Bacon Wrapped Conservation

What could be better than having a Marianas Trench Marine National Monument? How about a Marianas Trench Marine National Monument wrapped in bacon?

You can also have bacon wrapped Saipan Blog. Bacon wrapped Must Be the Humidity. White sneakers wrapped in bacon. Bacon wrapped fish wrap.

Membership has its benefits

The 11th Micronesians in Island Conservation Retreat ended last night with a farewell dinner at the Village attended by the Governor of Pohnpei, John Ehsa.

That's Governor Ehsa in the middle. I did take a picture of him with his eyes open, but I'm not in that picture. Hopefully he'll forgive me for posting this one.

In our last session of the retreat I was nominated and voted onto the MIC steering committee for a second consecutive term. That means some extra travel and more opportunities to spend time working with other conservation leaders in Micronesia. Not that being on the steering committee is all about my own professional development, but I can point to a conversation last January I had as a result of my participation on the steering committee that helped guide me through the entire Marianas Trench Marine National Monument process.

Being on the steering committee is a good thing. I enjoy the work.

As practically our first order of business, I was nominated by the other steering committee members to become the MIC blog blogmaster. I don't have access to it yet, but stay tuned for some changes.

We also decided where our next meeting will be held. Looks like I'll be traveling to Palau soon.

******
Here are some random photos from the retreat. Several posts are to follow.

On the second day of the hike, Bill Raynor led us on a hike to a waterfall and facilitated a talk on leadership. A picture of the waterfall is in my last post. A full blog post on the discussion is forthcoming. This photo of Mary Rose Nakayama and her daughter was taken at the base of said waterfall. Mary Rose is on the steering committee.

Cheryl Calaustro lives on Guam.  She's finishing up a RARE campaign there.  She's on the steering committee, too.

Fran Castro is an MIC member and Pete was a guest of the retreat. In this photo we are on the raft near the Nahtik marine protected area on the south end of the island. We are about to feast on mangrove crab and parrot fish in this photo. More photos of the food to follow.

In this photo are Wisney Nakayama from Chuuk and Entuyah Oidov from Mongolia at sakau ceremony held by the community of Enpein. The community members served us piles upon piles of food. This was MIC fatty day.  It would have been fun to weight everyone at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day.

Most of my readers know Laurie Peterka, my partner on the campaign to build local support for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. You might not know Mae, the MIC Coordinator.

Pohnpei

In a few hours I'll finish with the 11th Micronesians in Island Conservation Retreat. You'll notice that I'm not in this photo. That's because I was holding the camera. More to come.

President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan

I'm blogging from Guam this morning. My flight leaves in about an hour.

President Obama wants you to visit www.recovery.gov. While you're clicking, check out the White House Youtube Channel. And how cool is it that the frickin' President has a Youtube Channel?

A prayer for Ruth Tighe

I'll let Ruth speak for herself.

On My Mind
1/26/09

To those of you who might be wondering what has happened to this column, the answer is it is in limbo - and will, in all likelihood, remain there for at least the next two months.

The reason: I am in Honolulu undergoing radiation and imminently, chemo, for a squamous non-small-cell cancer in the upper lobe of my right lung. The bad news is that the cancer is not operable. The good news is that it has not spread, and has not yet affected the lymph glands.

The situation is not conducive to the writing of political commentary (or any other kind). It is taking all my energy just to cope with the unexpectedness, the shock, of it all.

As of now, after a week of radiation treatment, I still feel quite well. They tell me that probably won't last..............

I do have a stream of family coming to help me - my son for a week, my brother for a week, my younger daughter for a week, my sister for two weeks (my older daughter was here for the first two weeks), and the Medical Referral Service staff has been wonderfully helpful, supportive, obliging.

I do have my computer with me, but would ask that well-meant but large files - of funnies, pictures, stories, what-have-you - NOT be sent, since I am connected to the web by slow-speed dial up, and it gets painful to wait for them to download.

Wish me well!

Two Week Break

I am going off island tomorrow morning.

I won't have Internet or email or telephone access until the second week of February.

See you in two weeks.

More Inauguration Photos

There it is, the front of the line, the envy of 2 million other Inauguration viewers.

Despite the cold and the large crowds, people were generally in a cheery mood. People even started singing at around 7 AM.

I snapped this photo as I rushed through security. About 7 of us got through security before they closed the line for a few more minutes, giving me ample time to find the perfect spot to watch the inauguration.

My view was blocked by two media stands. I wonder how many media outlets were in DC covering this story. All of them?

My co-Inauguration viewers. The people next to me were from Idaho, Florida and Virginia.

Another picture of the crowds.

This is a photo of the same area taken exactly 49 minutes later.

Another picture of the crowds.

Some of the remaining Tuskegee Airmen were sitting right in front of my standing only section. They are the pilots who helped desegregate the United States Military. I think there was a movie about them starring Lawrence Fishburne.

Nominate your favorite environmentalist!

SAN FRANCISCO-The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is encouraging citizens in California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Islands to nominate a friend, peer or organization for this year’s U.S. EPA Environmental Awards program.

Nominations can be submitted online beginning Jan. 7 and ending Feb. 8.

The program seeks to recognize individuals and groups outside of the U.S. EPA who made significant contributions to improve the environment in the year 2008. Anyone can be nominated, such as scientists, teachers, journalists, citizen activists, young people, organizations, business representatives, public officials and others committed to protecting public health and preserving our natural surroundings.

Entries will be judged on the following criteria:

* promotion of innovative ideas, techniques, and/or technologies

* ability to address an environmental problem or need

* accomplishment of stated goals

* ability of the program/activity to be replicated or widely shared

* collaboration with others

* clarity and effectiveness of the presentation

* long term benefits for the environment

The deadline to submit nominations online is Feb. 8. An EPA panel will review all of the applications and select this year’s winners, who will be notified by mid-March. Winners will then be recognized at a ceremony to be held in San Francisco mid-April.

For more information and to submit a nomination online, visit: http://www.epa.gov/region09/awards. For questions regarding the program, call the Environmental Information Center toll-free at (866) EPA-WEST or Wendy Chavez at (415) 947-4248.

I am a poet

skinny asian girl

fat white guy at Godfathers

I hear wedding bells

I won first place! This haiku was in no way inspired by personal experience, by the way.

Good Luck, Lynn

Lynn is leaving Saipan with the girls soon. I wish them the best of luck.

Lynn was one of the key people in helping to build support for the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. She spearheaded the endorsement by the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands and had a hand in the endorsement by the Saipan Tribune. She was also a big supporter of Beautify CNMI. She will be missed.

Dong Bang Shin Ki in Saipan

There is a boy band staying at Pacific Islands Club this week:

TVXQ (often stylized TVXQ! or TVfXQ), an acronym for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (東方神起), is a quintet South Korean boy band formed under SM Entertainment in 2003. In South Korea they are known as Dong Bang Shin Ki or Dong Bang Shin Gi (동방신기). They were later introduced in Japan as Tōhōshinki (東方神起?) under Avex sub label, Rhythm Zone in 2005. Their name roughly translates as "Rising Gods of the East". TVXQ, the acronym based on the Chinese counterpart of their name, is the abbreviation officially used on all products and advertisements outside of Japan.

