Max Aguon uses a shovel to clear cow manure at Banzai Cliff on Sunday morning.
COMMUNITY volunteer Max Aguon is once again asking owners of cows that roam freely at Marpi tourist sites to secure the animals.
“When I came to Banzai Cliff around 10:30 a.m. Sunday, I found cow manure littering popular tourist sites. I removed the cow manure. That is not good for tourists who visit the area,” he added.
“For the past three months, he has been clearing cow manure from the roads leading to the Grotto, Suicide Cliff, and the Bird Island lookout — all popular tourist sites in Marpi.
Since at least 2011, the Marianas Visitors Authority has been expressing concern about the negative effect on tourism of cow manure in the area.
In 2020, the Department of Public Lands said cattle found on the loose in the area would be seized and eradicated, and the cattle owners’ DPL-issued grazing permit could be revoked.
“Why would the owners of the cows secure their animals when the government can’t enforce its anti-littering law anyway?” said a community member who declined to be identified.
