The U.S. Department of the Interior and the Republic of Kiribati have agreed to collaborate in managing two areas of protected marine life habitat that covers almost 300,000 square miles in the Pacific.

The marine conservation partnership will affect the Phoenix Islands Protected Area, founded in 2008 to protect islands near the equator where coral reefs and bird populations are untouched by human contact.

The conservation alliance will link planning for that area with the U.S. management of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, established in 2006 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.