Feds to host monument forum

Federal authorities will host a public forum later this month on a White House proposal to establish a national marine monument in the CNMI’s northern waters, an event that is sure to see a supporters and opponents of the plan clash.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday, the White House and federal environmental regulators announced a forum will take place at the Fiesta Resort on Saipan Oct. 20, beginning at 5:30pm. The forum is the last of four federal officials will host, including one in Washington, DC, one in Hawaii and one in American Samoa.

The monument proposal would place heightened federal protections upon 115,000 square miles of ocean water encompassing the islands of Maug, Asuncion and Uracus, a region environmentalists have dubbed a “biodiversity hotspot” that is under increasing threat from human activity. Opponents of the plan, meanwhile, have said the proposal would constitute an intrusion on the CNMI’s autonomy.

In the statement, the federal agencies said the forum are not formal public comment sessions, but rather will use a “roundtable format” to engage people in a conversation about the scientific, historical and cultural issues involved in the proposal. The information gathered will become part of the government’s records as officials conduct an assessment of the northern waters to determine whether they are suited as to be a national monument.

“The areas under consideration are home to objects of historic and scientific interest that may be appropriate for protection and improved conservation and management under available authorities,” the statement says, adding later that President Bush “has a longstanding commitment to ocean conservation and preserving our oceans for future generations.”

The CNMI’s waters are competing with sites in American Samoa and the Rose Atoll for designation as a monument.

In addition to the forum, comments can be submitted via email to oceans@ceq.eop.gov, via mail to Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality, 722 Jackson Place, NW, Washington, D.C. 20503. Comments can also be dropped off at the visitor center of the American Memorial Park, Beach Road, Garapan, Saipan, between 10am and 5pm Wednesdays through Sundays. To be considered in the final assessment comments must be received no later than Oct. 26, 2008.