members of a local group against the Pew Group’s proposed national marine monument.
The letter to Bush, a copy of which was provided to this reporter, was signed by Sens. Richard Shelby, R-Al., Jeff Sessions, R-Al., and David Vitter, R-La.
The senators said an attempt to invoke the Antiquities Act of 1906 “could restrict vitally important marine areas without the benefit of public participation and stakeholder input.”
Section 2 of the Act allows the president to declare as national monuments historic landmarks, prehistoric structures, and other objects of scientific interest controlled by the U.S. government.
The senators’ letter focuses on the proposed national marine monuments within the Gulf of Mexico.
They said the public should be consulted and the support of stakeholders should be solicited.
This concern is echoed in a separate letter to Bush signed by the executive director of the American Tunaboat Association, Paul Krampe.
He is asking the president to reconsider “the designation of several additional marine monuments throughout the exclusive economic zone” in the areas of Jarvis Island, Howland Island, Baker Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll.
Krampe said the move to designate a marine monument comprising these islands “would exclusively harm U.S. fishing operations.”
The American Tunaboat Association represents the U.S. tuna purse seine fleet that primarily operates in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
Villagomez said the arguments made in these letters apply to the CNMI.
Pew is proposing the establishment of a national marine sanctuary for the CNMI’s three northernmost islands —Maug, Uracas, and Asuncion.
According to Angelo O. Villagomez, Pew’s Saipan coordinator, “It’s not surprising that the large commercial fishing industry is against the marine conservation.”
The individuals who wrote the letters, he added, are short-sighted — “they are focused on short-term economic gains [rather] than long-term sustainability.”
