Palmyra Atoll
Encyclopedia
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
administered as an unorganized
Unorganized territory
An unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory...
incorporated territory
Incorporated territory
Territories of the United States are one of the four types of political division of the United States, overseen directly by the federal government of the United States and not any part of a U.S. state. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United...
by the United States federal government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. The variable temporary population of 4–20 'non-occupants' are essentially staff
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
and scientists employed by various departments of the US government and The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
, as well as a rotating mix of Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium scholars pursuing research.
Palmyra is one of the Northern Line Islands
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
(southeast of Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef
Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited triangular shaped reef, east-west and north-south, located in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly half way between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa at...
and north of Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
Line Islands
Line Islands
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands, is a chain of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands, that stretches for 2,350 km in a northwest-southeast direction, making it one of the longest islands chains of the world...
), located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
, roughly halfway between Hawaii and American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
.
The atoll
Atoll
An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon partially or completely.- Usage :The word atoll comes from the Dhivehi word atholhu OED...
is 4.6 sq mi (11.9 km²), and it is located in the equatorial Northern Pacific Ocean. Its 9 mi (14.5 km) of coastline has one anchorage known as West Lagoon.
The atoll consists of an extensive reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
, two shallow lagoons, and some 50 sand and reef-rock islets and bars covered with vegetation—mostly coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
trees, Scaevola
Scaevola
Scaevola is a genus of flowering plants in the Goodenia family, Goodeniaceae. It consists of more than 130 tropical species, with the center of diversity being Australia and Polynesia, including Hawaii....
, and tall Pisonia
Pisonia
Pisonia is a genus of flowering plants in the four o'clock flower family, Nyctaginaceae. It was named for Dutch physician and naturalist Willem Piso . Certain species in this genus are known as Catchbirdtrees because their sticky seeds reportedly trap small birds...
trees.
The islets of the atoll are all connected, except Sand Island and the two Home Islets in the west and Barren Island in the east. The largest island is Cooper Island in the north, followed by Kaula Island in the south. The northern arch of islets is formed by Strawn Island, Cooper Island, Aviation Island, Quail Island, Whippoorwill Island, followed in the east by Eastern Island, Papala Island, and Pelican Island, and in the south by Bird Island, Holei Island, Engineer Island, Tanager Island, Marine Island, Kaula Island, Paradise Island, and Home Island (clockwise). Average annual rainfall is approximately 175 in (444.5 cm) per year. Daytime temperatures average 85 °F (29 °C) year round.
Political status
Palmyra is an incorporated territoryIncorporated territory
Territories of the United States are one of the four types of political division of the United States, overseen directly by the federal government of the United States and not any part of a U.S. state. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United...
of the United States (the only such territory since 1959), meaning that it is subject to all provisions of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
and is permanently under US sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
. However, it is also an unorganized territory
Unorganized territory
An unorganized territory is a region of land without a "normally" constituted system of government. This does not mean that the territory has no government at all or that it is unclaimed territory...
as there is no Congressional act specifying how it should be governed; the only relevant law simply gives the President the discretion to administer the island as best seen fit (see Section 48 of the Hawaii Omnibus Act, Pub. L. 86–624, July 12, 1960, 74 Stat. 411, attached as a note to former sections 491 to 636 of Title 48, United States Code).
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
and managed as a nature reserve; the rest of the atoll is government land in the possession of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service
United States Fish and Wildlife Service
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal government agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats...
. Since the territory has no local government, it is administered directly from Washington, D.C., by the Office of Insular Affairs
Office of Insular Affairs
The Office of Insular Affairs is a unit of the United States Department of the Interior that oversees federal administration of several United States possessions...
, United States Department of the Interior
United States Department of the Interior
The United States Department of the Interior is the United States federal executive department of the U.S. government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land and natural resources, and the administration of programs relating to Native Americans, Alaska Natives, Native...
. Defense is the responsibility of the United States.
For statistical purposes, Palmyra is grouped as one of the United States Minor Outlying Islands
United States Minor Outlying Islands
The United States Minor Outlying Islands, a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code, consists of nine United States insular areas in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea: Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll,...
.