Since their debut, TVXQ has become one of the most popular singing groups in East Asia, gaining great popularity in such countries as China, Singapore, Thailand, and other East Asian regions.

After all the trouble we went through to get the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument in over 1000 newspapers and other news outlets, who knew that all we had to do was bring some crappy boy band to Saipan for tons of free press?

Twitter Me This

I just joined Twitter.

I joined Hi5 back in 2004. I used it for about a week before I decided it sucked.

I joined Myspace in 2005. I used it until my profile was hacked. Some jerk changed my email and password so now I can't access my account.

I joined Facebook in 2006. Facebook rocks. I still use it and have 800+ friends.

Rick McPherson says that Twitter is the hot new thing. I guess I'll give it a try. If you join, my username is Saipanblogger. Let's see how it goes.

Silver Elite

Watch out world, I just got upgraded to Northwest Airlines WorldPerks Silver Elite status.

What does that mean? Practically nothing!

Actually, I have a question for my readers out there. Please help me answer this in the comments section.

Continental, Northwest, and Delta all have separate frequent flyer programs, but they are partner airlines, meaning that I can use my frequent flyer card from one airline on the other. I have a Northwest WorldPerks card and a Continental Airlines OnePass card. I've always used the WorldPerks card when I fly Northwest and the OnePass card when I fly Continental.

Additionally, I earn OnePass miles every time I buy gas from Mobil. When I had SaipanCell, which is now DoCoMo, I would get miles for every dollar I spent. And although I do not have one, if I had a credit card from First Hawaiian Bank, I could get a WorldPerks mile for every dollar I spent.

So is it better to have both cards, or should I try to put all my miles on one card? Or is it possible to use both cards whenever I fly or can you only use one? What do you do? How do you manage your airline miles?

Western Inaugural Ball

Delegate Kilili gave me two tickets to the Western Ball. The ticket said it was a black tie event, so instead of renting a tuxedo, I just borrowed a black tie.

I took one of his staffers, Becky Cruz Lizama, as my date. I think some of my readers know her, but I had only met her briefly at a coed soccer game last summer and during a meeting about the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument back in December (I also invited her to the LCV reunion).

The food at the ball was terrible, but the drinks weren't too expensive. A beer was $6 and a glass of wine was $9. The bartenders were really slow, which was annoying and made for a lot of standing in line.

There were two stages, one on either side of the ballroom. The main stage is where Marc Anthony sang and where Joe Biden and Barack Obama appeared. On the other end was where the cheesy Mickey Mouse Club-esque band played a bunch of cover songs.

We ran into Madeleine Bordallo. She told us that the Governor of Guam Felix Camacho was there, but we didn't see him.

Ron Howard was there.  We didn't talk to him.

Marc Anthony provided some of the entertainment. He surprised everyone by bringing his wife, Jennifer Lopez, out on stage to sing a duet for his last number. I was really far away and this is the best picture I could get.  I saw on a magazine cover that the smooch he gave her after the song was proof that their marriage was on the mend.  Whatever.

I saw Sir Richard Branson walking out of the VIP area.  We also saw Tyra Banks, but I only managed to get a picture of the back of her head.  No need to post that one.

Joe Biden showed up at around 11 PM. I tried to get closer, but this is the best I could do.

I didn't try shooting any pictures of Barack Obama when he showed up around midnight because I wanted to get him on video. Oh well.  Not like there isn't a few pictures of him elsewhere on the Internet.

LCV Reunion

My old boss tried to set up a reunion of sorts for former League of Conservation Voters staff and volunteers from the 2004 Environmental Victory Project. Naturally, she didn't show up. Others did, including a few who didn't work for LCV. Here are the photos.

Tara, Riley, and Tabitha.

Becky, Angelo, and Claudio.

These drinks are called O-bama Bombs. They are Bacardi O and Red Bull.

Outstanding. I liked them.

President Barack Obama at the Western Ball

I was right up against stage right when Barack Obama addressed the crowd at the Western Ball on Inauguration night.

The Inauguration of President Barack Obama

All weekend I wrestled with how early I wanted to get in line for the Inauguration. I wanted to strike the perfect balance between finding a great location and not freezing my tushie off.

The United States is a place where people camp in front of movie theaters in order to be the first person to see a new Star Wars movie or to be the first person to get an iPhone. I was worried that by midnight the night before the inauguration, hundreds, if not thousands, of people would be lined up for their chance to witness history.

My apprehension increased during the nightly news. Well past 11 PM the live broadcasts from the National Mall showed hundreds of people braving the sub-zero temperatures.

I knew the most important thing was to beat the first metro trains coming into the city. Those would start arriving around 4:30 AM and every few minutes after that several thousand people could be expected to pour out from an endless stream of filled-to-the-capacity trains.

I wanted to get there well before that first train.  I decided to leave the apartment at 2 AM.

The temperature outside when I left was 21 degrees Fahrenheit, but with the wind chill it was barely over zero. Without a wink of sleep I bundled up and found a cab out on the street.

I asked the driver to get me as close to Union Station as he could. That is where the yellow ticket holders were supposed to line up.

I was convinced that the area would be too busy for the driver to take me all the way, and although there was still a bit of traffic so late at night, he surprised me and took me right to where I needed to be. 

I went straight for the yellow ticket holder entrance. I followed the signs that led me to the grassy area just north of the Capitol and the start of the yellow ticket line.

Hardcore Inauguration Fan: This lady was the first person in line at the yellow ticket gate for the Inauguration. She arrived at 9 PM Monday.

Three people were standing at the ticket gate. I was the fourth person (technically the seventh person, since they were holding spaces for a few of their friends). It was 2:30 AM and the temperature was still in the low 20's.

For the next five hours my toes got progressively number and the line got increasingly longer, wider and rowdier. There was no more than 30 of us up until 4 AM, but as soon as the metro trains started arriving people were simply everywhere.

Many people did not have tickets.

Now I’d planned this day for months. From getting to DC, to getting tickets, to where I was going to stay, what I was going to wear and who I was going to see, I was well prepared. Most other people weren’t.

I can appreciate their optimism, walking right up to the entrance to the hottest event of the decade and expecting to be just let in, but it was pathetic watching the Capital Police turn away would be attendees every three minutes. The most pathetic were the people who had purchased commemorative tickets out on the streets and expected to be let into the front row. Commemorative tickets? Seriously? Do they not teach students the difference between “commemorative” tickets and “admission” tickets in schools these days?

In those 5 hours I got to know my neighbors really well. The lady who was first in line had been there since 9 PM the night before. Like me, she had been turned away from the reflecting pool area during the We Are One concert and was determined to not have that happen again. She went to Wal-Mart the day before and bought herself an Iron Man facemask with matching mittens (the other option was Spider Man) and a sleeping bag and got in line early in the afternoon. Nobody else was there in the afternoon, so she went to a restaurant to eat, but was back by 9 PM.

