Wildlife biologist and conservation planner Dacia Wiitala speaks at a public meeting on the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife’s 2025-2036 Wildlife Action Plan.
THE CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife held a public meeting at American Memorial Park on Wednesday, Aug. 28, regarding the 2025-2035 CNMI Wildlife Action Plan.
Wildlife biologist and conservation planner Dacia Wiitala said the plan will identify the CNMI’s priority conservation actions for a 10-year period. The plan is also required to access certain federal funds.
According to a DFW fact sheet, the plan provides “direction and guidance” to government agencies, organizations, and individuals so the CNMI can focus on its “highest priority” conservation actions.
The CNMI’s current Wildlife Action Plan covers the period from 2015 through October of next year, when it must be replaced by an updated plan.
Wiitala said the action plan helps identify “species of greatest conservation need,” which are animals of particular importance to the people of the CNMI “for biological, cultural, or economic reasons.”
Wiitala said there are two ways for an animal to be considered a “species of greatest conservation need.”
DFW first considers all native animal species — invasive animals are not included on the list.
From there, the public can provide input to DFW regarding which species hold social or cultural importance, regardless of whether that species faces conservation threats.
For example, dolphins are included in the 2015-2025 action plan as a species of greatest conservation need despite a “low” threat ranking and a bio score of 18. A bio score is the assessment tool DFW uses to determine the “vulnerability” of species and runs on a spectrum from 0 to 60. Higher scores indicate higher vulnerability.
Through a separate mechanism, Wiitala said scientists will provide their input to develop bio scores and threat rankings for the species DFW names, with the most vulnerable included on the list of species of greatest conservation needs.
Wiitala said the action plan is “not a regulatory document or a rule book.”
It’s merely a way to identify how the CNMI wants to prioritize its conservation efforts.
“While there are some species of greatest conservation need that are federally and locally protected there are a lot of species on that list that have no protections,” she said. “We just want to spend money and time on these species to make sure they are available for years to come.”
DFW has held similar public meetings on Rota and Tinian.
Wiitala told Variety that she will continue to collect input from key stakeholders over the next few months. These include the Micronesian Climate Change Alliance, the Tinian Cattlemen’s Association, the Saipan Fishermen’s Association, the CNMI Office of Planning and Development, members of the local Green Growth Initiative, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, other organizations and offices.
Members of the public can answer the CNMI Wildlife Action Plan Survey at https://tinyurl.com/wildlife-action-survey/.
Wiitala will compile the input as she drafts a new action plan. By around May 2025, a draft may be available and a public feedback window will begin in July or August. The finalized document will be submitted to federal partners in October 2025, she said.
The 2015-2025 action plan is available at https://dlnr.cnmi.gov/conservation-planning.html/.