Palmyra (Cooper) Airport
Palmyra Airport is an unattended airport on Palmyra Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. It is a private-use facility, originally built during World War II and now owned by The Nature Conservancy. It has one runway measuring ....
, ICAO code PLPA). Abandoned WWII–era structures are found on the island.
The atoll has been staffed by a group of scientists, Nature Conservancy staff and volunteers, and Fish & Wildlife representatives (totaling between four and 20 in all) for the last several years. A series of improvements in 2004 consisted of new two-person bungalows and showers for the inhabitants. Water is collected from the roof of a concrete building near the main living area of the scientists. Communal buildings of the settlement on the north side of Cooper Island (the only one on the atoll) consist of a common cooking/dining building adjacent to the atoll's only dock and a kayak and scuba equipment storage building next to the launch ramp.
Palmyra Atoll's location in the Pacific Ocean, where the southern and northern currents meet, means that its beaches are littered with trash and debris. Plastic mooring buoys are particularly plentiful on the beaches of Palmyra, as well as plastic bottles.
History
Edmund Fanning
Edmund Fanning was an American explorer and sea captain, known as the "Pathfinder of the Pacific."-Life:...
of Stonington, Connecticut
Stonington, Connecticut
The Town of Stonington is located in New London County, Connecticut, in the state's southeastern corner. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Lords Point, Wequetequock, the eastern halves of the villages of Mystic and Old Mystic...
, while his ship the Betsy was in transit to Asia. According to various accounts, Fanning had awoken three times during the night before; the third time he took it as a premonition and ordered the first mate to heave to
Heaving to
In sailing, heaving to is a way of slowing a sail boat's forward progress, as well as fixing the helm and sail positions so that the boat does not actively have to be steered. It is commonly used for a "break"; this may be to wait for the tide before proceeding, to wait out a strong or contrary...
. In the morning the ship resumed its travel, but only went a mile before reaching the reef of Palmyra. Had the ship continued its course at night, the entire crew might have perished. On November 7, 1802 the first Western people landed when Captain Sawle of the United States ship Palmyra was wrecked on the atoll.
In 1859, Palmyra was claimed for the United States by Dr. Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit P. Judd
Gerrit Parmele Judd was an American physician and missionary to the Kingdom of Hawaii who later became a trusted advisor and cabinet minister to King Kamehameha III.- Life :...
of the brig Josephine, in accordance with the Guano Islands Act
Guano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
of 1856; however, there was no guano
Guano
Guano is the excrement of seabirds, cave dwelling bats, and seals. Guano manure is an effective fertilizer due to its high levels of phosphorus and nitrogen and also its lack of odor. It was an important source of nitrates for gunpowder...
to be mined. On February 26, 1862, King Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV
Kamehameha IV, born Alexander Iolani Liholiho Keawenui , reigned as the fourth king of the Kingdom of Hawaii from January 11, 1855 to November 30, 1863.-Early life:...
commissioned Captain Zenas Bent and Johnson Beswick Wilkinson, both Hawaiian citizens, to take possession of the atoll and on April 15, 1862, it was formally annexed to the Kingdom of Hawaii
Kingdom of Hawaii
The Kingdom of Hawaii was established during the years 1795 to 1810 with the subjugation of the smaller independent chiefdoms of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, Lānai, Kauai and Niihau by the chiefdom of Hawaii into one unified government...
.
Throughout the next century, ownership of the atoll passed through various hands. Bent sold his rights to Palmyra to Wilkinson on December 24, 1862 and it was owned by Kalama Wilkinson (Johnson's widow) until 1885. It was then divided between three heirs, two of whom immediately transferred their rights to William Luther Wilcox who, in turn, transferred them to the Pacific Navigation Company. In 1897, Pacific Navigation was liquidated, and its interests were sold first to William Ansel Kinney
William Ansel Kinney
William Ansel Kinney was a lawyer and politician in the Kingdom of Hawaii, through the Republic of Hawaii and into the Territory of Hawaii.-Family:William Ansel Kinney was born October 16, 1860 in Honolulu, Hawaii....
and then Fred Wunderburg. Wilkinson's third heir sold his rights to William Ringer.
