Former Coastal Resources Management Administrator Joaquin “Jack” P. Villagomez, one of the members of the group, said they will ask Tenorio to sign their petition.
Villagomez noted that most members of the Republican Party in the Legislature supported the joint resolution adopted by the Senate and the House of Representatives asking President Bush to “refrain from unilaterally creating a Northern Islands national monument.”
Tenorio is a long-time CNMI Republican.
The Pew Charitable Trust wants the federal government to establish a national marine monument comprising the three northernmost islands of the commonwealth — Uracas, Maug, and Asuncion.
“Everybody in the Republican Party…signed the resolution” against the Pew proposal, Villagomez stated.
According to Rep. Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan, Tenorio “is not on our side.”
Torres said Tenorio believes that the CNMI should “negotiate” with the federal government regarding Pew proposal.
“But there’s nothing to negotiate because the Pew people don’t want to negotiate,” Torres said.
In his recent State of the Washington Office Report, Tenorio stated, “I believe that we should not lose the opportunity to resume a dialogue with the federal government on [Pew’s] proposed plan.”
He also said that he hopes to see public debates and forums to continue as “we begin to develop our own plan for conservation and protection of our natural resources.”
