Nosa’ Luta (Rota White-eye) is recognized as a “species of greatest conservation need” by the Division of Fish and Wildlife.
Students learn about seabirds at the I’Chenchon Seabird Sanctuary from Wildlife Officer Ulloa on Rota.
THE Division of Fish and Wildlife is seeking public input for the 2025-2035 Statewide Wildlife Action Plan, wildlife biologist and conservation planner Dacia Wiitala said.
The Wildlife Action Plan identifies the CNMI’s priority conservation actions for a 10-year period, she added. The plan is also required to access certain federal funds.
According to a DFW factsheet, 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, and Wiitala said the time is now to begin updating the islands’ priorities.
DFW will host a public meeting on Rota on Aug. 13 at the NMC Rota campus at 5:30 p.m.; and on Tinian on Aug. 19 at the Tinian Public Library at 5:30 p.m. The Saipan meeting will be held on Aug. 28 at 5:30 p.m., but the location will be determined later and will be posted on the DFW Facebook page.
At the meetings, the public can learn about the details of the Wildlife Action Plan and submit feedback. The plan is available at https://dlnr.cnmi.gov/conservation-planning.html
Members of the public may also complete the CNMI Wildlife Action Plan Survey at https://tinyurl.com/wildlife-action-survey
Wiitala said the current Wildlife Action Plan has helped determine the presence, distribution and abundance of terrestrial birds and tree snails; established local coral nurseries; and increased education, internship, and on-the-job training opportunities for CNMI youth interested in conservation employment.
Tentatively, Wiitala said an area of growth for the next decade’s plan could include “climate resilience.”
She said there are currently no plants listed as “species of greatest conservation need.” This could change in the next plan.
“There are a lot of threatened and endangered plants and a lot of plants that are important to the ecosystem such as sea grasses,” she said. “And there’s been evidence or at least community feedback that medicinal plants are declining in places and some are becoming more rare.”
Wiitala said a Wildlife Action Plan helps the CNMI focus its conservation efforts.
“It helps us align our values so that we’re collectively working towards agreed upon outcomes,” she said. “I think most critically this plan helps [us] organize and plan. This is a statewide document. Government agencies are looking at this, private conservation groups are looking at this, the school groups are looking at this as they design conservation programs and projects. They can look at this and say what needs to be done, where does it need to be done, [and] how are we going to focus our attention.”