Despite the cold and the crowds, everyone was in a good mood, unless of course somebody tried to cut in line, which turned otherwise friendly people into line cutting vigilantes of justice. Line cutters were treated like Yankees fans at Fenway Park cheering A-Rod for trying to slap the ball out of Jason Varitek’s glove.

And we’re back.

Like I said, everyone was in a good mood. In between sharing stories of life on the campaign trail (everyone at the front of the line was a die-hard politico) we sang gospel songs and told jokes. 

There were people from all over the country in line with me.

I didn’t find anyone else from the Northern Mariana Islands, but it was fun watching everyone else discover people from their home states. Utah? I live in Salt Lake City! California? My son lives in San Diego! Virginia? Why the hell is it so damn cold today!

At about 7:40 the police started letting people in. I was the fourth person through the gate. After maybe 7 people had gone through, a yell came from the direction of the officers manning the metal detectors in the security check point, “We’re not ready yet!”

They closed the gate, but allowed those of us who already had access to continue. As a result, for about 10 minutes I was one of just a handful of people inside the secure area. I was able to pick the perfect spot in my section.

I was in the standing only section to the north of the seated area. The area was angled such that I could either get a close up view of Barack and miss out on all of the people behind him, or I could get a less close view of Barack, with a full view of all the dignitaries and officials behind him. I chose to be closer to Barack.

From where I stood, Barack was right in front of me, about 100 meters away. To my right was a seated section for Medal of Honor winners and the surviving Tuskegee Airmen. To my left was a giant video screen. Behind me was the mall, where over a million people could be heard chanting and singing.

I didn’t move from that spot until the inauguration ceremony was over about five hours late.

For the next few hours over a quarter of a million people poured into the secure area on the Capitol lawn. I didn't move from my spot once.

There were a number of celebrities. Don King and Dustin Hoffman were two of the celebs to walk right by my section.

Almost every person who holds a title in Washington, DC was announced. Their names were read as they appeared walking onto the platform set up in front of the Capitol.

Ted Kennedy was cheered.

Lieberman was booed.

Colin Powell was cheered.

The entrance of George W. Bush resulted in a few minutes of “na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye!” Nobody threw a shoe.

Sasha and Malia got the loudest applause when they entered. 

There was entertainment from a children's choir, Yo-Yo Ma, and Aretha Franklin.  Some lady read a poem and two pastors read prayers.  I didn't realize Aretha was so short.  It was a lot easier to watch her on the video screen.

Biden was sworn in as Vice President first. My initial thought after he finished taking the oath of office was, “that’s it?” It happened so fast.

Then Barack took the oath of office.

It is a moment I will never forget. When I'm 110 I'll tell my great-great grand children that I was there (assuming I ever have kids, of course).

When it all ended at 1 PM, I had been standing in the cold for almost 11 hours. I was cold, hungry, dehydrated, cold, and tired.

After a stop for some nourishment and de-thawing at a Thai restaurant, I walked the 36 blocks to get back to Claudio's apartment. Every minute of that day was worth it.

When I got back I took a nap and then got ready for the Western States Inaugural Ball.

I miss Saipan

I have been gone for so long. Can you believe that I still haven't been to Saipan since the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument was declared? I am ready to go home.

Overwhelmed

After everything was over and it was time to go home or go to the parade or to go get ready for one of the Inaugural balls, one of the African American guys standing near me when Barack took the Oath of Office, a guy about my age, proclaimed out loud to anyone within listening distance, "Thanks, ya'll. This was a day that changed my life and even though I don't know ya'll, I shared it with you. I'll remember y'all forever."

As we walked away back to our individual lives I watched as people took photos with people they didn't know. We hugged people we had met just hours before and shared tears like they we were saying goodbye to family members.

This morning's inauguration was an emotional affair and I am exhausted.

More pictures to come.

Mission Accomplished

So what do you think about my poster? I made it and colored in the letters myself.

12 hours and counting...

Soledad O'Brien is hot

For Ed Probst

This picture's for Ed. Aggreko is providing the electricity generation for the speakers and video screens on the National Mall.

No comment on our local politics.

Boys Choir of Kenya

There is a lot of stuff to see as you walk around Washington, DC. I came upon the Boys Choir of Kenya warming up for an appearance on CNN on the National Mall near the National Gallery.

Its not like there are celebrities around every corner, but all of the major news channels have outdoor studios and they are interviewing all kinds of people. Cool stuff.

Inauguration Photo Preview

I went down to near where I'll be standing for the Obama Inauguration. I am in the Northwest Standing Only section, the closest us commoners can get to Obama tomorrow.

The Northwest section is off to the side and the angle is such that I was worried that I wouldn't be able to see Obama being sworn in.

That's Yo-Yo Ma doing a sound check earlier today.  My Canon S5 was able to get a good shot.  I'll be closer tomorrow, so I might be able to get a picture with better clarity.

This is where Obama is going to stand.  Notice the two small white signs?  Can you read them?  The one on the right reads "Sasha Obama" and the one on the left reads "Malia Obama."

I think I'll be able to see everything that happens.  It's going to be a good day tomorrow.

We Are One Crowd

This is a short video I shot of the crowd leaving the We Are One concert yesterday afternoon. Plenty people.

Oh yeah, it's snowing in DC.

Our Second Irish President

Never mind this crap about Obama being the first Black President. Obama is the Second Irish President!

My favorite verse from this song:

He's as Irish as bacon and cabbage and stew
He's Hawaiian he's Kenyan American too

That just about sums him up for me.

We Are One Concert Photos

The news is reporting that half a million people were on the Washington Mall this afternoon for the We Are One concert. If that's what half a million look like, what will two million look like on Tuesday?

Just to prove we were there together, Claudio and I took a picture together. You like those layers of clothes? I'm wearing a sweater and two jackets in addition to ski pants.

If you're looking for close up pictures of the celebrities participating in the concert, you won't find them on this blog. The closest we got was between the Washington Monument and the World War II Memorial.

We still had a great view. The people on stage looks like ants, but the big video screens made it seem like we had a front row seat.  The sound system was pretty sweet, too.  There was a bit of an echo, but it still felt like we were in the middle of everything.

I love the photos of the crowd. The videos on TV don't give a sense of how packed it was. The entire area around the reflecting pool was packed shoulder to shoulder. The crowd expanded beyond that though.

At least I'm not as bad as this guy, updating my blog at the National Mall.

Inauguration Tickets For Sale

Holy crap! People are selling Inauguration tickets on Craigslist for hundreds of dollars. I personally know someone who sold a single silver ticket, Washington Mall standing room only, for $500.

I have in my possession four purple tickets (second best standing room only) and one yellow ticket (the best standing room only). All these tickets are in front of the reflecting pond. Should I forsake friendship and the experience of a lifetime, have Delegate Sablan never trust me again and make a few thousand dollars?

Anti-monument leaders appointed to monument council

Governor Fitial has recommended that Benigno Sablan, Jack Villagomez and Sylvan Igisomar be named to the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument Advisory Council. I've got some thoughts on that.

