Volunteer bird counters transit Eastern Island at daybreak
Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) Dec. 2024 Photo by: Dan Rapp
Now is OUR time!
The Friends of Midway Atoll priority is to keep boots on the ground at Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) for wildlife protection during these uncertain times. In addition, we have chosen to highlight 2025 timely and critical threats to wildlife in the Pacific that have a cultural and ecosystem relationship because fish, coral, and birds do not know boundaries. Each issue highlighted will provide an action that you can do today!
Call to Action May 2025
Click on the hyperlinked text below that speaks to you!
Discover here how Midway fits into the bigger conservation puzzle in the Pacific, within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument and the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument (PIHMNM) and why your voice and the actions you choose can have a significant impact! Hint: Midway and PIHMNM have no direct congressional representation.
Pacific Islands Heritage Coalition is advocating fearlessly for the Pacific Islands Heritage Marine National Monument. It will be worth your time to visit their website!
Sign this petition TODAY to stop the rocket landing cargo site proposed at Kalama (Johnston Atoll).
Call your Representatives noting the Executive Order President Trump signed on April 17, 2025 lifting the ban on the commercial fishing industry in PIHMNM! Information and guidance is available here.
Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Act Public Comments Due before May 19th!
The following proposal, if enacted, will have an unfathomable impact on wildlife in this country and their habitat they depend on. The Administration is proposing that the word “harm” in the Endangered Species Act now exclude habitat modification or loss. If this occurs it allows the Administration to move forward with their plans to log national forests, open marine sanctuaries to fishing, build roads across public lands, etc. You can submit a comment here expressing your concern before May 19th. Helpful cliff notes to the Federal Register Notes available here. In the meantime, view the Rescinding the Definition of “Harm” Under the Endangered Species Federal Register Notice!
Collective Action From Friends Groups Submits Testimony to The Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations for the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Your Friends of Midway Atoll joined hands with others across the country to submit on behalf of the National Wildlife Refuge Association this Testimony to the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies as a response to the Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations for the National Wildlife Wildlife Refuge System.
Other Wildlife Conservation Related Administration Proposals and Actions
A list of other wildlife conservation related on-going proposals and actions are listed here along with a sample letter.
Consider joining the list serve for the Hawai'i Conservation Alliance Foundation. Founded in 2006, the Hawai‘i Conservation Alliance Foundation (HCAF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit with the purpose and mission to support and advance the capacity building, native ecosystem and biocultural conservation work of the Hawaiʻi Conservation Alliance (HCA) through fundraising, advocacy, and strategic outreach and communication.
Non-profit Friends of Refuges across the Hawaiian Islands
Reach out to your area National Wildlife Refuge(s) and find out if they have a non-profit Friends organization you can support. In the State of Hawai'i, the Friends of Kaua'i National Wildlife Refuges, Friends of O'ahu National Wildlife Refuge, Friends of Hakalau Forest National Wildlife Refuge and the Friends of Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge are hard at work 24/7 to reinstate and support employees who were fired on Valentines Day 2025!
Non-profit conservation organizations in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument include the dynamic Papahānaumokuākea Marine Debris Project, Kure Atoll Conservancy and the above noted Friends of Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge.
Who is the National Wildlife Refuge Association?
They are your national advocacy crew in D.C. fighting for ALL the National Wildlife Refuges and Marine National Monuments!
Visit their one stop website to stay abreast and understand the immediate and upcoming threats on a national scale to wildlife and people!
Connect!
Interested in the most pressing critical issues and challenges for Midway? Become a member and sign up to receive our newsletter. Send an email to friendsmidway.org and request to be added to our Advocacy alert list. We will let you know about important bills or measures that may affect the Refuge, positively or negatively. And we promise NOT to clog up your emails with never ending funding asks.
Speak up! Let your local media or newspaper know you are passionate about Midway. USE Call 5 to help locate and make a quick call to your Representatives and Senators.
Do mahalo (thank) your representatives who stand up and speak out! U.S. Senator for Hawai'i Brian Schatz is a passionate and determined advocate for the protected islands, reefs and waters across the Pacific! View Senator Schatz's statement to Congress on April 17, 2025!
Exhausted and need a break from it all? Follow the magic of Kuaihelani (Midway Atoll) on Facebook, Instagram and Blue Sky. The beauty of your federally protected public lands, reefs and waters undoubtedly will help your heart slow down and glow!
If there ever was moment in time to lean in and speak out, it is now.
Battle of Midway veteran and wildlife advocate Colonel John Miniclier pauses near his former WWII command post to reminisce about what it was like on top of a light search tower when Midway was attacked on December 7, 1941 and again during the Battle of Midway. He is now 102 years old.