Bush's Marine Monuments: Credit Where Credit is Due

It is no secret that President George W. Bush's eight-year administration was not very environmentally friendly, but that's no reason for environmental groups to completely ignore his recent effort to create the largest group of marine monuments in the world.

On Monday, Bush announced the creation of the marine protection areas during a ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington. The three areas, designated as 'marine national monuments,' include the Mariana Trench and northern Mariana Islands, the Rose Atoll located in American Samoa and a chain of remote islands in the Central Pacific.

So why are environmental groups refusing to acknowledge this enormous step, and choosing instead to continue to focus on the outgoing president's environmental failures? Simple. He has shown little interest over the past eight years to give money to environmental groups.

Historically, Republican administrations tend to tighten the purse-strings when it comes to doling out environmental dollars. Conservative politicians tend to divert federal funding to environmental causes only when necessary, not arbitrarily as their liberal colleagues tend to do. Conservatives also prefer to lobby the private sector for environmental donations rather than bloat the government with more federal spending. On most issues Bush has not proven to be a conservative politician, but during his two terms in office, he has generally only issued money to environmental groups when he believed it was absolutely necessary to do so.

Which is why his decision to create these national monuments is so singular. Certainly, the threat to the world's coral reefs warranted the establishment of these preserves, but he could have allowed President-Elect Barack Obama to create them and receive the corresponding accolades which most certainly he would have received. Instead, Bush recognized the problem and created a sanctuary that will be appreciated for many years to come. Regardless of the snubbing he's taking from environmentalists right now, these monuments will perhaps serve as a lasting positive legacy for this president's strangely contradictory administration. Regardless of his previous relationship with them and in spite of their hatred of him, environmentalists should do more to acknowledge his role in establishing the largest marine conservation effort in history.