123STA T . 3 576PROCL A M AT I O N8 335 —J AN. 6 , 2 0 0 9WHER E AStheUni te d St a te sco ntin u es to act in acco r dance w ith the b a l ance o f interests relatin g to traditional uses of the oceans recog - ni z ing freedo m of na v igation and overflight and other internationall y recognized lawful uses of the sea
WHEREAS the islands , waters, and airs p ace of the M ariana Ridge are of particular importance to the national security of the United States; WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of J une 8 , 1906(34 Stat . 22 5 , 16 U.S. C . 431 ) (the ‘ ‘Anti q uities Act ’ ’) authorizes the P resident, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmar k s, historic and pre- historic structures, and other ob j ects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the G overnment of the United States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be con- fined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and manage- ment of the objects to be protected; WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve the known volcanic areas of the Mariana Ridge, the marine environment around the islands of F arallon de Pajaros, Maug, and Asuncion in the Commonwealth of the N orthern Mariana I slands, and the Mariana T rench for the care and management of the scientific objects therein
N O W, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. B USH, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Antiquities Act do proclaim that there are hereby set apart and re- served as the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (the ‘‘monument’’ or ‘‘marine national monument’’) for the purpose of pro- tecting the objects identified above, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States within the boundaries described below and depicted on the accompanying map entitled ‘‘Marianas Trench Marine National Monument’’ attached to and forming a part of this proclamation. The monument includes the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmost Mariana Islands (the ‘‘Islands Unit’’) and only the submerged lands of designated vol- canic sites (the ‘‘ V olcanic Unit’’) and the Mariana Trench (the ‘‘Trench Unit’’) to the e x tent described as follows: The seaward boundaries of the Islands Unit of the monument extend to the lines of latitude and longitude depicted on the accompanying map, which lie approximately 50 nautical miles from the mean low water line of Farallon de Pajaros (Uracas), Maug, and Asuncion. The inland boundary of the Islands Unit of the monument is the mean low water line. The boundary of the Trench Unit of the monument extends from the northern limit of the Exclusive Economic Z one of the United States in the Common- wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to the southern limit of the Ex- clusive Economic Zone of the United States in Guam approximately following the points of latitude and longitude identified on the accom- panying map. The boundaries of the Volcanic Unit of the monument include a circle drawn with a 1 nautical mile radius centered on each of the volcanic features identified on the accompanying map and its legend. The Federal land and interests in land reserved consists of ap- proximately 95,216 square miles of submerged lands and waters of the Mariana Archipelago, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected. Submerged lands that by legislation are subsequently granted by the United States to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
