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NBC crew here to do feature on Friends of the Monument
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Posted on Mar 30 2009
A team from national television network NBC is currently on Saipan to do a series of stories on the Friends of the Monument, which was the main proponent of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.
Angelo Villagomez of the Friends of the Monument said the three-member NBC crew will do a feature on the events of 2008 on Saipan that led to the Jan. 6, 2009, declaration of then-President George W. Bush of 190,000 square miles of ocean as marine monuments, including the 95,000-square mile Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.
The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument is an area around the three northernmost islands in the CNMI—Uracas or Farallon de Pajaros, Maug and Asuncion.
Villagomez said the NBC team, which arrived early yesterday morning, will also be featuring the “wonders” of the Marianas, which will take them to some of the most popular dive spots in the CNMI.
“They will also be talking about how the Marine Monument will be enforced and managed, so they will be talking to the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal agencies. There will also be talks with a research ship that’s doing studies on volcanoes off Rota,” said Villagomez.
He said NBC is just one of the many national and international media firms that have taken an interest in the Friends of the Monument and the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency earlier announced that the Friends of the Monument are the recipients of the 2009 EPA Environmental Award, which recognizes individuals and groups outside of the USEPA who are making significant contributions to improve the environment. The ceremony will take place on April 16.
