The Tragedy at Pearl Harbor happened on this date in 1941. We thought we would share this picture of the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC as we remember those brave men and women who lost their lives on that terrible day.

Photo: National Park Service 

Known in Hawaiian as Ilio-holo-i-ka-uaua, or “dog that runs in rough water”, the Hawaiian monk seal may be the most ancient seal species. Radio-tracking is teaching us more about these critically endangered marine mammals, which spend most of their lives at sea, but raise pups on Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge beaches in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Photo: Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program

The Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is the single largest conservation area under the U.S. flag, and one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world. It encompasses 139,797 square miles of the Pacific Ocean  - an area larger than all the country’s national parks combined.

The extensive coral reefs found in Papahānaumokuākea - truly the rainforests of the sea - are home to over 7,000 marine species, one quarter of which are found only in the Hawaiian Archipelago. Many of the islands and shallow water environments are important habitats for rare species such as the threatened green turtle (pictured above) and the endangered Hawaiian monk seal. On less than six square miles of land over 14 million seabirds representing 22 species breed and nest. Land areas also provide a home for four species of bird found nowhere else in the world, including the world’s most endangered duck, the Laysan duck.

Photo: Mark Sully

Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1985 to protect and manage endangered Hawaiian forest birds (like the I’iwi pictured above) and their rain forest habitat. Located on the windward slope of Mauna Kea, Island of Hawai‘i, the 32,733-acre Hakalau Forest Unit supports a diversity of native birds and plants equaled by only one or two other areas in the State of Hawai‘i.

Eight of the 14 native bird species occurring at Hakalau are endangered. Thirteen migratory bird species and 20 introduced species, including eight game birds, as well as the endangered ‘ope‘ape‘a (Hawaiian hoary bat) also frequent the refuge. Twenty-nine rare plant species are known from the refuge and adjacent lands. Twelve are currently listed as endangered. Two endangered lobelias have fewer than five plants known to exist in the wild.

Photo: Donald Metzner, UFWS 

Volcanoes are monuments to Earth’s origin, evidence that its primordial forces are still at work. During a volcanic eruption, we are reminded that our planet is an ever-changing environment whose basic processes are beyond human control. As much as we have altered the face of the Earth to suit our needs, we can only stand in awe before the power of an eruption.

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park is a fascinating world of active volcanism, biological diversity, and Hawaiian culture, past and present.

Photo: Yvone Baur, National Park Service 

The Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge was established by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1909. It encompasses most of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands and atolls stretching 1,200 miles northwest of the island of Kaua‘i. The Refuge includes a rich, varied, and unique natural, cultural, and historic legacy. Small islands and islets provide critical breeding grounds and nesting sites for endangered, threatened, and rare species that forage on land and throughout the coral reef and shallow waters of the marine environment. On June 15, 2006, the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge was overlain with a new designation as part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

In this photo, Great Frigatebirds and Red-Footed Boobies enjoy a beautiful day in the sun.

Photo: Sarah Youngren/USFWS