The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have proposed to designate more than 2,000 acres of land across the Hawaiian archipelago as critical habitat for the threatened green sea turtle.
The organizations believe the designation could help with the turtles' declining population, commonly linked to climate change, habitat loss and ocean acidification.
A critical habitat designation requires that all federal and military agencies consult with NOAA before carrying out, funding or authorizing actions that may affect the areas.
The proposal noted that all nearshore waters up to the high water mark around most of the major islands were considered of "high conservation value." Compiled studies found that the shores around the archipelago were extensively foraged and used for basking by the turtles.
"This is where our honu come to give birth to their young to make sure that we keep our population healthy and thriving, and hopefully move towards getting them off the endangered species list altogether," said Maxx Phillips, director of the Hawai‘i and Pacific Islands Center for Biological Diversity.
Only a number of beaches where honu visit were listed in the proposal. Over 1,000 acres of federal, state, private and uncategorized lands are proposed as critical habitats within the main Hawaiian Islands for nesting and basking honu.
Niʻihau was the only major island excluded. The areas around the island were found to be of "low conservation value," where the economic impacts of designation outweighed the benefits of creating a critical habitat.
About 1,050 acres of land across the northwestern Hawaiian Islands and atolls were also proposed as areas of critical habitat.
Hawaiʻi's population of green sea turtles were first listed as a distinct population segment — markedly different from other populations — and ruled as threatened in 2016.
Under the Endangered Species Act, NOAA is required to designate critical habitats at the same time as listing. Though a one-year extension can be made, NOAA failed to create critical habitat for the populations.
In 2020, the Center for Biological Diversity, Sea Turtle Oversight Protection, and Turtle Island Restoration Network filed a complaint alleging the failure to designate critical habitat by the statutory deadline.
A settlement was reached and USFWS and NOAA agreed to submit proposed designations to the Federal Register on or before June 30, 2023.
Their proposal was published in the Federal Register on July 19, 2023.
"The point of the Endangered Species Act is that we be able to delist species because they are able to survive and recover in a way that is critical for their population," Philips said.
"It's important that we take care of these nesting habitats to ensure that my moʻopuna, your moʻopuna, are going to be able to see the same honu that we see today," she added.
The proposal is open for public comment until Oct. 17. Find more information here.
