Environmental Management
This is a detailed color vegetation map of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands produced by the US Forest Service.
Posted September 15, 2013
The world at seven billion - A BBC film about population
Posted July 16, 2013
Risks of deep sea mining evaluated in this Yahoo small business advisor article.
Posted July 1, 2013
Invasive Vine Control Project on Saipan - article at the Micronesica Bird Conservation website
and - another Vine Control article in the Marianas Variety of Friday, May 31, 2013.
Posted June 1, 2013
Mother: Caring for 7 Billion - A new film about the effects of overpopulation.
Posted April 21, 2013
Here is an update on the
Monument Management Plan (MMP) for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument
from Laura Beauregard of the Hawaii & Pacific Islands National Wildlife Refuge Complex (NWRC):
Hafa Adai -
A multi-year, multi-agency planning process continues to develop a Monument Management Plan (MMP) for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. As stated in Presidential Proclamation 8335, the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce are required to complete a MMP to guide the management of the monument’s resources. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working together in the development of the MMP, and in cooperation with the Secretary of Defense, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. I am pleased to announce the availability of our latest planning update. Planning Update 3 provides a summary of the comments and questions we received during the public scoping meetings on Saipan, Rota, Tinian, and Guam last year, along with the initial agency responses.
To download, please visit:
http://www.fws.gov/marianastrenchmarinemonument/planning.html
Thank you,
Laura Beauregard
Hawaiian & Pacific Islands NWRC
300 Ala Moana Blvd, Rm 5-231
Honolulu, HI 96850
808-792-9558
Posted April 19, 2013
INVERTEBRATES RECORDED FROM THE NORTHERN MARIANAS ISLANDS - STATUS 2002 by O. BOURQUIN, CONSULTANT
Click link for the 02 April 2013, edited version, a 365 page, 1.33 MB Word Document.
Ed (JFF) notes. A little over ten years ago Dr. Bourquin individually accomplished this incredible 365 page cataloging of the CNMI insects--later to be expanded to include all CNMI terrestrial invertebrates--collection being conserved on the NMC campus, Saipan. Dr. Bourquin hoped the catalog would be published, however, this has not yet occurred (April 2013). As a backup, Dr. Bourquin provided certain individuals with digital and hard copy versions of his work, JFF being amongst these. APASEEM was established after Dr. Bourquin moved to Montana State on the US mainland. As part of our website's Local Organism Identification goals, with Orty's permission, APASEEM is pleased to make this important (minimally-edited) catalog available
Posted April 17, 2013
Northern Mariana Islands Christmas Bird Count Database Master Checklist, 2012 Click link to download as a Word document.
Airborne poison mice to combat Brown Tree Snake on Guam.
USGS Photo
Posted Feb 23, 2013
Comments sought for Marianas Trench Marine Monument Fishing Regulations
There is a current comment period on proposed NMFS regulations regarding the establishment of fishery management measures consistent with Presidential Proclamations 8335, 8336, and 8337 that established the Monuments.
You can view the Federal Register notice, environmental assessments, and other supporting documentation here:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2012-0070
Posted Feb 22, 2013
Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Workshop
Please join the Department of Lands and Natural Resources on Tuesday, January 29, 2013 at the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Workshop which will be held at the Fiesta Hotel's Hibiscus Hall from 8 am to 4:30 pm. The general purpose of this workshop is to share information about MPAs with the public and managers as well as to discuss how the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries can work with the people of the CNMI to assist in management of these areas. Presenters from local agencies and from off island will be talking about several aspects of marine protected areas. Please join us and hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Francisco C. Villagomez
CNMI Division of Fish & Wildlife
Fisheries Research Section
Phone: (670) 664-6044
Fax: (670) 664-6056
MPA_Invitation to Agencies.pdf
Posted Jan 10, 2013
Click this link for an informative article in Legal Planet called
"The Significance of NOAA’s Recent Proposal to Protect 66 Coral Species"
credit:NOAA Photo Library
Posted Jan 8, 2013.
From NOAA Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division -
Biology and Current Management Issues for Pacific Corals
Posted Dec 27, 20012.
From NOAA Fisheries Service -
List of Proposed Endangered or Threatened Coral Species
Posted Dec 27, 20012.
