The current administration has taken action to remove protections from Marine National Monuments—including areas that are home to more than 7,000 marine species, culturally significant to Indigenous Pacific Islanders, and among the most pristine ecosystems left on Earth.

The EarthEcho International Ocean Protection Ambassadors shared their response to the devastating threats to these unique ecosystems:

“U.S. Marine National Monuments are a vital network safeguarding the living heart of our planet. They carry forward generations of ecological health and cultural knowledge, preserving them for the well-being of both nature and humankind. To honor these places is to recognize that our neighbors are not only in our towns and cities, but also in the waters and wild landscapes that countless species call home. Rolling back their protections would mean turning away from our shared responsibility to care for the world that sustains us.” - Kloey Kun, EarthEcho International Ocean Protection Ambassador (New York) 

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“Marine National Monuments are living laboratories - proof that protected oceans recover. Rolling back protections erases knowledge we cannot replace.” - Maev Douglas, EarthEcho International Ocean Protection Ambassador (California)

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“Marine National Monuments are more than protection - they’re promises to our future generations: breaking them wipes away knowledge, species, and hope.” - Mia Nishiguchi, EarthEcho International Ocean Protection Ambassador (Hawai’i)

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“Marine National Monuments are crucial to protecting our marine ecosystems. Protecting them is vitally important to all life on earth, as we all rely on our ocean planet one way or another.” - Myroslava Fisun, EarthEcho International Ocean Protection Ambassador (California) 

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“Marine National Monuments are the sequestered sanctuaries of our oceans, as they preserve irreplaceable ecosystems, cultural heritage, and biodiversity for the next generation. It is crucial we preserve these sites as it is the human obligation as the apex predator to safeguard the environments that we have irrevocably transformed. - Jhaylin Cruz, EarthEcho International Ocean Protection Ambassador (Maine)