First of all, Governor Fitial does not get to choose who goes on this council. He gets to make "recommendations."  There is a very strong likelihood that the Secretaries of Interior and Commerce, the two individuals charged with creating the council, will accept the governor's recommendations, but until they do so these three individuals are just that, recommendations. The Marianas Variety article is headlined, "Fitial names monument advisory panel members." That is imprecise reporting, but again, there is a very strong likelihood that these guys will ultimately be nominated.

Maybe.

The appointment of Villagomez and Sablan are questionable. The proclamation reads, "The Advisory Council shall consist of three officials of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and one representative each from the Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard." Sablan and Villagomez are not officials of our government. They are stand up citizens, but not government officials. Sablan is retired and Villagomez works for a congressman.

Finally, I don't imagine Sablan and Villagomez will want this appointment when they find out that the proclamation reads, "Each participating agency shall be responsible for the expenses of its representative." This is no WESPAC Council. There will be no free vacations every three months, no free hotel rooms, and no steak dinners. This will have to come out of their respective agency's budget. Jack works for Representative Ralph Torres. That means the participating agency of Rep. Ralph Torres will be responsible for his travel. As far as I know Mr. Sablan is retired. Sounds like he'll have to pay his own way.

******
My read on the intent behind the proclamation is that the advisory council was meant to be made up of people like the Secretary of Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Mayor of the Northern Islands, and the Chair of either the House or Senate Committee on Natural Resources (or whatever they call it). Sylvan, although he is anti-monument, as Director of Division of Fish & Wildlife is a logical choice, but wouldn't have been my first choice. No disrespect to Sylvan, but I would like the people on this council to have a little more grey hair and a lot more experience (Jack and Mr. Sablan have enough experience, they just aren't government officials).

Other than the top three I recommended above, other logical choices for the advisory council could be Fran Castro, the point of contact for the Coral Reef Taskforce and the non-point source manager at Division of Environmental Quality, Dr. Peter Houk or Dr John Starmer, both marine biologists (read: not political appointments), the director of Historic Preservation Office (or one of the archaeologists), or the director of Carolinian Affairs.

Obamatown

Washington, DC has turned into Obamatown. There is an energy in the city, like Christmas and the World Series are right around the corner. You can't take more than 10 steps without reading Obama's name. Everyone is wearing Obama buttons, Obama sweaters, Obama hats and people on the streets are hawking Obama posters, Obama flags, and one guy, and one guy only, was selling Barack Obama towels.

I made a number of purchases today. Let me know in the comments or via email if you want me to buy you something. T-shirts are in the $20 range. A pack of Barack Obama trading cards are $3. The playing cards are $10.

There are reporters roving around all over the mall. At the steps of the Capital Building there were a number of reporters interviewing people. This Fuji Television reporter was asking people to describe Barack Obama with one word.  She made you write the word on her special Barack Obama notepad.  I'm not sure what the YES/NO thing was all about, though. I learned a long time ago to try not to understand too much about Japanese TV. It will only drive you insane.

MSNBC has a studio set up right on the Mall. They were broadcasting live. People were standing where I was standing when I took this picture to appear on live TV.

I don't know the name of this reporter, but she's on MSNBC.  Where was Keith Olbermann?

Those of you who think I'm a media whore will not be surprised to see a photo of me being interviewed by Radio Free Asia. I swear I didn't ask to be interviewed. She saw me and Claudio walking with our I love Hooters stickers and she ran over to us and asked us where we were from.

Speaking of Hooters, there were Hooters girls giving out stickers in front of the Capital Building. What friendly people!

2009's Christmas Photo

Before taking me to the airport my family took me out to lunch at the Citrus Club. I never know when I'll see these guys when I say goodbye. I hope it's not too long.

Angelo Villagomez to attend Western Inaugural Ball

Delegate Kilili is the man! Homeboy hooked me up yesterday. He gave me tickets to the Inauguration (stayed tuned for photos!) and two tickets to the Western Ball, one of the 10 official Inaugural balls.

Now I just have to find a tuxedo...

The End of an Error*

Washington, DC is frickin' cold!

I'm going to spend the weekend exploring the Smithsonian and the evenings partaking in my share of adult beverages. There's a concert at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday, too. Wish you were here!

*There were some things that Mr. Bush got right, like the creation of Papahanaumokuakea and the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Inauguration Forecast

I'm off to DC in the afternoon. I'll be visiting some friends, including my old roommate Representative Scott Randolph and his wife and some friends from my League of Conservation Voters days.

The forecast for Tuesday's inauguration is 32 degrees with a 10% chance of rain. I'm going to need some warmer socks.

Monument Flashbacks I

This is a video of Dr. John Joyner at the Coral Reef Task Force in Hawaii last year. Check out Steve McKagan's Youtube Channel for more videos like it. He hosts them for use on the Marianas Conservation website.

That website is hosted using CNMI government tax dollars and was designed by Division of Fish & Wildlife employees.

I hope those guys hang on to all that memorabilia.

******
So.

Now that the monument is declared, I guess I can share some of my favorite stories from the campaign.

The first one I'll share happened the week that Jay Nelson and Matt Rand came to Saipan to help me kick off our outreach campaign. We didn't plan it this way, but the week we chose to start giving our public presentations (the first of 115 formal public meetings) just happened to be the week of the 140th meeting of WESPAC.

Our very first presentation was to a joint session of the Legislature. I sat in the back as Jay plowed through our first version of the power point presentation with the local senators and representatives. Our second presentation was at the governor's office. In attendance were the governor's Military Task Force and Strategic Economic Development Council (SEDC), which included representatives from the Executive Branch, the Legislative Branch, the business community and the community at-large.

Some of our strongest supporters were in that meeting. Lynn Knight, who was one of our earliest and strongest champions, was there representing Tan Holdings and the Hotel Association of the Northern Mariana Islands, Ike Cabrera and Ken Kramer were there representing the Marianas Resource Conservation & Development Council, and Marian Aldan-Pierce was there as the Chairwoman of SEDC and President of DFS.

Now that I think of it, some of our longest holdouts were there, too, including Senior Policy Advisor (and WESPAC Advisory Panel Chair) Ray Mafnas, Division of Fish & Wildlife Director Sylvan Igisomar and the Senate legal counsel.

So anyway, we burned through all of our handout material in those first two meetings and had to make more copies to give to the rest of the people we were scheduled to meet. If memory serves me right, we went straight to Pacific Quick Print after our meeting at the governor's office and made a $1000+ order. What can I say, we gave out a lot of information. Each packet had at least 20 double-sided color copies.

Inside Pacific Quick Print there is a small display showing some of the products they make. The samples on display are either pieces that are flawed or extra. Hanging on the display that day was a button similar to Sylvan's button posted above.

The conversation that took place next is a conversation that can only take place on Saipan.

Me: Who made these buttons?
Shopkeeper: I'm not supposed to share information about our other customers.
Me: Was it John Gourley?
Shopkeeper: Yes.
Me: How many did he make?
Shopkeeper: 20
Me: Thanks.

Turns out Gourley was handing them out at the WESPAC meeting.

Marianas Trench T-shirt Contest

Rick came up with this T-shirt idea back in March 2008.

