{"id":336316,"date":"2021-01-07T06:06:09","date_gmt":"2021-01-06T20:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=336316"},"modified":"2021-01-07T06:06:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-06T20:06:09","slug":"the-tanapag-beach-cleanup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/the-tanapag-beach-cleanup\/","title":{"rendered":"The Tanapag Beach Cleanup"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rep. Sheila Babauta (D-Saipan) and Coastal Resources Management watershed coordinator Zachary Williams briefing some student volunteers about the area and the importance of keeping it clean, prior to the cleanup. The group was able to collect 2,120 lbs of trash in the less than three hours of cleanup held last Monday, at the Dogas Stream\/Tanapag Beach Park, at the Beach Cleanup jointly organized by the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality and the Office of Rep. Sheila Babauta, with the Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance. (Iva Maurin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The CNMI is kicking of the year \u201cclean and right\u201d with community volunteers coming together to pick up trash, to rid the islands off of pollution that harm not just the environment, but all of us that depend on it.<\/p>\n

In less than three hours, literally a ton of trash was collected and picked up by the volunteers, mostly local students, last Monday, Jan. 4, in Tanapag, at a beach and stream cleanup jointly organized by the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality and the Office of Rep. Sheila Babauta, with the Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance.<\/p>\n

Hauled, from the Tanapag Beach Park to the Dogas Stream area, were varying types of trash, mostly heavy rusty tin roofs and electric fan guards, sinks, and refrigerator parts. This, according to some volunteers, is very disappointing considering that the transfer station is only a few blocks away. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dogas Stream is an important ecosystem that we must continue to raise awareness for and encourage our community to protect. The Tanapag Beach Park is a place we all enjoy as a community. We want to keep these places clean for our community and for future generations,\u201d Babauta (D-Saipan) said.<\/p>\n

The legislator represents the district where the cleanup was held.<\/p>\n

Not a dumpsite<\/strong>
\nBabauta shared that she has received numerous complaints of an abandoned boat on the area that is being used as a dumping site. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe community members who come to me are concerned about the impact it has on our environment, especially with it being so close to the beach. The illegal dumping ground isn\u2019t just unsightly and unsafe, it threatens the health of our marine life.\u201d <\/p>\n

She also pointed out that the area, if not maintained, could endanger wildlife and cause harm to everyone. \u201cOur community members frequent these areas to fish and spend time with their family and friends. We must remember that we\u2019re all connected. If the fish eat plastics, we eat plastics (because we eat the fish).\u201d<\/p>\n

Community volunteers, including local students, pick up trash along the Dogas Stream and at the Tanapag Beach Park last Monday, Jan. 4, at the Beach Cleanup jointly organized by the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality and the Office of Rep. Sheila Babauta, with the Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance. (Iva Maurin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While there have been beach cleanups on island, most tend to be more on popular tourist beaches, and the Dogas Stream, Tanapag area, do not get as much attention. It is important to note, however, that \u201cprevention is always better than cure\u201d \u2013 meaning, it is better to not dump trash just about everywhere, than to pick them up after. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want our community to remember how beautiful our island is and to cherish that memory for our children and future generations. I\u2019m so grateful to our community members who make the effort to pick up trash, take trash home, and to properly dispose of waste. We must take responsibility for our impact, be considerate of others, and have respect for our home.\u201d <\/p>\n

Babauta also expressed appreciation to all who make the effort to keep our CNMI beautiful, and asked everyone who are having issues with waste disposal to reach out to the legislators.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome to us, your leaders. Come to us with your issues\u2014and your solutions. This is a collective effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

Important estuary<\/strong>
\nThe Dogas Stream is among the largest and most consistent estuary ecosystems on island, and perhaps, the most northern mangrove habitat, where fish sightings have been documented.<\/p>\n

According to Division of Coastal Resources Management Watershed coordinator Zachary Williams, estuaries are very productive biodiversity ecosystems which serves as an important nesting habitat, or home to some species. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really important that we keep that area clean,\u201d Williams said. \u201cMangrove and estuary habitats serve as important habitat for native species and fishery species too. We\u2019ve documented things like trevally, emperors, and mullets, all using that habitat. It\u2019s important for our biodiversity, but also for our fisheries, our subsistence, our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Volunteers, with Rep. Sheila Babauta (D-Saipan), and staff of the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Cleanup and the Micronesia Islands Nature Alliance, gamely posing in front of the truck filled with some of the collected trash. The group was able to collect 2,120 lbs of trash in the less than three hours of cleanup held last Monday, at the Dogas Stream\/Tanapag Beach Park. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s used by a lot of our fishes here\u2014juvenile trevally, emperors, mullets, [along with] some other native stream or brackish species like flagtail (fish), native shrimps and crabs, and birds. It\u2019s great habitat for the white eye, fantail, fruit dove, and white-throated ground dove.\u201d<\/p>\n

An estuary, he explained, is where a river or stream meets a larger body of water, in the CNMI\u2019s case, the ocean. It is where the freshwater of the stream mixes with the saltwater of the ocean, and creates a brackish water \u2013 a mixed water environment that is a unique interface of the land and sea. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so easy to pollute the water there. Since it\u2019s where it\u2019s the end of the stream, it\u2019s not only when you dump garbage or waste in there you\u2019re polluting it, but it\u2019s also where the entire length of the stream is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEventually, all that pollution is going to pass through that one point. So it\u2019s shouldering the entire stream\u2019s worth of pollution, which eventually flows out to sea. Any waste that gets in there, of course, is going into the sea, the seagrass, the reef,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Williams also said that in degrading the habitat, including taking out vegetation, clearing mangroves, we are reducing its own capacity to clean the water and filter out pollutants, as well as provide habitat shoreline protection.<\/p>\n

Invest in nature<\/strong>
\nThe 2,120 lbs of trash collected by the volunteers in less than three hours at Tanapag last Monday seems a lot especially in comparison to the over 9,000 lbs collected all over the island during the entire coastal cleanup last year.<\/p>\n

Clearly, there needs to be an even more serious environmental protection campaign on island, and more involvement from all sectors, especially the community. Williams highlights the importance of outreach activities, such as the one held in Tanapag, to keeping the environment healthy.<\/p>\n

A ton of wastes, 2,120 lbs of trash to be exact, were collected by the volunteers in less than three hours at the Dogas Stream\/Tanapag Beach Park area, which were then hauled to the Transfer Station nearby shortly after the cleanup. (Iva Maurin)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThis is a great opportunity for the community, particularly the youth, to to be involved in natural resource management in their community, and hopefully become more invested in maintaining, managing, and keeping their natural resources clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for those who keep dumping trash illegally, and wantonly disregarding littering laws, Williams is appealing for them to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease stop. It\u2019s all of our backyard. It\u2019s beautiful habitat. It\u2019s a beautiful island and we want to keep it clean. It\u2019s a lot more work to pick trash up than it is to throw it out, so please, please don\u2019t throw it out. It causes so many problems and it\u2019s so difficult to clean. Keep Saipan clean, let\u2019s have a plastic-free Marianas.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about waste management, or to volunteer in the community cleanups, contact the BECQ office at 664-8500\/1.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The CNMI is kicking of the year \u201cclean and right\u201d with community volunteers coming together…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":336321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-336316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}