In 1889, Commander Nichols of the British ship formally claimed Palmyra for the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, unaware of the prior claim made by Hawaii. In 1898, Palmyra was annexed to the U.S. in conjunction with the overall annexation of the Hawaiian Islands, and on June 14, 1900 it became part of the new Territory of Hawaii
Territory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
. To end British claims, a second, separate act of annexation by the U.S. was made in 1911. This made Palmyra the only incorporated territory of the United States.
As the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
was about to open, the atoll's location became of strategic importance. The British had established a cable station for the All Red Line
All Red Line
The All Red Line was an informal name for the system of electrical telegraphs that linked much of the British Empire.It was inaugurated on 31 October 1902. It had this name because on many political maps, British Empire territory was coloured red ....
on nearby Fanning Island
Tabuaeran
Tabuaeran, also known as Fanning Island or Fanning Atoll is one of the Line Islands of the central Pacific Ocean, and part of Kiribati. It is an atoll located at...
, and on February 21, 1912 the arrived to formally reaffirm the U.S. claim on Palmyra.
In 1912, Henry Ernest Cooper (1857–1929) acquired William Ringer's rights to the atoll and, following a court challenge, became the sole owner of the atoll. He visited the island in July 1913 with scientists Charles Montague Cooke, Jr. and Joseph F. Rock who wrote a description of the atoll. Cooper sold the whole atoll except two minor islets to Leslie and Ellen Fullard-Leo on August 19, 1922 for US$15,000. The couple established the Palmyra Copra Company to exploit coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s growing on the atoll. Their three sons, including actor Leslie Vincent
Leslie Vincent
Leslie Vincent was an American actor.Born in 1909 as Leslie Fullard-Leo, he studied acting at the Royal Academy in London...
, continued as proprietors afterwards, except for a period of Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
administration during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
In 1934, Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll
Johnston Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean about west of Hawaii. There are four islands located on the coral reef platform, two natural islands, Johnston Island and Sand Island, which have been expanded by coral dredging, as well as North Island and East Island , an additional two...
, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra were placed under the Department of the Navy. The U.S. Navy took over the atoll for use as the Palmyra Island Naval Air Station on August 15, 1941. From November 1939 to 1947, the atoll had only permanently resident government representatives, styled "island commanders". Following WWII, much of the Naval Air Station was dismantled, with some materials piled and burned on the atoll, dumped into the lagoon, or as is the case of unexploded ordnances (UXOs) on some of the islets, left in place. After the war, the Fullard-Leo family fought for the return of Palmyra all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court and won in 1947. The Cooper family still owns two of the five Home Islands.
When Hawaii achieved statehood in 1959, Palmyra was explicitly separated from the new state as a federal incorporated territory
Incorporated territory
Territories of the United States are one of the four types of political division of the United States, overseen directly by the federal government of the United States and not any part of a U.S. state. These territories were created to govern newly acquired land while the borders of the United...
, administered by the Department of the Interior. In 1962, the U.S. Department of Defense used the atoll for an instrumentation site during high altitude atomic weapon tests over Johnston Atoll. A utility staff of about ten men managed the camps during the entire period. An average of about 40 people operated and serviced the instrumentation.
In December 2000, most of the atoll was purchased by The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
for coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
reef conservation
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
and research. In 2003, a scientific study was published regarding fossil coral washed up on Palmyra Atoll. The fossil coral was examined for evidence of the behavior of the El Niño effect on the tropical Pacific over the past 1,000 years. In November 2005, a worldwide team of scientists joined with The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy is a US charitable environmental organization that works to preserve the plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive....
to launch a new research station on the Palmyra Atoll in order to study global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
, disappearing coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s, invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
and other global environmental threats.
The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument established on January 6, 2009 included Palmyra Atoll. The Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
has management responsibility, delegated to the Fish and Wildlife Service.
Palmyra Atoll National Wildlife Refuge and related legal challenge
On January 18, 2001, the Secretary of the Interior signed an order designating Palmyra’s tidal lands, submerged lands, and surrounding waters out to 12 nautical miles (22.2 km) from the water’s edge as a National Wildlife Refuge. Subsequently, the Department of the Interior published a regulation providing for the management of the refuge. 66 Fed. Reg. 7660-01 (January 24, 2001). The regulation states, in pertinent part, as follows:"We will close the refuge to commercial fishing but will permit a low level of compatible recreational fishing for bonefishing and deep water sportfishing under programs that we will carefully manage to ensure compatibility with refuge purposes. . . . Management actions will include protection of the refuge waters and wildlife from commercial fishing activities."
