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Preservation director off to statewide conference
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Posted on Feb 28 2005
Historic Preservation Office director Epiphanio Cabrera Jr. is currently in Washington, D.C. attending a weeklong annual conference on history and preservation and hoping to get additional funds for the CNMI.
HPO historian Genevieve Cabrera said director Cabrera is representing the CNMI in the discussions of the various issues affecting the operation of preservation offices across the U.S., including Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, and the CNMI.
She said that generally the conference would include a comprehensive discussion of what issues preservation offices face throughout the country, “And they would plead their case for additional funding,” she added.
Genevieve Cabrera said that the CNMI, American Samoa, and the Federated States of Micronesia fall under Region IX in western classification. The conference would tackle the special needs that are needed by the territories by region, Western, Eastern, Midwest, and others.
“The meeting required us [HPO] to attend and discuss issues pertinent to preservation issues,” Cabrera said.
She said director Cabrera would also discuss the outcome of the Micronesian Endowment for Historic Preservation summit held on Saipan last month.
The MEHP meeting came up with unified results tackling issues, within Micronesia as a whole. Genevieve Cabrera said this is an opportunity for the CNMI to bring up issues such as funding to the national level.
The MEHP summit last month was attended by members from Republic of Palau, Yap, Kosrae, Republic of Marshall Islands, FSM National, Guam, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and the CNMI.
Genevieve Cabrera said the primary concern of all offices from the Pacific region is funding.
She said it is very difficult to get funding from the federal government due to stiff competition among preservation offices across the nation, especially now that President Bush is slashing the budget “here and there.”
She said the government is investing more for defense rather than to offices like HPO.
Director Cabrera left for the U.S. last Feb. 24 and will off-island until March 11, said Cabrera. (Marconi Calindas)
