HONOLULU - First lady Laura Bush's announcement of the new name for Hawaii's national marine monument was met with applause and approving hoots Friday. The response was as much to show approval for the monument as to congratulate Bush on her proper pronunciation of the name: Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

The name, pronounced PA-pa-ha-NOW-mo-KUH-ah-KAY-uh, is an ancient one suggesting the abundance and timelessness of life on the remote islands.

"Most important, the name reminds us of our responsibility to care for the archipelago," Bush said.

The vast national monument, nearly 100 times larger than Yosemite National Park, was created by President Bush last year out of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which stretch out 1,000 miles from the main Hawaiian Islands. In his June 2006 proclamation creating the monument, Bush had stated it would eventually receive a Hawaiian name.

The monument was given that name in a ceremony at the former home of the last reigning Hawaiian monarch, Queen Liliuokalani.

The first lady visited the monument Thursday at Midway Atoll along with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne and James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Midway is home to the world's largest colony of Laysan albatrosses, about 400,000 nesting pairs, many of which are now caring for new hatchlings in nests tucked into just about every available stretch of ground on the little atoll.

Visitors to the islands must be vigilant not to accidentally step on the birds, Bush said.

"You become so protective of these little chicks. They're so vulnerable, these precious little chicks who really serve to remind all of us how vulnerable life is everywhere, but especially on these sacred islands," she said.

The monument's nearly 140,000 square miles of islands, atolls, reefs and ocean waters is home to 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found only in Hawaii. It is the primary habitat for critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles.

Bush also spoke of the threat of marine debris - ocean-borne garbage - to local wildlife and the importance of preserving the area to remember its military history and those who lost their lives there at the World War II Battle of Midway in 1942.

Some local groups, however, have opposed the monument designation, recently raising concerns that increased public attention to the area may lead to more people wanting to visit the area, possibly illegally.

It took about five meetings over six months for a group of cultural practitioners, scholars, teachers and officials to decide upon the name for the monument, which is the ancient name of one of the islands in the chain, said Aunty Pua Kanahele, a well-known kumu hula, a scholar and spiritual practitioner, who spoke at the ceremony.

"We thought that that would be a great name, just for the whole group," she said, noting the name's association with birth and eternity.

Protecting the islands and their surrounding waters means something different to everyone, said Gov. Linda Lingle, who said the next step for the area is U.N. World Heritage Site status.

"This archipelago holds enormous cultural significance for Polynesians and for the families whose relatives fought and died for our freedom on Midway Island in World War Two. It is America and it is a last wild place," she said.

On the Net:

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/midway/

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine Monument: http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/

Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge: http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/wnwr/pnorthwestnwr.html