section)

==National Wildlife Refuge and National Monument==
{{Infobox protected area
|name=Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial
|iucn_category=IV
|photo=Starr 080531-4748 Pritchardia sp..jpg
|photo_caption=Navy memorial and [[albatross|gooney]] monument with [[Laysan albatross]] chicks
|photo_width=
|map=
|map_caption=
|location=Midway Atoll
|nearest_city=
|area={{cvt|2365.3|km2|mi2}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.protectedplanet.net/midway-atoll-national-wildlife-refuge |title=Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge |publisher=protectedplanet.net |access-date=10 June 2018 |archive-date=June 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140018/https://www.protectedplanet.net/midway-atoll-national-wildlife-refuge |url-status=live }}</ref>
|established=1988
|governing_body=[[United States Fish & Wildlife Service]]
|website=[https://www.fws.gov/refuge/midway_atoll/ Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial]
}}
[[File:President Barack Obama visits Midway Atoll in 2016.png|300px|thumb|left|[[President of the United States|President]] [[Barack Obama]] visits Midway Atoll to announce the expansion of the [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument]] in&nbsp;2016.]]
[[File:Flag of the Midway Islands (local).svg|thumb|The unofficial flag of Midway Atoll, designed by local Fish and Wildlife Service employee Steve Dryden, was introduced on June 4, 2000, the 58th anniversary of the Battle of Midway.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wheeler |first=Skip |date=March 2000 |title=New Flag for Midway |url=https://nava.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NAVANews_2000_vol33no1.pdf |journal=NAVA News |volume=33 |access-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606083851/https://nava.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NAVANews_2000_vol33no1.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=Lesser-Known Symbols of Minor U.S. Possessions: Part 2. Pacific Ocean—Midway |last=Klimeš |first=Roman |date=July–September 2010 |journal=NAVA News |issue=207 |page=8 |url=https://nava.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NAVANews_2010_no207.pdf |access-date=March 15, 2021 |archive-date=June 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210606112851/https://nava.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/NAVANews_2010_no207.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Midway was designated an overlay [[National Wildlife Refuge]] on April{{nbsp}}22, 1988, while still under the primary jurisdiction of the Navy.

From August 1996, the general public could visit the atoll through study [[ecotourism|ecotours]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=travel&res=9905E1D91039F934A35754C0A960958260 |date=July 7, 1996 |title=Study Tours of Midway Island |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 16, 2007 |archive-date=June 4, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220604034511/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/07/07/travel/travel-advisory-study-tours-of-midway-island.html?sec=travel |url-status=live }}</ref> This program ended in 2002,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/MrktFeas2005.pdf |title=Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: Visitor program market analysis and feasibility study |author=Pandion Systems, Inc. |date=April 12, 2005 |work=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] |access-date=September 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604131956/http://www.fws.gov/midway/MrktFeas2005.pdf |archive-date=June 4, 2013}}</ref> but another visitor program was approved and began operating in March 2008.<ref name=fws011508 /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/vsp.html |title=Interim Visitor Services Plan Approved |date=December 8, 2006 |work=[[United States Fish and Wildlife Service]] |access-date=September 16, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604141729/http://www.fws.gov/midway/vsp.html |archive-date=June 4, 2013}}</ref> This program operated through 2012, but was suspended in 2013 due to budget cuts.<ref name=star/>

On October 31, 1996, President [[Bill Clinton]] signed Executive Order 13022, which transferred the jurisdiction and control of the atoll to the United States Department of the Interior. The FWS assumed management of the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. The last contingent of Navy personnel left Midway on June{{nbsp}}30, 1997, after an ambitious environmental cleanup program was completed.

On September 13, 2000, Secretary of the Interior [[Bruce Babbitt]] designated the Wildlife Refuge as the Battle of Midway National Memorial.<ref>{{cite web |title=Battle of Midway National Memorial |publisher=U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |date=March 22, 2010 |url=http://www.fws.gov/midway/memorial.html |access-date=March 10, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502074958/http://www.fws.gov/midway/memorial.html |archive-date=May 2, 2013}}</ref> The refuge is now called the "Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and Battle of Midway National Memorial".

On June 15, 2006, President [[George W. Bush]] designated the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as a national monument. The [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument|Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument]] encompasses {{cvt|105564|sqnmi|sqmi km2|0}} and includes {{cvt|3910|sqnmi|sqmi km2|0}} of coral reef habitat.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/faq.html#13 |title=Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument |work=noaa.gov |access-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=May 6, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506073921/http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/faq.html#13 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Monument also includes the [[Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument|Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge]] and the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

In 2007, the Monument's name was changed to Papahānaumokuākea ({{IPA|haw|ˈpɐpəˈhaːnɔuˈmokuˈaːkeə}}) Marine National Monument.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/Name.html |title=Papahānaumokuākea: A Sacred Name, A Sacred Place |access-date=March 29, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207082717/http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/Name.html |archive-date=February 7, 2008}};<br />Hawaiian pronunciation is given here.{{Cite web |url=http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/PMNM_Pronounce.MP3 |title=Archived copy |access-date=March 3, 2012 |archive-date=March 6, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080306221150/http://www.hawaiireef.noaa.gov/about/PMNM_Pronounce.MP3 |url-status=bot: unknown}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/08/26/fact-sheet-president-obama-create-worlds-largest-marine-protected-area |title=Fact Sheet: President Obama to Create the World's Largest Marine Protected Area |date=August 26, 2016 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |access-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=January 20, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170120220151/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2016/08/26/fact-sheet-president-obama-create-worlds-largest-marine-protected-area |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2016/08/secretaries-pritzker-jewell-applaud-presidents-expansion-papahanaumokuakea-marine |title=Secretaries Pritzker, Jewell Applaud President's Expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument |date=August 26, 2016 |work=commerce.gov |access-date=September 16, 2016 |archive-date=September 15, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160915040926/https://www.commerce.gov/news/blog/2016/08/secretaries-pritzker-jewell-applaud-presidents-expansion-papahanaumokuakea-marine |url-status=dead }}</ref> The National Monument is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]] (NOAA), and the State of Hawaii. In 2016, President [[Barack Obama]] expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and added the Office of Hawaiian Affairs as a fourth co-trustee of the monument.

=== Gooney monument ===
The so-called ''Gooney monument'' was carved from a {{convert|30|ft|m|adj=on}} mahogany log as a personal project by a U.S. Navy dental officer stationed on the island. The project began in 1949. The statue was {{convert|11|ft|m}} tall and stood for 40 years before succumbing to termite damage. It was replaced with a mock egg after its removal.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.midwayisland.com/midway-blog/gooney-bird-monument/|title=Midway Island|website=midwayisland.com|date=December 15, 2017|accessdate=January 4, 2024|archive-date=January 4, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104031240/https://www.midwayisland.com/midway-blog/gooney-bird-monument/|url-status=live}} (includes a transcription of a 1972 [[Navy Times]] article about the statue and a later photo of the monument with the mock egg)</ref>