NOAA Endangered Coral hearings coming to Northern Marianas Islands Feb 11, 12, 13 & 15, 2013 (pdf)
excerpt from introduction to the above notice::
"Please see attached letter from the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office regarding the proposed listing of 66 coral species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), 59 of which occur in the waters of the US Pacific Islands Region (Hawaii, Guam, CNMI, American Samoa, and Pacific Island Remote Areas). The proposal will be published in the Federal Register in the next few days, followed by a 90-day public comment period. During the public comment period, we will hold a series of public hearings throughout the Pacific Islands Region as shown below and on page 2 of the attached letter.
Additional information is also available from the NOAA Fisheries national coral webpage: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2012/11/82corals.html
If you have questions, please contact one of the following staff from the Pacific Islands Regional Office:
Lisa Van Atta - Assistant Regional Administrator, Protected Resources Division, (808) 944-2257, Alecia.VanAtta@noaa.gov
Lance Smith - Deputy Division Chief, Protected Resources Division, (808) 944-2258, Lance.Smith@noaa.gov
Chelsey Young - Coral Specialist, Protected Resources Division, (808) 944-2137, Chelsey.Young@noaa.gov
NMI hearing dates:
Date: Monday, February 11, 2013
Location: Hagatna, Guam, at the Guam Hilton
Time: Town hall: 5-6:30 pm/ Official public hearing: 6:30-9:30 pm
Address: 202 Hilton Road, Tumon Bay, Guam 96913
Date: Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Location: Saipan, CNMI, at the Multipurpose Center on Beach Road, Susupe
Time: Town hall: 5-6:30 pm/ Official public hearing: 6:30-9:30 pm
Address: Beach Road, Susupe, Saipan, MP 96950
Date: Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Location: Tinian, CNMI, at the Fleming Hotel
Time: Town hall: 5-6:30/ Official public hearing: 6:30-9:30 pm
Address: P.O. Box 68 Tinian, MP 96952
Date: Friday, February 15, 2013
Location: Rota, CNMI, at the Mayor's Office
Time: Town hall: 5-6:30/ Official public hearing: 6:30-9:30 pm
Address: Tatachog Road, Rota, CNMI 96951
Posted 12-10-2012.
Yellowfin tuna caught off Mexico due to be weighed soon. It might be the biggest one ever caught.
American Samoa has new regulations which protect sharks and three species of reef fish. from press release in Saipan Tribune 11-23-2012
HabCam's camera brings back images of seafloor life. In the past, information
about life on the seafloor was gathered using dredges which disturbed
the environment and might have changed the way organisms looked.
LiveScience.com/Image courtesy of the HabCam Group
and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. - A group of hagfish next to a scallop
Developed to find and evaluate scallop beds in the Atlantic, the submersible Seahorse has been a success at that and revealing the ocean bottom to appreciative observers.
NOAA Photo
Asian wildlife trafficking proves difficult to enforce. Corruption in the ranks of law enforcement keeps the crime bosses out of the reach of prosecuters.
Fishing and catch limit for federal waters recommended by Western Pacific Fishery Management Council
"HONOLULU-The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council concluded its four-day meeting in Honolulu on Thursday with recommendations on the management of bottomfish and other species in offshore waters surrounding Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the remote U.S. Pacific Island areas." - from the Saipan Tribune 2012-07-02 Photo:Yellowfin Tuna
Lonesome George, Galapagos giant tortoise, dies
"22 June 2012: The Rio+20 summit on promoting jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable use of our planet’s resources closed today after three days of talks. During the summit, the role of Earth observation in sustainable development was highlighted." - text and photo from the article in the European Space Agency (ESA) website news
Satellite observation of Brazil
Click to enlarge
Rachel Carson's book Silent Spring Turns 50.
"On June 16, 1962, The New Yorker began publishing a serialized version of Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. Spring would eventually turn silent, Carson warned, because widespread pesticide use was killing so many birds that there might be none left to sing. The book provoked a strong reaction from the pesticide industry, but also led to tighter restrictions on pesticide use in the United States and other nations." - from the article by Michon Scott at NASA Earth Observatory
Rachel Carson (1907-1964) an article by Bryan Payton at NASA Earth Observatory
"Even in the vast and mysterious reaches of the sea we are
brought back to the fundamental truth that nothing lives to itself."
Rachel Carson
Rachel Carson in 1944. Image courtesy of
the National Conservation Training Archives
How much are environmental resources worth? Monetary value given to environmental wealth.
"Putting a price on a natural bounty long taken for granted as free may sound impossible, even ridiculous. But after three decades on the fringes of serious policymaking, the idea is gaining traction, from the vividly clear waters of the Maldives to the sober, suited reaches of the World Bank."- from Yahoo News article
Last Updated 5/4/2015