‘Focus on monument proposal, not on Pew’

Resident Rep. Pete A. Tenorio has urged the people of the Commonwealth to look at the merits of the marine monument proposal, instead of focusing on the group behind the plan.

Tenorio’s statement comes after opponents of the Pew Charitable Trusts’ proposal publicly asked him to sign a petition against a White House declaration of a marine monument in the Northern Islands.

“If the opponents of the Pew’s proposal want me to sign the petition which states that I will not negotiate with Pew, I will gladly sign it. On the other hand, I cannot in good and clear conscience sign a petition that permanently closes the door on a cooperative venture that will promote conservation and economic development in joint cooperation with our federal government,” said Tenorio, who represents the Commonwealth in Washington, D.C.

“We as a people must decide how to protect our resources and what economic benefit we can derive from those resources. We need to stop focusing on Pew and seriously start talking among ourselves about what resources we have and how best to economically utilize as well as protect them for us now living and for future generations,” he said.

Tenorio suggested that people may be overestimating Pew’s role in having President Bush designate a marine monument in the islands of Uracas, Maug, and Asuncion.

He said he had met with staff of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality and he had been assured that Bush would only create a national monument in the CNMI if the people of the Commonwealth asked him.

“Pew’s proposal is an independent initiative and not authorized by the White House. While they possess experts and advisors to advance their interest, they have no say nor authority over our resources, or how our resources should be managed,” he said.

He added that Pew itself is simply proposing to gather relevant resource information—a “necessarily proactive” move since it provides an opportunity to gauge public opinion, among other things.

“To me, Pew’s initiative is neither a starting point, nor an ending point. It is simply an idea, just like the idea of a Micronesian Challenge being promoted to the CNMI as another alternative to resource protection and conservation,” Tenorio said.

“When I stated that we should begin a dialog with the federal government, I did not mean that Pew would be sitting at the table with us, or that their proposal would be what was to be discussed. I want to emphasize that the CNMI direct its energy to either oppose Pew’s proposal by informing the President’s office officially, or to commence a dialogue with the federal government if it wants to, rather than to worry about Pew’s freedom to exercise its rights as a non-profit, non-governmental organization,” he added.