A treasure protected

Miles, acres, species — all the benchmarks of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument, the world's largest marine refuge, are extraordinary. President Bush's decision to protect this area inspires superlatives as well.

The next step, after a decent interval of thanks and congratulations, is to remind him of the financial and administrative commitment necessary to protect a special place. The dazzling proportions of this marine haven require an outsized stewardship to match.

Protecting swaths of nature for future generations has not appealed to this president. After years of study and negotiation, environmental groups thought they were on the verge of sanctuary status, a lesser level of protection — when he raised the bar.

Moved by a documentary film about the remote archipelago, Bush cut through the process to invoke his prerogative from a 1906 law. Declaration of a national monument does not suffer endless review or periodic second-guessing by Congress.

This 100-mile-wide, 1,400-mile-long stretch of ocean is as much a state of mind as it is a place. Only a handful of visitors may ever see it, though it is a part of Hawaii, except for Midway Atoll, which is a U.S. territory.

Bush protected 3 million acres of coral and committed the United States to the protection of 7,000 species, one-fourth of which exist no other place on the planet. All recreational fishing ends immediately and eight active commercial licenses will be phased out over five years, unless side deals with environmentalists buy them out early.

Crossing this vast region takes hours by plane and a two-week round trip by boat. Cultural accommodations have been made with Hawaiian Islanders for subsistence fishing. Tourists will be able to visit Midway, which has a historical significance from World War II and was a naval air facility until 1993.

Otherwise, the open spaces must be patrolled by the Coast Guard with ships and aerial surveillance to chase off any domestic or foreign attempts to violate the fishing ban.

Management will trickle down through the Department of Commerce to NOAA and kindred overseers.

Islands dot the national monument but they are incubators and nurseries of a very wild kingdom. President Bush has secured an undersea treasure and the responsibility that goes with it.