Gov’t urged to explore potential of Northern Islands

With the rich natural resources of the Northern Islands, the CNMI government should consider carrying out infrastructure development on the chain of remote volcanic islands when the residents are finally allowed to go back so that the people are given the chance to earn income aside from subsistence fishing and farming.

A simple resort development which will allow guests to enjoy the natural beauty of the island will favor ecotourism enthusiast who would love adventure trips, fishing and scuba diving, said Lynn Knight, president of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce.

Ms. Knight said the people of the Northern Islands should be supported in their request to grant them homesteads in the place they consider home as well as help them make a living once they are allowed to go back.

Desperately looking for new investments on the island, the CNMI government should give a second look at the assets of each of the islands which may attract possible investors, said Ms. Knight.

Mayor Joseph Ogumoro has asked the Board of Public Lands to help them acquire permits for homesteads in the chain of islands saying they should be allowed to return there despite the threats of a volcanic eruption. In his appeal, Mayor Ogumoro said the deeds to their property would at least serve as an assurance that the residents will not become squatters in their own island.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has recently extended anew the declaration of disaster emergency in Alamagan, an island north of Saipan, in the wake of the continued threat of a major volcanic eruption.

The request of Northern Island official was made after the House of Representatives adopted a resolution supporting their quest for permanent settlement in their ancestral homeland.

Offered by Rep. William S. Torres, the resolution asked the Board of Public Lands to issue permits for homestead lots and provide some basic infrastructure to allow them to build permanent homes.

The House resolution asked BPL to extend the same benefits, privileges and opportunities being enjoyed by the residents of Saipan, Rota and Tinian under the CNMI Homestead Program.

While their population is small, residents of the Northern Islands have “yearned for a sense of identity and physical connection with their ancestral lands” — a desire that lawmakers said is being denied from them in the absence of a housing program.

Mr. Tenorio said the area remains off-limits to human habitation and that travel to the island is still restricted, except for monitoring activities conducted by the authorities.