HONOLULU - The Unified Command continues to monitor the 145-foot motor vessel Casitas that ran aground at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, 86 miles east southeast of Midway Atoll on July 2nd. Preparations are now underway to extract the Casitas from the reef with what is hoped to be minimal environmental damage. Significant planning has been undertaken to ensure the safety of the people involved and to protect the ecological resources of the area. Pearl and Hermes Atoll is part of the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge and is an important seabird and green sea turtle nesting ground, Hawaiian monk seal pupping site, home to endangered Laysan finches, and the site of more than 183,000 acres of coral reefs in Refuge and State of Hawaii waters.