In March 2003, The Nature Conservancy conveyed 416 acres (1.7 km²) of the emergent land of Palmyra to the United States to be included in the refuge. It subsequently added 28 more acres to the conveyance.
In January 2007, several parties sued the United States in the Court of Federal Claims alleging that, under the Takings Clause, the Interior Department regulation had “directly confiscated, taken, and rendered wholly and completely worthless” their purported property interests. The United States filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and the court granted the motion. On April 9, 2009, the court's decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.
As of July 2009, limited visits to the refuge are allowed, including by private recreational sailboat or motorboat. Visits must have prior approval, with access to Cooper Island arranged through the Nature Conservancy.
The Sea Wind murders
In 1974, Palmyra was the site of the double murder of a wealthy San Diego couple, Malcolm "Mac" Graham and his wife, Eleanor "Muff" Graham. The mysterious deaths, murder conviction of Duane (“Buck”) Walker (aka Wesley G. Walker) and acquittal of his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, made headlines nationwide and led to a best-selling account written by Stearns's defense attorney, Vincent BugliosiVincent Bugliosi
Vincent Bugliosi is an American attorney and author, best known for prosecuting Charles Manson and other defendants accused of the Tate-LaBianca murders. His most recent books are Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy , The Prosecution of George W...
, and Bruce B. Henderson
Bruce B. Henderson
Bruce Henderson , also known as Bruce B. Henderson, is an American writer and the author of more than 20 nonfiction books. He is a member of the Authors Guild and American Society of Journalists and Authors, and has taught writing courses at USC School of Journalism and Stanford University...
in the true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
book And the Sea Will Tell
And the Sea Will Tell
And the Sea Will Tell is a true crime book by Vincent Bugliosi and Bruce B. Henderson. The nonfiction book, a New York Times #1 hardcover bestseller and still in print as a trade paperback, recounts a double murder on Palmyra Atoll and the subsequent arrest, trial and conviction of Duane Walker,...
. The book led to a CBS television miniseries by the same name starring James Brolin
James Brolin
James Brolin is an American actor, producer and director, best known for his roles in soap operas, movies, sitcoms, and television. He is the father of actor Josh Brolin and husband of singer/actress Barbra Streisand.-Early life:...
, Rachel Ward
Rachel Ward
Rachel Claire Ward, AM is a British actress, columnist, film director, and screenwriter who has primarily pursued her career in Australia.-Early life:...
and Hart Bochner
Hart Bochner
Hart Matthew Bochner is a Canadian film actor, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Life and career:Bochner was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Ruth , a concert pianist, and actor Lloyd Bochner...
.
Walker and Stearns were arrested in Honolulu in 1974 after returning from Palmyra aboard the Sea Wind, a yacht stolen from the Grahams. Because no bodies were found at the time, Walker and Stearns were convicted only for the yacht theft in August 1975. Six years later, a partially buried corroded chest was found in a lagoon at Palmyra, containing Eleanor Graham's remains. Walker and Stearns were arrested in Arizona for murder. In 1985 Stearns was acquitted but Walker was convicted. He served 22 years in the United States Penitentiary, Victorville
United States Penitentiary, Victorville
The United States Penitentiary, Victorville is a high-security federal prison for men in the United States. Part of the Federal Correctional Complex, Victorville, USP Victorville is located in Victorville, California, on the grounds of the former George Air Force Base.-Construction:USP Victorville...
, California before receiving parole in 2007. Walker died on April 26, 2010.
External links
- Palmyra atoll
- Palmyra Island
- Palmyra Atoll NWR
- The Curse of Palmyra Island – article
- The Curse of Palmyra Island – free book
- The Nature Conservancy in Palmyra Atoll
- Palmyra Atoll Research Consortium
- United States v. Fullard-Leo (Supreme Court opinion; includes a history of the island's ownership)
- WorldStatesmen- U.S.
- History of Palmyra Atoll
- The Palmyra Gazette