endorsed by the Pew group.
Council member Felipe Q. Atalig noted that the proposal, which will cover the northern islands of Uracas, Maug and Asuncion, is not being proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
It is the NOAA sanctuary program’s responsibility to designate and manage national marine sanctuaries through a deliberative and public process that normally takes years to finish, said Atalig, a former Coastal Resources Management director.
Atalig said Northern Islands Mayor Valentin I Taisakan has reminded President Bush that the people of Hawaii were given six years to study the Northwestern Hawaiian Island National Monument proposal before the official designation by the president in 2006.
The council resolution states that “to be consistent with the policy and practice of NOAA and the educational opportunities granted to the people of Hawaii before the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument was officially designation by Presidential declaration, the people of the CNMI must be afforded the same opportunity to engage in the deliberative and public process.”
The people of the CNMI, he said, should know the benefits and adverse consequences of the proposed designation.
Since Dec. 5, 1976, the resolution said, the people of the CNMI through their elected representatives to the 1st Constitutional Convention, enshrined in the CNMI Constitution the protection, maintenance, and preservation of their marine resources and uninhabited islands.
Atalig was a member of the convention.
He wants Pew to conduct a “strong public education” campaign in coordination with the Indigenous Affairs Office and the Carolinian Affairs Office.
