Got an opinion about caretaking at the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials are accepting comments on how to manage the country's largest protected marine area, which spans nearly 140,000 square miles in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. President Bush designated the area a marine national monument two years ago.

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands are home to more than 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else. The islands are the primary habitat for critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, and thousands of sea birds and plant species.

The state of Hawai'i, and the U.S. departments of the Interior and Commerce are responsible for managing the monument in accordance with the presidential proclamation that established it.

Public testimony on the matter may be e-mailed or mailed in until July 8, without attending a meeting. And at the following public meetings, people can give written testimony, give oral testimony at private recording stations with monument staff, or give oral testimony via a public microphone.

All Hawai'i meetings will be from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.