[SFDXA] Midway and Kure Islands now on DXCC Deleted list (not an April fool joke)

[Pete Rimmel N8PR]

I guess it is true: (blame goes to Obama)

>From the ARRL Web site at: 
http://www.arrl.org/news/midway-and-kure-islands-are-now-deleted-dxcc-entities

Midway and Kure Islands are Now Deleted DXCC Entities

03/31/2017

Midway and Kure Islands have been placed on the list of DXCC deleted 
entities, effective August 26, 2016. This came about as an unintended 
consequence of action last summer by then-President Barack Obama that 
expanded the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument to include the 
northwestern Hawaiian Islands west of Ni’ihau Island, making it the largest 
contiguous protected conservation area under the US flag.



Midway (KH4) had qualified for DXCC status by virtue of its being governed 
by a separate administration. Because it is now under the administration of 
Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, however, it becomes a deleted 
entity. Approximately 50 people live on Midway, including US Fish and 
Wildlife Service staffers and contractors. The Battle of Midway, a turning 
point in the Allied World War II Pacific Campaign, took place in June 1942.

Now uninhabited, Kure Island (KH7K), a part of Hawaii, is separated from the 
rest of the state by Midway; because of that, it qualified for DXCC status 
under Section II, 2 (b) (iii) of the DXCC Rules — separation from its 
“parent” Hawaii. Midway Island’s change in DXCC status in turn made Kure 
Island no longer eligible for DXCC status, since Kure no longer is separated 
from the rest of Hawaii by intervening land or islands that are part of 
another DXCC entity.

Kure Island once was home to a US Coast Guard LORAN station, remnants of 
which are still evident. It has been a state wildlife sanctuary since 1981.

The relevant parts of Section II of the DXCC Rules follow:

A Geographic Separation Entity may result when a single Political Entity is 
physically separated into two or more parts. The part of such a Political 
Entity that contains the capital city is considered the Parent for tests 
under these criteria. One or more of the remaining parts resulting from the 
separation may then qualify for separate status as a DXCC Entity if they 
satisfy paragraph a) or b) of the Geographic Separation Criteria, as 
follows.

b) Island Areas (Separation by Water):

A new entity results in the case of an island under any of the following 
conditions:

iii) The island is separated from its Parent by intervening land or islands 
that are part of another DXCC entity, such that a line drawn along a great 
circle in any direction, from any part of the island, does not touch the 
Parent before touching the intervening DXCC entity. There is no minimum 
separation distance for the first island entity created under this rule. 
Additional island entities may be created under this rule, provided that 
they are similarly separated from the Parent by a different DXCC entity and 
separated from any other islands associated with the Parent by at least 800 
km.

Neither Midway nor Kure was able to be activated without prior permission 
and only for a planned DXpedition. Only contacts made on August 25, 2016, or 
earlier will count for these two entities.