Anyone else have any ideas for T-shirt slogans*? I've got a handful of Indigenous T-shirts left (black ones!). I'll give a T-shirt to what I consider the best 5 slogans. Bonus points for actually putting your slogan on a T-shirt and posting it on your blog.

*All slogans posted in the comments section or created in conjunction with this contest immediately become the property of Oreo Kenobi.

Beautify CNMI on Facebook

Please join the Beautify CNMI page on Facebook. I created it last night. I prefer the Facebook "pages" and "groups" to anything they have on Myspace because Facebook allows users (not just creators) to post content.

That means that all of you can post photos, weblinks, and videos, in addition to leaving comments and participating in a discussion board.

Now that the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument is a reality I will have more free time to focus on my real passion, which is planting trees and cleaning up our islands.

I was asked by the Rotary Club to organize some environmental activities for them in April. I'm thinking that it's time for another island-wide cleanup.

******
While you are on Facebook, please take the time to join the Friends of the Monument group.

Thundercats

For George Hasselback. This should have been on my blog a long time ago.

The Conservation Victory of the Decade

Although I stopped counting how many media stories have been published on the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument when we hit 1000, the story from Climateshifts.org caught my eye.

I swear it has nothing to do with the fact that they link to my blog.

There is quite of bit of federal legislative action happening in the US that bodes well for marine conservation and coral reefs.

[snip}

Also check out the Saipan Blog, for a great first hand account of how a small band of marine conservationist pulled off the conservation victory of the decade. [emphasis mine]

Absolutely nothing.

Saipan Factory Girl

Walt sent me a press release about his latest book. It is available for $14.95. If you prefer to buy in bulk, you can also get 12 for the price of a dozen.

Last Garment Factory Soon to Close on Saipan, CNMI
Closure marks end of controversial era on US commonwealth

Saipan, CNMI—Almost twenty-six years after the first one opened in October, 1983, the last garment factory on the US territory of Saipan will close its doors January 31, 2009*, ending a controversy-plagued era on this island in the Western Pacific.

Saipan was home to a once-thriving garment industry which, at its height, hosted 36 factories which employed over 15,000 contract workers (mostly women from China, and many from Thailand, Philippines and other Pacific Islands), generated (taxes) of $40 million/year for the CNMI government, and $994 million in annual exports to the world.

“It’s a fascinating story, but much remains hidden about what things were really like here,” says Walt Goodridge, columnist for the Saipan Tribune, and editor of Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin: Diary of a Chinese Factory Girl (www.saipanfactorygirl.com), the only known first-hand account of the (8-year) experience of a Chinese garment factory worker on Saipan. “Opinions vary, but most workers feel it was a benefit to earn the money they did. When the Uno Moda closes in a few days, it will mark a significant turning point for the island’s now primarily tourist-based economy,” Goodridge added.

Saipan’s unique relationship with the US allowed manufacturers to have “made in the USA” labels on garments sewn there, while benefiting from lower costs and a non-US regulated working wage paid to a mostly female, non-resident workforce. As the trade tarrifs lifted, conditions became less profitable, and factories began leaving Saipan for other profit-friendly regions.

In 2006, a Ms. Magazine article with allegations of labor abuse, corruption, and cover-up, along with class-action suits against factories, turned the media spotlight on Saipan, and government official complicity, and has tainted the island’s image with associations to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

"Out with the old. In with the new!"

Many hope Pres. Bush’s recent designation of the world’s 3rd largest “no-take” marine monument which includes the nearby Mariana Trench will launch a new image and a new era of industries for the island as this one passes.

###

Visit SaipanFactoryFacts.org for a 25-year industry timeline, income statistics, important milestones, dates of closures and a complimentary excerpt from Chicken Feathers and Garlic Skin.

*Other media reports of dates of closure differ from what is actually happening here at "ground zero" on Saipan.

Uno Moda is the only factory still in operation, with workers reporting to work each day. Workers at Uno Moda have told us that the last day they will actually be sewing and packing is January 15th. Contact info@SaipanFactoryFacts.org for up-to-date information and/or to request a video of last day.

Books Read in 2009

I've decided to keep track of the books I read this year. I wonder how many I'll read?

Eldest
Christopher Paolini
668 pages
Finished January 11, 2009

It took me a while to get into the book, but the last few chapters make up for the lengthy lead up to the final battle. The book is the second in the Inheritance Cycle, the three four part series about the tale of Eragon Shadeslayer. I don't want to give up too much of the story because the best parts come as surprises. Although he had only a small part in the first book, my favorite character in Eldest was Eragon's cousin, Roran. Talk about character development. The transformation he goes through makes for a great read. Speaking of which, Eragon's transformation is so totally lame. They stole his transformation in this book and applied it to his dragon, Saphira, in the movie about the first book. Alright, now I'm getting off track.

This is my first book report in about 22 years. Hopefully they'll get better as the year progresses.

Brisingr
Christopher Paolini
748 pages
Finished January 23, 2009

Brisingr is the third book of the Inheritance Cycle, the four part series about the tale of Eragon Shadeslayer. This was my favorite of the three books. Maybe there really is more drama and action or maybe because it just takes a while to figure out the world of Alagaesia (Paolini's version of Middle Earth).

I really enjoyed the character development of Roran in the second book and likewise in the third book. That is until it just got ridiculous. Roran is the only main character without any special abilities. He can't use magic, and he doesn't have the strengh of a dwarf or an elf. So naturally Paolini goes off the deep end and turns him into Chuck Norris, killing 200 men in one battle, wrestling and besting an urgal (Paolini's version of orks), and willingly accepting 50 lashes for not following orders, but ultimately saving the lives of all his men. Whatever. It was just a little too much to take. I hope he tones it down in the fourth book.

Next
Michael Crichton
495 pages
Finished January 27, 2009

I read most of Michael Crichton's books in high school and I hate to speak ill of the deceased, but this was not my favorite one. The last few chapters pull all the characters together and tie up the plot in a fun, interesting way, but the 450 pages leading up to the climax are at times confusing and almost always a little too unbelievable.

The world of Next is a world gone mad on gene therapy. The book may have intended to serve as a warning, but the inclusion of a manpanzee and talking parrots and orangutans were simply ridiculous. I realize that most of Crichton's writings are science fiction, but I was somehow able to believe in the worlds of Jurassic Park, Sphere, and the Andromeda Strain.

Next was just too much. I recommend skipping it. Don't read State of Fear, either. That one was even worse.

Freakonomics
Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
284 pages
Finished February 1, 2009

So the take home message for me in this book was that people respond to incentives and that you shouldn't trust convention wisdom. As for the rest of the book, big fucking deal. A fun read, but won't change your life.

Plan of Attack
Bob Woodward
443 pages
Finished February 4, 2009

Reading this book with Bush no longer in office only makes it slightly easier to take. Half the people in his administration should be thrown in jail for treason for leading us into the war in Iraq. The other half should...well, something really horrible should happen to them. Over and over again Woodward points out that they knew the evidence for going to war was flimsy and the only thing that could be relied on was the Bush Administration's eagerness to go to war with Iraq. A damning book. One of the most infuriating reads I've had in a long time.

