Joaquin P. Villagomez, one of the governor’s three appointees to the council, said they have come up with recommendations that will allow the commonwealth work effectively with the other members of the council.
One of the recommendations is the establishment of the Visitor Center on Saipan, he told Variety.
Villagomez said their working group also wants a temporary office with a full-time staff — an executive director, a finance officer, a marine biologist, a geologist and other experts who can deal with the eco-tourism program, security access and the concerns of fishermen.
“We already established the ground work for the establishment of the advisory council,” he said.
Proclamation 8335 signed by then-President Bush on Jan. 12, 2009 established the marine national monument and mandated the U.S. Department of the Interior and Commerce to create the advisory council in April.
Villagomez said the working group will ask the federal government for financial support in the management of the monument.
It was specified by Proclamation 8335 that the participating agencies, which included the CNMI, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Coast Guard, must be responsible for the expenses of their representative.
Villagomez said the CNMI will ask for federal financial support in the implementation of the management plan.
On March 24, he said, the governor’s appointees to the advisory council will attend the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting in American Samoa to seek funding assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
During this meeting, NOAA will discuss the establishment of the advisory council and the involvement of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council.
Villagomez said the council will also hold a Marianas Trench resource conference to assess the state of scientific knowledge regarding the Marianas Trench as well as its coral reef and hydrothermal resources.
He said the NOAA and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services will prepare a bibliography for the Marianas Trench Ecosystem International Conference.
The event will include the preparation of five-year plan for the Marianas Trench research, marine education and management.
The CNMI will help create the conference planning team and decide the conference venue and time.
Scientists, research specialists, private institutions and international entities are expected to attend this conference, Villagomez said.
