Reading Room Document

Administration of Coral Reef Resources in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands

The President may use his authority under the Antiquities Act to establish a national monument in the territorial sea and a national monument in the exclusive economic zone to protect marine resources. The President may not establish a national wildlife refuge in the territorial sea or the exclusive economic zone using the implied power to reserve public lands recognized in United States v. Midwest Oil Co., 236 U.S. 459 (1915). The authority to manage national monuments can, under certain circumstances, be shared between the Department of the Interior and other agencies, but the Fish and Wildlife Service must maintain sole management authority over any national wildlife refuge area within a monument. Regulations applicable to national monuments trump inconsistent fishery management plans, but the establishment of a national monument would not preclude the establishment of a national marine sanctuary in the same area. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/19366/download.

September 15, 2000