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Okinawa has been called the “Galapagos of the East” and is home to ecologically significant coral reefs that support more than 1,000 species of reef fish, marine mammals and sea turtles, a diversity of marine life second only to the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Creatures like the highly imperiled dugong, a critically endangered and culturally treasured animal, rely on these reefs for their very survival. Three types of endangered sea turtles, protected under international as well as American and Japanese domestic law, also depend on these ecosystems.

The United States and Japanese governments have plans to build a new American military base atop a healthy coral reef that supports at least nine species threatened with extinction and myriad other types of animal life.

Environmental groups from both sides of the Pacific Ocean have filed a lawsuit in Federal District Court in San Francisco against the U.S. Department of Defense aiming to stop the base. Environmental law firm Earthjustice represents all the plaintiffs. The coalition of conservation groups argue that the proposed 1.5-mile-long airbase would not only destroy the coral reef, but also the prime remaining habitat of the endangered Okinawa dugong.