The National Park Service is now reviewing the comments they received in the meetings and comment period for the Rota Special Resource Study in the fall of 2020.<\/p>\n
In a mass email, NPS said they are now going over all the public comments in order to improve the accuracy of the preliminary findings and further refine the management\u00a0concepts for the plan to have NPS manage the unique natural and cultural resources of Rota.<\/p>\n
As directed by the U.S. Congress, at the request of Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (Ind-MP), NPS looking at the suitability and feasibility of designating the area as a unit of the national park system.<\/p>\n
In mid-September 2020, NPS held public and agency meetings to present the preliminary study findings and alternative concepts. Representatives from the CNMI governor\u2019s office, legislature, and\u00a0agencies, and the Rota Mayor\u2019s Office participated in agency meetings. Approximately 100 people attended the online public meetings. The CNMI\u00a0Indigenous Affairs Office also arranged\u00a0meetings on Rota that were held in person and online. Another 50 written comments were received through the project website and email.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some of the types of comments received:\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 People overwhelmingly agree that the Chamorro sites are special, significant, and should be protected.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 There is a strong desire to protect the livelihoods of Rota\u2019s people\u00a0today\u00a0and for\u00a0future\u00a0generations, which includes continued subsistence and traditional and cultural uses.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Most people in the CNMI and Rota want to make sure they have a say in\u00a0the\u00a0process and decision-making related to a potential national park unit designation of their lands and heritage.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 There are concerns and questions about what federal laws, policies, and regulations would come with a national park unit designation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Some people think the areas suggested for a national historical park, national monument, or national preserve encompass too much of Rota\u2019s lands.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Of those people who stated a preference for a management concept, most prefer either\u00a0no action or a limited national park unit designation, with some additional conditions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Many people prefer strong local involvement or less extensive federal involvement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 There were many inquiries about cooperative management-what would be the roles and responsibilities of local people, CNMI and Rota governments, and the federal government? How would cooperative management work?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Commenters are interested in understanding the impacts of a national park designation on the local economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 There is concern about the accuracy of land ownership data and boundaries.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2022 Some people want more information and engagement related to the study to ensure that the study is credible and that the recommendations are well-informed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNPS would like to thank everyone who participated We greatly appreciate your time in sharing your opinions, concerns, and ideas with us. \u2026Thank you for the time you have spent engaging in this study and sharing your thoughts with us. The island of Rota is truly a very special place,\u201d said the NPS mass email.<\/p>\n
For more information, visit the Rota Special Resource Study website to stay up-to-date on the study. Recordings of the public meetings, frequently asked questions, Newsletter #2, and the presentation used during the public meetings are all available at https:\/\/parkplanning.nps.gov\/rotastudy. (PR)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The National Park Service is now reviewing the comments they received in the meetings and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":331088,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[1230],"class_list":["post-339297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","tag-nps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339297","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\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=339297"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/339297\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/331088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=339297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=339297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=339297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}