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CPA getting $1.9M to rebuild commuter terminal access road
CNMI DFW is receiving $3.4M in grant funds for conservation programs
Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan
The Commonwealth Ports Authority is receiving $1.9 million in grant funds for the reconstruction of the commuter terminal access at the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport, while the CNMI’s Division of Fish and Wildlife is getting $3.4 million in grants funds for wildlife and sport fish conservation programs.
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan disclosed in his e-kilili newsletter over the weekend that the Federal Aviation Administration announced last Monday that CPA is receiving $1,900,000 in fiscal year 2023 Airport Program funding. Sablan said the grant funds will go toward the reconstruction of the commuter terminal access road, including new signage and markings at the international airport.
With air traffic expected to reach or beat pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels this year, the FAA said it is awarding nearly $1 billion from President Joseph Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to 99 airports of all shapes and sizes across the country.
Sablan said the Airport Terminal Program, created by the U.S. Congress in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, provides $1 billion annually for five years for airport terminal development projects that address the aging infrastructure of the nation’s airports.
On $3.4-million wildlife restoration, the delegate said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday that the Commonwealth Division of Fish and Wildlife is getting $3,413,304 in fiscal year 2023 Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration program grants.
Of that amount, DFW is receiving $1,997,693 in wildlife restoration grant funds to support projects that restore, conserve, manage, and enhance wild birds and mammals and their habitat.
In addition, DFW is getting $1,415,611 in sport fish restoration funds for restoration, conservation, and management of sport fish populations.
Sablan said the grant funds are made available from revenues generated by the Pittman-Robertson Wildlife Restoration and Dingell-Johnson Sport Fish Restoration Acts.
The delegate said when anglers, hunters, and boaters purchase equipment and fuel, the manufacturers and importers of those goods pay into the Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration and Boating trust funds.
These funds, he said, are then distributed to support wildlife agencies across the country to support local on-the-ground conservation programs.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced over $1.6 billion in apportionments that support states, commonwealths, and territories in their efforts to connect people with nature and conserve fish, wildlife, and their habitats.