Don't Think of an Elephant
George Lakoff
119 pages
Finished February 26, 2009

I read this book right after the 2004 election. I consider it mandatory reading for anyone interested in doing any type of political work, even environmental advocacy.

Dreams from My Father
Barack Obama
442 pages
Finished March 16, 2009

This is the second time I read this book. I enjoyed it even more knowing that he is our President now. I really relate to him in this book and see a lot of parallels between my life and his: living in two worlds, an absent father, going to school on scholarship, and of course, grassroots community organizing.

It is a great read and although he claims in the foreward that he wouldn't write the same book now, it gives insight into how the guy with the codes for the nukes thinks.

Little Green Men

This is a fun little read about a TV talk show personality who gets abducted by aliens. Or does he? The main character has to be based on Bill O'Reilly. Funny stuff. A little out there, but a fun read for a day at the beach or on a plane.

Angels and Demons

Everyone knows this one. I wanted to read it before I saw the movie.

The DiVinci Code

After I read Angels and Demons, I read this again.

Nobodies

John Bowe's book about modern slavery, 1/3 of which takes place on Saipan. The book dedicates a full page to Cinta and several other Saipan characters appear. John Bowe is the same writer who wrote about Saipan in Playboy.

The Prince

Good to reread every year or so to remind myself how to be a Machiavellian asshole.

Holes

I saw the movie years ago and I remember Kevin reading this book. As fun a read as any Harry Potter book.

Debt of Honor

Tom Clancy's book about the Japanese invasion of Saipan. Also includes aspects similar to 9/11 and the recent crash of the stock market. Is Jack Ryan really Barack Obama?

Dave Barry's Only Travel Guide You'll Ever Need
Dave Barry

This was lying on the table in the galley during my trip to the Northern Islands. I loved reading Dave Barry's newspaper columns when I was in high school, so I picked it up.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Harrows
JK Rowling

My third time reading the final installment of the Harry Potter series.

Outliers
Malcolm Gladwell

A book about success. You've got to be lucky and work really hard. It also helps to come from the right background.

Dune
Frank Herbert

One of my biology final exams had a question about the classification of the giant worms from Dune. 12 years later and I finally read it.

Lost Symbol
Dan Brown

When I saw the movie National Treasure starring Nicolas Cage I thought, "what a rip off of DaVinci Code!" When I got about half way through Lost Symbol I thought, "what a rip off of National Treasure!" I guess imitation really is the highest form of flattery.

Rollins College: 5 years later

I had some time on Saturday afternoon to stroll around my old stomping grounds at Rollins College. My years there were some of the best of my life and it was a real treat to see the school after having been gone for so long.

I helped plant this Longleaf Pine tree on Rollins College campus on Arbor Day one year. I forget exactly which year it was, but seeing as I graduated five years ago, it has been in the ground for some time now.

These words, LIFE IS FOR SERVICE, have inspired generations of Rollins students. Mr. Rogers, Rollins' most famous graduate, was said to have had a framed picture of this plaque on his office desk for decades. During my time at Rollins, in class after class, professor after professor extolled the virtues of public service, not necessarily religious service. This simple phrase continues to guide my adult life and I, picture or no picture, will carry it with me always.

Some of you younger people on Saipan may have seen the movie Sydney White starring Amanda Bynes. The movie was filmed at Rollins. My favorite scene in the movie comes at the end where Sydney is supposed to be giving a student council campaign speech but is asleep in the library where no one can find her. Everyone is waiting for her out on Mills Lawn, our center of campus, right in front of the library.  Now Rollins does not have a very big campus and in real life, Sydney could have seen the Mills Lawn from the library window she was sleeping next to, but I guess that wouldn't have made for a very dramatic situation. Whatever.

Uh wait, did I just admit to seeing an Amanda Bynes movie? I take everything I just wrote back.

Rollins College has been accused up being a posh college. It's not like our library has a coffee shop. Oh, wait. Yeah, it does.

I made a short visit to the building where I took most of my classes, the Environmental Studies Building. That's a native garden out front. It was planted by the Senior class that graduated the year before me.

I was the co-MVP my senior year, evidenced by this plaque that will hang on the wall of the Environemtal Studies building for all time.

I left my mark in another way by giving one of my professors a Marianas Trench Marine National Monument poster. He hung it in the hallway. There it will hang...until someone takes it down.

This is the small courtyard in front of our student center and cafeteria. When I was a member of the Eco-Rollins Club we did all of our outreach activities and Earth Day celebrations here. A couple of times I parked my 2002 Honda Civic Hybrid on the sidewalk for the rest of the college to see.

This is the pavilion where we launched the Environmental Victory Project in 2004. I gave my first speech in public at the event and even made it on the six o'clock news. That was the beginning of my enviro-political career.

Somethings at Rollins never change. School doesn't start until next week and it is only the second week of January, yet the girls are already out by the lake in their bikinis. Man, I loved going to school here.

Winter Park Farmers Market

The Winter Park Farmers Market on Saturday mornings is one of my favorite things about Florida. I've been going there with my Mom ever since we moved to Winter Park in 1993. This visit was my first time going there since 2005.

The Farmer's Market is held every Saturday morning and lasts until about 1 PM. Every single time I go I get a grilled spicy Italian sausage with green peppers, onions, and mustard. I tried recreating this at a recent Christmas party on Saipan. I brought everything needed to the bbq, but before I could stop the chef, he had cut all the sausage up into bite size pieces. Dang it.

Kevin and the kids always get strawberry smoothies. Now this is Winter Park, so in addition to fruit smoothies, you can also order espresso and cappuccino.

The street market has all types of things for sale in addition to the usual fresh vegetables.

One of the vendors sells fresh honey. I'm not sure if this is Winter Park made honey or Winter Park packaged honey. I remember reading something recently about bees and honey and it wasn't good. Maybe it comes from Argentina? I forget.

Everyone loves orchids. I guess there are enough flower children in Winter Park to keep this vendor in business.

Did you know that after oranges, tomatoes are Florida's second largest crop? Who knew?

There is also no lack of foofoo dogs in Winter Park. It seems like every other person has one. If I ever gave Oreo a bath and a proper hair cut, he'd fit right in here.

When I was going to school at Rollins College I would often run into my fellow students at the Street Market. It has been five years since I graduated (!), so every student I went to school with, even those that were freshmen when I graduated, are now graduated (hopefully).

I did run into one of my professors though. That is Dr. Michael Gunter and his three year old son. I took several of his International Politics classes during my tenure at Rollins.

Asserting his support

According to a press release from the Friends of the Monument, "[I]n the eleventh hour, CNMI Gov. Benigno Fitial, Speaker of the House Arnold Palacios and Senate President Pete P Reyes joined the 6,000 petition signers, 206 businesses, and nearly 600 letter writers who asked President Bush to designate a monument in the Marianas."

Rep. Arnold I. Palacios, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, explains that support in a letter to the editor in the Saipan Tribune today. The letter reflects on his "odyssey-like experience," which ended last Tuesday with the declaration of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Throughout this ordeal, the Speaker, along with Rep. Diego Benavente, was one of our staunchest opponents.  At the 140th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (WESPAC) the Speaker declared that "we don't play with our food."  He also refused to meet with me and never sat in on a single presentation.  

