Arnold I. Palacios
GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios has joined a partnership of governors from Western states and U.S. territories to address the aftermath of natural disasters, following the conclusion of the 2025 Western Governors’ Association annual meeting in Santa Fe, New Mexico, last week.
During two days of discussions from June 23 to 24, 2025, at the El Dorado Hotel and Spa ballroom, the governors tackled the region’s most urgent issues.
In an interview on Tuesday, Palacios said many of the discussions focused on natural resources, disaster response, alternative energy, and other pressing issues facing Western states and U.S. territories.
“And of course, I highlighted some of our own concerns — education and Environmental Protection Agency policies,” he said.
One of the major concerns raised, the governor noted, involves changes happening within the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Several Western states, especially in the U.S. mainland, have issues with FEMA,” Palacios said, pointing out that many of them endure annual wildfires.
“We are concerned as well — because of the typhoons,” he added.
Palacios said that FEMA Region IX Administrator Robert Fenton, who visited Saipan recently, assured him that FEMA would grant deadline extensions for disaster recovery fund expenditures, as long as related projects are progressing.
At the conclusion of the meeting, many of the Western governors, including Palacios, formalized a partnership to support one another in the aftermath of natural disasters.
“The long-term effects of post-fire flooding, for example — as well as the super typhoons we experience almost every year in the CNMI — were key points of discussion I had with my colleagues,” said the governor, who returned to the island on Monday.
