Who We Are
Photo Credit: Booby face Palmyra Atoll by Laura M. Beauregard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
About Pacific Islands Heritage
The Pacific Islands Heritage area is one of the last wild, healthy ocean ecosystems on the planet, with a rich cultural and historical legacy. The area includes five uninhabited islands or atoll complexes: Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Palmyra Atoll and Kingman Reef, Howland and Baker Islands, and Jarvis Island. The low coral islands and atolls are the crests of ancient coral reef caps and massive underwater volcanoes up to 120 million years old.
Below the surface lies endangered and threatened wildlife, including sharks, rays, seabirds, blue whales, the leatherback sea turtle, and deep-sea life found nowhere else. Its waters have thriving fish populations, 5,000-year-old coral, and 165 known seamounts — towering underwater mountains — which are considered biodiversity hotspots.
Native Pacific Islanders used the vast seascape for cross-oceanic migration and voyaging. The islands and atolls served as stopping points for rest, sustenance, and cultural practice for generations of voyagers who used the stars, winds, currents, and land and sea life to navigate these waters.
About Our Coalition
In 2014, the Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition formed to protect and amplify the cultural, natural, and historical legacy of these special islands, atolls, and reefs. Our diverse network includes elders, fishers, cultural practitioners, navigators, scientists, storytellers, nonprofit leaders, community groups, and others across the Pacific and beyond. Our vision focuses on an abundant future for Pacific peoples. We are committed to realizing a connected, healthy Pacific where wildlife and communities thrive, and we care for the natural world as our ancestors.
Our Steering Committee
Solomon Pili Kaho’ohalahala, Chair (Lāna’i)
David Lacapa Benavente, Vice Co-Chair (Saipan)
Jonetta Kaina Peters, Vice Co-Chair (O’ahu)
Hanohano Naehu (Molokaʻi)
Makaʻala Kaʻaumoana (Kauaʻi)
Nai’a Lewis (O’ahu)
Rick Gaffney (Hawaiʻi Island)
Robert Richmond (Oʻahu)
Sabrina Suluai-Mahuka (American Samoa)
William J. Aila, Jr. (O’ahu)
Our Team
Sheila Sarhangi, Founder and Director
Breanna Rose, Program Manager
Want to know about our work? Click here or contact us at protectpri@gmail.com
In memorial:
Nate Yuen and Marjorie Ziegler were steadfast supporters of the effort to protect the Pacific Remote Islands.