Additionally, in attempting to oppose the monument, the Legislature passed three anti-monument resolutions and the governor and his administration orchestrated letters from the the CNMI First Lady, the manamko, the Office of Carolinian Affairs, WESPAC, the Guam Fishermens Co-op and all of the heads of state of Micronesia, including President Tommy Remengesau of Palau, an internationally renowned environmentalist.

Yet, the opposition (with the exception of WESPAC) apparently now supports the monument.  For many of the supporters, how the opposition would explain their newfound support remained an engima.

Well, after reading the Speaker's letter, all I can say is "Mission Accomplished."  In assuming that most of the opposition feels like the Speaker, I have to say that their new position is inspired.

The editorial by the Speaker is masterfully crafted. Someone who is ideologically opposed to the monument, someone for whom no rational argument will ever suffice, will read this letter and think that the Speaker fought for them and for lack of a better term, "got the best deal." Someone on the opposite end of the spectrum will read this letter and think that the Speaker is reasonable and willing to compromise his personal beliefs (i.e. "playing with our food") for the betterment of the people of the Commonwealth.

His position is brilliant. Although his support is assumed, nowhere in the letter does he make a statement akin to "I now support the monument." On the contrary, this letter is not about explaining his support, it is about telling his constituents that he stood up for them, faced down the powerful federal government and as a result received numerous concessions that will benefit the people of the Commonwealth, including a number of things not brought up specifically by the Pew Environment Group, including promises of revenue sharing on future seabed mining ventures and transfer of territorial waters to the CNMI.

The Speaker is to be commended.

National Park Ranger Tour

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Lyle Laverty set up a special Washington Mall monument tour for us on Wednesday. He arranged for a National Park Service ranger to take us around to all of the monuments on the mall. We were told to be in the lobby of the Interior building on C Street.

Assistant Secretary Laverty met us there and introduced us to Ranger Jerry. At about 9 AM we loaded up into a van and then we were off for our special tour.

Our first stop was the World War II Memorial. Having a National Park Ranger on the tour was awesome. Ranger Jerry explained the layout of the memorial and told us how 400,000 Americans died in the war.

After the World War II Memorial we drove up to Arlington Cemetary where we visited President Kennedy's grave and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. After watching the changing of the guard we drove back to the Washington Mall and went to the top of the Washington Monument.

One of the benefits of going on the tour with Ranger Jerry was that he would park the van right next to the monuments. At the Washington Monument he literally pulled the van up on the sidewalk.

Our last stop before lunch was the Jefferson Memorial. We took a moment to get this picture with Ranger Jerry.

When we finished there Ranger Jerry took us to the Reagan Building for lunch. There is a food court in the basement.

Did I mention it was cold and rainy in DC that day? The hour we had at the food court was a welcome respite.

After lunch we stopped at the FDR Memorial, which I didn't even know existed. It is now my favorite monument in DC, the kind of monument I would want people to build for me (I don't need the 55 story phalice, I'll leave that one to Alex).

We also visited the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial. Ranger Jerry was there the whole time, giving us a running commentary on the history of the monuments and the wars and presidents they honor.

A huge thanks to Ranger Jerry and Assistant Secretary Laverty for taking good care of us.

My Only Media

The only mention of my name in the latest round came from the Pacific News Center on Guam. My part starts at around 1:00.

Another CNN Video

How cool is it that we made not one, but two, CNN stories?

アイク・カブレラ

アイク・カブレラ is Ike (a-i-ku) Cabrera (ka-bu-re-ra) in Japanese. Ike is now famous in Japan. He was quoted in several stories about the new monument. That's awesome.

A Google News search of "マリアナ海溝" which is Mariana (Ma-ri-a-na) Trench (tsu-ren-chi) in Japanese results in 49 Japanese media stories.

I'm sure there are more stories, but I don't read a lot of Japanese and that is the best I can do.

These stories are very good for the tourism industry in Saipan. Our main market for tourists is Japan. These stories help solidify our reputation as a beautiful natural destination. The ball is now in MVA's court. It is their job to build on the media successes of Pew Environment Group and the Friends of the Monument.

Sold out in 3 seconds

I recieved an email from the Presidential Inaugural Committee at 12:45 AM EST today announcing the sale of 5000 tickets for the Inaugural Parade. The email is posted below.

Dear Angelo,

Inauguration Day is almost here, and your support has helped the Presidential Inaugural Committee organize an unforgettable day.

That's why we want you to be among the first to know: 5,000 tickets for the historic Inaugural Parade will go on sale today, January 9th, at 1:00 p.m.

Get your tickets to the 56th Inaugural Parade today at 1:00 p.m. EST.

To celebrate this historic day, the Presidential Inaugural Committee has brought together more than 13,000 parade participants from all across the country.

Over 90 musical, cultural and community groups will join representatives from our Armed Forces to escort the new President and Vice President along the route from the Capitol to the White House.

You've helped make this the most open and accessible inaugural in our nation's history, and we want you to be there.

The 5,000 tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, and are limited to four per person for purchase, so act now.

Get your tickets to the 56th Inaugural Parade today:

www.pic2009.org/paradetickets

Thank you for all that you do,

The Presidential Inaugural Committee

I logged on right at 1:00 PM. Before 1:00 PM the ticketmaster site said that the tickets were not yet on sale. I sat at the computer, hitting refresh every 2 seconds until the page said the tickets were on sale. I typed in that I wanted 4, the maximum, hit send and the next page told me that the tickets were sold out.

The tickets must have sold out in less than 3 seconds. This inauguration is going to be insane.

Local Media

The Friends of the Monument met Governor Fitial in Washington, DC. He is to be applauded for supporting the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. This monument is something that will have benefits in the short term and the long term. It is one of the best decisions he has made during his time in office.

The Saipan Tribune ran a story on Thursday about the Friends' initial reaction to the monument.

Friends of the Monument praises Bush

The Friends of the Monument, a coalition of indigenous and resident people of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands who support designation and protection of the important ocean resources along the Mariana Trench, applauded President Bush yesterday for declaring a Marianas Trench Marine National Monument at a ceremony in Washington, DC Tuesday.

The new marine monument will encompass 95,000 square miles of oceans surrounding the islands of Uracas, Maug and Asuncion, 21 hydrothermal volcanic vents and the entire stretch of the Marianas Trench.

Deputy Labor Secretary Cinta Kaipat, one of the monument's earliest supporters, said, “It's a great day for us all and for the world! I'm very proud of the team and everyone who worked so hard to make this happen.”

By the time of the designation, local support for the monument was near unanimous in the capital island of Saipan. In the eleventh hour, CNMI Gov. Benigno Fitial, Speaker of the House Arnold Palacios and Senate President Pete P Reyes joined the 6,000 petition signers, 206 businesses, and nearly 600 letter writers who asked President Bush to designate a monument in the Marianas.

Local environmentalist Ken Kramer, who quit his job with USDA to volunteer with the Friends of the Monument, had praise for the 60 volunteers and dozens of people who wrote supportive letters to the editor.

