THE U.S. Navy should provide $20 million for the conservation of species on Farallon de Medinilla if the military’s bombing exercises there will continue.
This is one of the many options that the Department of Lands and Natural Resources want to offer U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.
On May 1, Sullivan ordered a 30-day halt to military bombing exercises on Farallon de Medinilla.
The order was made following a petition filed by the environmentalist group, Center for Biological Diversity, which has expressed concerns about the effects of the military exercises on Farallon de Medinilla’s marine life.
Lands and Natural Resources Secretary Tom Pangelinan, in a May 14 letter to Gov. Juan N. Babauta, said the U.S. military could mitigate the damage to seabirds by increasing the amount of financial and practical support for the CNMI’s conservation projects.
Pangelinan said the CNMI and the military could sign a memorandum of understanding that would provide U.S. funding for conservation, protection and management of fish, game, wildlife and endangered species of the Northern Marianas.
“An appropriate sum would be a payment of $1 million per year for the balance of the U.S. Navy’s lease agreement, approximately 29 years or a one-time payment of $20 million,” Pangelinan told Babauta.
Pangelinan said the Navy could also limit its exercises between June and October when fewer seabirds are nesting on the island.
Moreover, “by not using live ordnance and thus reducing the number of fires resulting from military exercises, some of the vegetation will remain intact, thereby reducing erosion and subsequent impacts on coral reefs and fish in the area,” Pangelinan said.
Limiting the number and intensity of the military exercises may also reduce the negative impact to seabirds, he added.
Pangelinan said the Navy has awarded grants of $100,000 per year for the past four years in support of CNMI conservation projects.
