Air Force partners for environmental conservation on Wake Atoll

A shark swims off the coast of Wake Atoll, part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument. The marine monument reaches 200 nautical miles off the coast lines of the atoll. The first 12 nautical miles of ocean is a refuge within the monument. The U.S. Air Force, through partnerships with agencies such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, have worked in recent years to restore Wake Atoll to a more natural habit both on and off shore. Wake Atoll, made up of the tropical islands of Wilkes, Wake and Peale, is located approximately 2,138 nautical miles west of Honolulu, has a population of roughly 100 residents including Air Force personnel and American and Thai contractors, and is managed by the Pacific Air Forces Regional Support Center under 11th Air Force at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.