Over 20 individuals signed the petition on Saturday during the signature campaign outside Joeten Susupe.
Chuck Sayon, a member of the volunteer group and interim executive director of the Mariana Islands Nature Alliance, said they will continue to gather signatures until end of August.
“Our target is at least a thousand signatures,” said the former park ranger. “The intention is to show to the administration and other government officials the kind of support that we have for the monument.”
The Fitial administration, the Legislature and Northern Islands Mayor Valentin Taisakan do not support the proposal “at this time.”
A local group is soliciting signatures for a petition against the proposal.
Sayon said the signatures of their petition will be presented to local and national leaders.
He believes that the approval would be a “good deal” for the CNMI “as it will certainly inject federal money into the economy, will attract more tourists and will help preserve and protect marine and ocean resources.”
Sayon is optimistic that the group will find no difficulty in gathering 1,000 signatures.
Every Monday, the group meets to decide where to conduct their weekend campaign, during which they also provide materials that explain the proposal to the public.
Besides the weekend campaign, petitions are also being circulated in many areas on island.
The Marianas Marine Monument is only a proposal and, if approved, will cover the part of the ocean that surrounds the three northernmost islands of the CNMI — Maug, Asuncion and Uracas.
