Marine monument council wraps up meeting with draft bylaws

The Marianas Trench Monument Advisory Council wrapped up its inaugural meeting Wednesday with a preliminary draft of the council’s bylaws, a considerable feat that the group accomplished in just two days.

Salient points in the initial bylaws were refined by the council for several hours on Wednesday, the second of the two-day meeting, and the document now heads to the legal counsels of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of the Interior for review.

These bylaws provide an important link between the advice-giving body and its end goal of developing a management plan for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, a plan that would help the two federal agencies in carrying out their respective management roles.

“To do it in three hours is nothing short of miraculous, monumental,” said Susan White, Pacific Reefs superintendent for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. “It’s a testament to everybody’s commitment to making this advisory council really work.”

White said the council’s accomplishment demonstrates the members’ desire to work together and coordinate with federal agencies, establishing their critical role in the overall management of the monument.

“The commitment of the advisory council members to really make progress and move forward together to make sure that their agencies and their interests are being heard and at the table,” she added.

Council chair Benigno M. Sablan, who presided over the meeting at the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan in Garapan, said the progress made by the council in creating an initial draft of the bylaws was a result of the “same channel of thoughts” of its members and representatives of the involved federal agencies.

For his part, council member Arnold Palacios of the CNMI said all the members’ previous experiences in putting together councils and committees were a “plus,” allowing the MTMAC to move forward with the mandates of the presidential proclamation that created them in the first place.

Sablan noted, though, that what would hold up the process at this point would be the legal framework that would be taken into consideration in finalizing the plan. He said this could take months, even years.

“Once it’s all contained within the legal framework, we’ll be able to have it signed with all five signatures,” he told Saipan Tribune.

Palacios, secretary of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the council’s achievement in the bylaws will allow them to proceed to the “real task” that lies ahead.

“We’ve accomplished a milestone but the bigger work is ahead of us, and that is to put together the real management plan for the marine monument,” he said. “It’s not going to be easy. It’s something that will take a lot of time, a lot of dedication, and a lot of public input.”

Part of the agenda of yesterday’s meeting was agency reports from both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services and the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. Specifics on the reports were not readily available for those who were not at the meeting. Agency representatives assured, though, that the details will be incorporated in the minutes of the meeting, which will soon be posted on their respective websites.

Public comments were entertained toward the end of the meeting and initiated interesting discussions among council members. The need to include the visitor’s center in future action items or agenda list, the creation of a local office for the council, and maintaining the council’s current number of members and without alternate members were among the ideas brought to the council’s table.

Sablan expressed hope that more members of the island community will show interest in the council’s process leading to the development of a management plan for the marine monument, the protection and conservation of which is above all for the islands’ future generations.

The council collectively agreed to hold a teleconference meeting on Sept. 5 (local time) and conduct a face-to-face meeting at least annually.