IN managing Managaha, the Department of Public Lands has to balance economic activities and natural resources conservation, acting DPL Secretary Sixto K. Igisomar said.
In an interview last week, he said Managaha has three critical components: 1) tourism-related activities on the west side, 2) the wildlife sanctuary on the northeast side, and 3) the sacred site at the center where the statue of Chief Aghurubw stands.
Although a certain section is reserved for economic activities related to tourism, Managaha is a conservation island “so we have to be careful,” he said.
DPL, he added, is now in the process of forming an evaluation committee after the department’s Real Estate Division received proposals for the exclusive concession to manage tourism activities on Managaha.
He said he was not at liberty to disclose the names of interested investors or how many have submitted responses to DPL’s request for proposals.
DPL has a “strong fiduciary responsibility” to manage all the lands of the CNMI that belong to people of Northern Marianas descent, and Managaha is in that category,” Igisomar said. “I must maintain Managaha the best way I can.”
He said this means that if an investor wants to operate tourism activities there, DPL will continue to maintain the site — particularly the shoreline — to ensure that the department remains in control and isn’t forced to accept an unfavorable offer.
While protecting the wildlife sanctuary in collaboration with other regulatory agencies, such as the Division of Fish and Wildlife and Coastal Resources Management, Igisomar said DPL also has to generate revenue so that “we can pay the humble budget of DPL and the rest goes to the Marianas Public Land Trust.”
“So I have to balance those to make sure I get the best out of our lands for the NMDs,” he reiterated.
No further development
Except for the newly renovated pier on Managaha, Igisomar said he does not support an idea of constructing more infrastructure on the small island.
“I know what Managaha is to our CNMI. I know that Managaha is a conservation area. For me, developing Managaha anything beyond what it is, for me, is a no no. What we have there is what we have there. We work with what we have there. The natural beauty of Managaha, the surroundings, the serenity and the beauty of the lagoon,” Igisomar said.
He said he doesn’t want Managaha to be anything more than what it is because it has to be maintained as a conservation site.
“It is already enough that we have tourism activities on the west side, and the Chief Aghurubw monument that is a sacred site, and the wildlife sanctuary towards the northeast. Any further development could disturb the area,” he said.
Managaha’s previous concessionaire was Marianas Global Inc., which signed an operator agreement with DPL in April 2023.
In Sept. 2024, DPL terminated the concessionaire agreement for MGI’s failure to, among other things, pay the annual rent in the amount of $800,000.
Another CNMI official, who declined to be identified, earlier told Variety that, in light of the low tourist arrivals, the base rent of $800,000 a year that Marianas Global had to pay was not “doable, realistically.”
