Volunteer group eyed to protect Managaha

The Division of Environmental Quality has proposed creation of a community-based volunteer group to help government authorities enforce regulations of the planned marine conservation area in Managaha and surrounding waters.

DEQ Director Ignacio V. Cabrera said this assistance from grassroots level will lead to the success of the project for the protection of the island’s fish and wildlife as well as other marine resources.

“If this important step of the process is not done with the participation and support of the community, it is not likely to succeed,” he said in his testimony presented to the House Natural Resources Committee.

Mr. Cabrera was commenting on House Bill 11-500 or the Managaha Marine Conservation Act of 1999 that will restrict activities on the popular tourist site and around the island in effort to safeguard resources found thriving in the area.

Sponsored by Rep. Heinz S. Hofschneider, the measure is expected to be endorsed by the committee on the next House session for its immediate passage.

The proposal has drawn wide support from residents and government agencies concerned over the depleting marine resources in the CNMI, but businesses and some community groups have sought leeway in the restrictions to allow them to continue commercial and traditional practices in Managaha.

“This step is only the first of many that need to be taken in order to sufficiently protect recreational and educational areas, and provide safe habitats for fish and other marine life to exist and propagate for the continued use and enjoyment for the people…. and visitors,” said Mr. Cabrera.

While at least eight new personnel for the Division of Fish and Wildlife will be tasked to specifically oversee the protected area, the DEQ chief suggested that an educator either with the DFW or the Public School System must be hired to undertake outdoor school and visitor awareness campaigns.

This is in line with the mandatory educational trips for both public and private schools to Managaha proposed in the legislation — a prl’s Office said is unconstitutional as it will infringe on the functions of the Board of Education to set school curriculum.

To ensure that conservation efforts are working, Mr. Cabrera also recommended that a regular water quality check should be undertaken and that the government can contract University of Guam to conduct studies on the present conditions of the corals and marine resources in the area.

“[T]he health and extent of the resources must be determined before management measures are implemented, and at a frequency adequate to detect change and take corrective actions if necessary,” he said.

Managaha’s surrounding waters should also be reclassified under DEQ’s water quality standards to reflect the new status which will protect propagation of marine life, conservation of coral reefs, oceanographic research and recreational use of the area.

But Mr. Cabrera pressed the House to clarify its intent on the bill whether it aims to increase fish population in the Saipan lagoon, which he said the area can’t be large enough or restrictive enough to achieve this goal.