President Bush will announce today that he is conserving areas around remote island chains in the Pacific Ocean — showing that the president is indeed sprinting to the finish, but that not all of his last-minute maneuvering bares bad tidings for the environment. From The Washington Post:

Bush's decision to safeguard far-flung areas totaling 195,280 square miles, which comes just two weeks before he leaves office, underscores his contradictory environmental record. While he has resisted imposing mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change and has opened large areas of the nation to drilling, mining and other use of resources, by the end of his term he will have protected more ocean than any person in history.

Bush's conservation move comes not by agency regulations, but by powers granted to presidents under the Antiquities Act of 1906, according to the Post. Though the regulatory machine is shutting down, Bush has other ways of advancing his policies. Executive orders, proclamations, and the like — though easier for future presidents to undo — remain an option for Bush until his final minutes in office.

Bush's last-minute move follows in the footsteps of Theodore Roosevelt. On March 2, 1909, just two days before leaving office, Roosevelt issued seven presidential proclamations creating or adding land to national forests.

Conservationists are praising Bush's decision. The areas Bush will set aside "which together are equal in size to Spain, include regions teeming with sharks and other top marine predators, along with vibrant coral and hydrothermal vents," according to the Post.