Rep. Stanley T. Torres, R-Saipan, introduced House Joint Resolution 16-98 which is asking CNMI Congressman Gregorio C. Sablan to support a move to remove or declassify the bird from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife endangered species list.
But Rep. Diego T. Benavente, R-Saipan, who chairs the House Committee on U.S. and Foreign Relations, said any resolution about the removal of the Reed-Warbler from the endangered species list should be given much thought.
Speaker Arnold I. Palacios, R-Saipan, agreed and asked the members to defer action on the resolution.
The Nightingale Reed-Warbler is native to the Northern Marianas.
Until the late 1960s the bird was also found on Guam but became extinct due to the brown tree snake.
On Dec. 2, 1970, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the Reed-Warbler as an endangered species.
Torres said the bird’s population may have outgrown humans in the CNMI since then.
He said the Reed-Warblers’ humming is annoying and the species itself may have contributed to the spread of ivy gourd vines on Saipan.
Removing the Reed-Warbler from the endangered species list will help land development on Saipan, he said.
“Land clearing for investment and private land development is an impediment for many investors and residents because many Nightingale Reed-Warblers have populated these areas, thus, hampering the opportunity for economic gain for the CNMI,” he added.
