FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 13, 2025
Media Contact
protectPRI@gmail.com
Coalition Opposes U.S. Military Rocket Cargo Testing at Kalama (Johnston Atoll)
A petition calls for a Full Environmental Impact Statement to
Protect Marine National Monument and National Wildlife Refuge
(KALAMA, PACIFIC OCEAN) The United States Space Force, Department of the Air Force, has announced plans to construct and operate two landing pads for rocket cargo testing at Kalama (Johnston Atoll) – an ecologically and culturally significant area protected within the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM) and a National Wildlife Refuge.
The Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition—a diverse network of elders, fishers, scientists, cultural practitioners, and community leaders—objects to this proposal and calls for the agency to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the potential impacts on this globally significant marine area.
“In a time when our Earth is rapidly changing, we must commit to its restoration and healing,” says Solomon Kahoʻohalahala, chair of the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition and native Hawaiian elder. “The proposal by the Air Force to construct landing pads and test massive rocket cargo operations at Kalama only continues decades of harm and abuse to a place that is culturally and biologically tied to us as Pacific people. We say enough is enough. ʻAʻole!”
The construction and operation of rocket cargo landing pads, along with up to 10 reentry vehicle landings per year over four years, pose serious risks—including contamination, debris, noise pollution, and the potential for failed landings within the monument’s waters.
Johnston has been controlled by the U.S. Armed Forces for nearly a century. Destructive practices have included coral dredging and filling shallow areas to increase the size of Johnston Island and Sand Island; the creation of two artificial islands; a site for atmospheric nuclear testing; a stockpiling and incineration of toxic chemical munitions shipped to Kalama–including over two million gallons of Agent Orange that leaked and contaminated the the atoll and lagoon. The area needs to rest and heal–but instead, the military is choosing to cause more irreversible harm.
According to an official press release, on Oct. 7, 2020 U.S. Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, commander, U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), told an audience about USTRANSCOM’s partnership with Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) and a partnership with Exploration Architecture Corporation (XArc) to explore this emerging capability of rapid transportation through space. (USTRANSCOM is the Defense Department’s global logistics provider.) Of the eight SpaceX Starship rocket launches, four have failed, disrupting commercial flights and raining debris. The most recent explosive failures of Starship occurred on January 17, 2025, and March 6, 2025, underscoring the dangers.
“Johnston Atoll acts as a stepping stone of connectivity for marine life–including fishes, corals, and other organisms–bridging the main Hawaiian Islands and Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, with the broader tropical Pacific including the Marshall Islands and Kiribati,” says Dr. Richard Pyle, Senior Curator of Ichthyology, at the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum. “The area is a one-of-a-kind natural laboratory shedding light into broader patterns of marine species distribution across the Pacific. Given its tiny size and remoteness, the precious ecosystems of this atoll are especially vulnerable to disturbances that could cause irreparable harm.”
Established in 2009 by President George W. Bush, PIHMNM is one of the last wild, healthy ocean ecosystems on Earth with diverse endangered and threatened wildlife of global conservation importance. Kalama is home to:
- 14 seabird species, including the largest known nesting populations of red-tailed tropicbirds
- More than 300 species of fish, including at least one endemic fish species found nowhere else on Earth (Nahacky’s angelfish, Centropyge nahackyi)
- A shallow coral reef that encompasses approximately 32,000 acres
The formation of the atoll began at least 70 million years ago through a series of underwater volcanic eruptions. The area holds invaluable cultural and spiritual significance, including for Native Pacific Islanders’ cross-oceanic migration and voyaging–and a deep history with Hawaiʻi, with Kamehameha IV claiming the island for the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi in 1858.
In its notice, the agency stated that a Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) would be released in early April 2025, opening a 30-day public comment period. However, the Coalition calls for the Department of the Air Force and Space Force to complete a comprehensive EIS and urges the public to oppose the proposed rocket testing that will threaten fragile ecosystems, endangered species, and areas of deep cultural significance.
The Coalition launched a public petition calling for an immediate halt to the proposed commercial rocket testing at Johnston Atoll and for the agency to conduct a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and explore alternative sites that do not pose risks to critical marine habitats, protected wildlife, and cultural heritage anywhere.
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*******PHOTOS OF KALAMA*******
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NDLIgbFrLfUD-G8q5gN6LmTpnzEGAYTS?usp=sharing
About the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition
Since 2014, the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition has worked to protect the cultural, natural and historical legacy of these special islands, atolls and reefs. Our diverse network includes elders, fishers, scientists, educators, cultural practitioners, nonprofits, and community groups across Oceania and beyond. We are a coalition brought together by a love for the ocean that connects and sustains us. Learn more at protectpih.com.