Presidents Bush and Obama in the Pacific Remote Islands

This chapter analyses the campaign to expand the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument, which was first created by President George W. Bush in 2009 and then expanded by President Barack Obama in 2014 to 1,270,000 km2. It argues that the remoteness of the monument, and the minimal commercial activity occurring within it, provided environmental groups with considerable influence in lobbying for ambitious protections. The chapter goes on to explain that the commercial fishing industry was largely unsuccessful in its efforts to limit and scale back protections for the monument. Its inability to demonstrate high interest salience in the region weakened its bargaining position with the Obama White House, thereby paving the way for stricter conservation measures.