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March 2007
Mrs. Laura Bush toured Midway Atoll and viewed many albatross birds on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Thursday March 1, 2007. The short-tailed albatross facing the camera is a long-time resident of the island and standing with two decoy birds. "He's been here about five years," said Mrs. Bush of the lonely bird. "He's 20 years old. They know because he was banded in Japan on the island where he was. Of course, they are hoping to attract some young short-tailed albatross. That's why the decoys are here also, so there will be a mating pair here."
Mrs. Laura Bush toured Midway Atoll and viewed many albatross birds on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Thursday March 1, 2007. The short-tailed albatross facing the camera is a long-time resident of the island and standing with two decoy birds. "He's been here about five years," said Mrs. Bush of the lonely bird. "He's 20 years old. They know because he was banded in Japan on the island where he was. Of course, they are hoping to attract some young short-tailed albatross. That's why the decoys are here also, so there will be a mating pair here."
Laura Bush visits Midway Atoll, part of the Hawaiian archipelago, Thursday, March 1. 2007. The Northwest Hawaiian Islands consist of 10 islands and atolls stretched over 1,400 miles, the distance from Chicago to Miami. Around the islands and atolls are more than 4,500 square miles of coral reef. The area is are home to 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else in the world. Mrs. Laura Bush visits Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge during a tour of Sand Island and Eastern Island, part of the Hawaiian archipelago Thursday, March 1, 2007. President Bush designated the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument June 15, 2006. It is the single largest conservation area in the U.S. history and the largest protected marine area in the world.
To keep the birds from eating flaking paint, netting surrounds an abandoned buildings on Sand Island. These Cable buildings were built at the turn of the 20th Century and were used for some of the first telegram messages sent. Midway Atoll biologists work to restore native plants like this tribulus puncture vine that create healthy habitats for native endangered species.
Mrs. Laura Bush talks with wildlife biologist, John Klavitter, left, Interior Secretary Interior Dirk Kempthorne and Chairman Jim Connaughton of the Council on Environmental Quality at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge Thursday, March 1, 2007. The island is home to a great number of endangered species such as Laysan Ducks, Short-tailed Albatross, Hawaiian Monk Seals and Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles. Mrs. Laura Bush works with wildlife biologist John Klavitter to restore native bunchgrass during a tour of Eastern Island on Midway Atoll Thursday, March 1, 2007. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is pictured in a red jacket.
Mrs. Laura Bush views albatross birds and remnants of World War II with wildlife biologist John Klavitter during a tour of Eastern Island on Midway Atoll, part of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Thursday, March 1, 2007. Midway Atoll was the site of the Battle of Midway June 4, 1942. The U.S. Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Islands, marking a turning point in the war in the pacific theater. Mrs. Laura Bush visits the Battle of Midway Memorial on the parade grounds of Midway Island Thursday, March 1, 2007. Midway Atoll was the site of the World War II battle June 4, 1942. The U.S. Navy defeated a Japanese attack against Midway Islands, marking a turning point in the war in the pacific theater. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is pictured wearing a blue shirt and is standing next to Mrs. Bush.
Mrs. Laura Bush tags an albatross chick during a visit to Midway Atoll Thursday, March 1, 2007. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is pictured with Mrs. Bush. President Bush designated the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument on June 15, 2006, and is the single largest conservation area in U.S. history and the largest protected marine area in the world. Mrs. Laura Bush toured Midway Atoll and viewed many albatross birds on the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument, Thursday March 1, 2007. The short-tailed albatross facing the camera is a long-time resident of the island and standing with two decoy birds. "He's been here about five years," said Mrs. Bush of the lonely bird. "He's 20 years old. They know because he was banded in Japan on the island where he was. Of course, they are hoping to attract some young short-tailed albatross. That's why the decoys are here also, so there will be a mating pair here."
A Laysan albatross on Eastern Island stands over her chick. Midway Atoll, and its member Eastern Island, is home to nearly two million birds each year including the world's largest colony of Laysan albatrosses. Almost 300,000 nesting pairs inhabit the island, but a great number of albatross chicks die each year due to ingesting flaking lead paint flaking from abandoned buildings and plastic pollution washing up on the beaches. Artifacts like a golf ball, lighter, and random pieces of plastic poke through the skeletal remains of an albatross on Midway Atoll. These artifacts of global pollution are eaten by the albatross, which ultimately kills them. In 2006, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) picked up 21 tons marine debris in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
Mrs. Laura Bush tours Eastern Island Monument Seep wetlands Thursday, March 1, 2007, where several endangered Laysan ducks were brought it in 2004. A freshwater pond was dug and native grasses were restored to create breeding grounds for the ducks. A Black Footed albatross stands on Eastern Island where Mrs. Laura Bush toured Thursday March 1, 2007, as part of the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Monument. The Black Footed albatross is an endangered seabird that nests almost exclusively in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.
A Wildlife Biologist holds up a hook that was found in the stomach of a bird on Eastern Island. Human debris poses a significant danger to the many endangered species that live in the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

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