Kure Atoll is part of the city of Honolulu and Oahu County. There are no permanent residents on Kure. Human presence includes a summer (7-10 week) camp of two seal researchers with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), one State DLNR technician, and occasional special-purpose visitors and researchers.

Several agencies have management responsibility over the marine resources of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Since 1993, Kure has been managed by the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). The State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR)/Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) has management responsibility for all marine resources out to 3 nm from all emergent lands, with the exception of Midway. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service administers two National Wildlife Refuges that protect all islands (excluding Kure), all reef areas at Midway, and all other reef areas to a depth of 10 fathoms. The National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible for monitoring and protecting monk seals and other marine mammals as well as sea turtles and fisheries resources within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Waters and submerged lands from the seaward boundary of Hawaii state waters out to a mean depth of 100 fathoms are designated as a Reserve Preservation Area within the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve (NWHICRER).