Milestone for marine monument as advisory council meets today

Today marks a milestone for the CNMI and the global movement to protect marine resources as the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Advisory Council holds its initial meeting on Saipan today, three years after President Bush designated the monument on Jan. 6, 2009.

The advisory council is supposed to have five members: three from the CNMI, one from the U.S. Department of Defense, and one from the U.S. Coast Guard.

One of the three members from the CNMI, acting Department of Lands and Natural Resources secretary Arnold Palacios, has yet to be formally appointed by the U.S. Department of Commerce but Palacios said the other members are “gracious enough” to allow him to participate in the meeting.

“My concern as DLNR secretary is to make sure that we also have a say in the co-management of the island units out there in the monument; that the CNMI government and the Commonwealth people’s voice are heard, and participate in the planning and management process of the monument,” Palacios told Saipan Tribune during yesterday’s Senate panel public hearing on his appointment as DLNR secretary.

Palacios, who is also DLNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife director and a former House speaker, said he’s sure that the federal government will hear the concerns of the CNMI and its people “but we have to articulate [those concerns] in a very respectful manner.”

“I’m sure that they will listen,” he added.

Dr. John Joyner, the governor’s senior policy adviser, and Benigno M. Sablan, are the two other members to the council.

Joyner said yesterday that the two other members who will be in today’s meeting are U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Paul Bushong, representing the U.S. Department of Defense, and U.S. Coast Guard’s Charter Tschirgi. Bushong is the commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Marianas and Commander of Joint Region Marianas.

Joyner said today’s initial meeting will have an executive session.

The advisory council, which was supposed to be formed within three months of the marine monument designation on Jan. 6, 2009, will provide advice and recommendations on the development of management plans and management of the marine monument.

Sablan earlier said that the CNMI has yet to see any of the promised economic boom, three years after the marine monument was designated and four years since the release of a 2008 analysis saying that the monument will result in $333 million in economic benefits in the region.

The marine monument spans over 480 miles and incorporates about 95,216 square miles within three units in the Mariana Archipelago and contains some of the nation’s most unique and pristine marine environments.

Besides the two visiting members of the Marine Monument Advisory Council, also on island are officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Joyner said, mainly for the public scoping meetings.

He said these officials include NOAA’s Lisa Croft, Heidi Hirsh, and Eric Brauer, and USFWS’s Susan White, Laura Beauregard, and Debra Cossel.

Palacios urged the public to attend the scoping meetings as these are designed to facilitate submission of public comments for the monument’s draft management plan.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA will conduct the public scoping meetings. The first one will be held on Saipan on Friday, Feb. 24, from 6pm to 8pm at the Pedro P. Tenorio Multi-Purpose Center in Susupe. Similar meetings will be held on Tinian, Rota, and Guam on different dates.