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Letter to the editor

To regain paradise, pay up

Visitors will be allowed on Midway Atoll - to help clean up the mess.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 22, 2007

MIDWAY ATOLL - The long stretch of atolls and coral reefs northwest of the main Hawaiian islands is so precious humans generally aren't allowed to venture there.

Boats need special permits to enter. All fishing must stop in 2011, aside from what Native Hawaiians catch for cultural purposes. President Bush made the region the largest protected marine area in the world when he declared the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a marine national monument last year.

But there is one spot in the 1,400-mile archipelago where officials believe human visitors, in small numbers, could do more good than harm: Midway Atoll.

In about six months, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to allow tourists to visit Midway, primarily to help clear the island of debris and invasive species.

The atoll is best known for the 1942 battle in which the U.S. defeated Japan. Most fighting was offshore, but a seaplane hangar and some other buildings suffered heavy damage.

Now refuge workers need help clearing marine debris - such as fishing nets and hooks - that entangle and kill turtles, fish and monk seals. Invasive plant species have to be weeded out.

Authorities plan to allow the first tourists sometime between November and January, most likely in groups of 15 on a chartered plane from Honolulu.

A weeklong stay would cost one person about $3,600, including airfare from Honolulu and lodging in old military barracks.

Midway is no resort. There will be no water skiing or kite-surfing, but swimming and snorkeling will be allowed. There's no shopping aside from a small gift store.

On the Web

For more information on the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, visit www.fws.gov/midway/intro

[Last modified July 22, 2007, 01:02:59]