For all the hoopla over the Bush administration's environmental legacy — national monument status for the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands — the outlook for marine species so far seems bleaker rather than better.

This won't be much of a legacy unless enough money is alloted to make a dent in the marine debris problem and a greater effort is made to educate the public not to dump debris in our oceans.

Formally known as the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, the 140,000-square-mile zone became in June 2006 the world's largest natural preserve.

The trouble is, President Bush has let the upkeep of the preserve slack off, slashing the cleanup budget from what it was even before he signed the designation into law.

The result has been a pileup of marine debris. About 57 tons of discarded fishing gear and other rubbish have washed ashore on the 10 tiny islands, snaring endangered monk seals and smothering coral reefs.

Bush originally asked for only $400,000 annually. Congress added $352,000 to that request, shaming Bush into upping his ante by $100,000.

Even so, the total to be spent next year is only about a quarter of the outlay during the major cleanup of 2002.

It makes no sense to set aside an environmental safe haven, prohibiting commercial fishing and oil drilling, then allowing the marine life to die because of human negligence.

A preserve can be created with the stroke of a pen. True stewardship requires a commitment of sustained action.