Kramer said, “Congratulations to everyone for a job well done. There was certainly a lot of blood, sweat and tears that went into the making of this monument. I am happy to be a part of this history making adventure to save the planet. We are all environmental superheroes.”

More information on the Friends of the Monument and the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument can be found at http://marianamonument.blogspot.com.

The Saipan Tribune also ran a newswire story that quoted Ike. It is so gratifying knowing that this story and stories like it from the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg were syndicated across the country and the world. This is from PRNewswire and like I mentioned, appeared in the Saipan Tribune:

The largest of the protected areas surrounds the Northern Mariana Islands and includes the Mariana Trench, the deepest canyon on earth.

The Mariana Islands monument alone protects 95,000 square miles, encompassing areas believed to harbor some of the oldest known life on the DNA tree. By itself, this monument is the third largest marine reserve in the world. Among its diverse and remarkable underwater features are the second known boiling pool of liquid sulfur (the first pool was discovered on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons); huge, active mud volcanoes-one more than 31 miles across; and highly acidic hydrothermal vents that provide a unique natural laboratory for the study of ocean acidification and its effects on coral reefs and shallow-water sea life.

A marine mammal survey in the area found 19 species, including several rare species of beaked whales. The land areas shelter the endangered Micronesian megapode, which is the only bird known to use volcanic heat to incubate its eggs, threatened fruit bats, more than a dozen species of migratory seabirds with breeding populations numbering over 200,000 and giant coconut crabs -- the largest land-living arthropod in the world.

For the past two years, the Pew Environment Group’s Global Ocean Legacy Program has worked with the Bush Administration as well as citizens and elected officials in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas to promote the concept of a large-scale marine reserve in the waters surrounding the Mariana Islands. More than 200 local businesses and 6,000 citizens signed petitions supporting world-class marine monument designation.

In partnership with the islands’ business community and Friends of the Monument, a local organization promoting the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, the Pew Environment Group helped organize more than 100 public meetings to vet the proposed monument in open forums. It also developed the first comprehensive scientific profile of the biological and geological resources contained within the proposed monument site, plus an assessment of the potential economic benefits of monument designation to the Marianas economy.

"We are proud that President Bush has recognized the importance and richness of the Mariana Island waters," said Ike Cabrera, chairman of the Saipan-based Friends of the Monument. "We can now share with the world this special place our people have long cherished."

First Thoughts

Now that we've had a monument for all of two days and now that the initial shock of it actually happening has worn off I can start looking at what the hell just happened.

When the Pew Environment Group first came out to Saipan the proposal they put forth was simple. If the Commonwealth was interested in protecting a vast area of their surrounding oceans using the Antiquities Act, there were a number of benefits that could practically be guaranteed. Managed under the NOAA Sanctuaries Program, a large no-take marine monument would lead to a boat, a visitors center, a co-management agreement, federal jobs and an increase in research, education and ecotourism. That was it. As a non-governmental organization, Pew could not make deals with the local government (something local officials had a hard time understanding), but they could point to what had happened in Hawaii as a model to follow. If the Commonwealth was interested, they would have to work with the Federal government to create a monument. Local leaders were told from the very beginning that President Bush would not create a monument without the support of the local people. We were right about that. Our monument was only created after heavy petitioning by our local residents and businesses and the final acquiescence of our local elected officials.

Working with local environmental leaders, Pew produced a map that proposed an area that would extend constitutional protections given to our far northern islands to the surrounding waters. The proposed area included geological features such as coral reefs, mud volcanoes, hydrothermal vents, seamounts and, of course, the famed Marianas Trench. The area is also a biodiversity hotspot, teaming with unique undersea life. The name we came up with was the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument (Yes, I'm including myself as one of the local environmental leaders). Fully 1/3 of the trench subduction zone was within the proposed area. Months later one of the Pew managers realized that it had been exactly 100 years since President Theodore Roosevelt designated the Grand Canyon a monument. We began using this in our presentations, saying that President Bush, in declaring the Mariana Trench a monument, could become the Teddy Roosevelt of the Seas.

It worked.

The White House became enamored with the concept of protecting the Mariana Trench. While the original intent of the monument proposal was to protect a vast swath of ocean, the focus of the White House turned to the deepest, darkest place on Earth.

Ultimately the proposal put forth by Pew and the Friends of the Monument was changed to what you see in the map above. The area surrounding the three islands of Uracas, Maug and Asuncion was reduced in size. Instead of protections extending out to the full 200 miles Exclusive Economic Zone the protections reach out to fifty miles. Instead of including unique seamounts as contiguous areas of the monument, the White House chose to use the postage stamp approach. The geological features of 21 seamounts are protected out to one nautical mile from the center of volcanic activity. The geological features of the Marianas Trench from the lip of the undersea canyon to the bottom are also protected. The water column above the trench and seamounts is not protected.

The Commonwealth is likely to receive an increase in education, research and ecotourism. As for the other benefits, we will have to wait and see exactly how everything plays out. Instead of NOAA Sanctuaries, jurisdiction for the monument was handed to the Interior Department, most likely to be managed under the auspices of the National Park System. I'll be the first person in line to tell you that the national parks are the best part of America (possibly tied with baseball), but this opens up a whole new set of issues that will have to be worked through.

All in all this monument is a good start. Everyone agrees that this monument will bring positive changes to the Marianas.

Marianas Trench on CNN

Primo makes it onto CNN. This story is much shorter than some of the other stories, but heck, we were on CNN!

Marianas Trench on CBS News

Watch CBS Videos Online
I helped provide the B-roll for much of the video in this story. All of the video, in fact, is from the Marianas and the other two monuments hardly get a mention.

ABC News also did a story, but they don't allow you to embed the video into a blog.

In the CBS News video look for the small black, white and yellow fish towards the end of the story. He is a Yellow-crowned butterflyfish or Chaetodon flavocoronatus. He is endemic to the Marianas, meaning that the only place in the world you can find him is in our waters.

The Yellow-crowned butterflyfish is the flagship species for a RARE campaign currently taking place in the CNMI. Primo, as he is called, is being used to raise awareness of marine protected areas in the Marianas. Check out the RARE website to read up on Primo.

George W Bush on the Marianas Archipelago

President Bush gave remarks on the highlights of the three new monuments, including the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. This recording has his remarks on the wonders of the Marianas and the Marianas Trench.

Not shown is President Bush introducing Governor Fitial as the governor of the Northern Maroona Islands. I'm not kidding.

Here is the text of his speeh:

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Please be seated. Thank you for coming, and Happy New Year. Laura and I thank all of our distinguished guests, starting with members of my Cabinet -- Secretary Kempthorne, Secretary Gutierrez, Administrator Johnson. Admiral, thank you for coming today. We're proud you're here. Mr. Secretary, thank you for being here. Other members of the administration who have joined us. Members of the conservation community, we're glad you're here.

Governor, I am proud you're here. Thank you for coming. And Josie is with you. Representatives from -- by the way, Northern Mariana Islands -- Governor. Just in case you don't know him. (Laughter.) We know him -- and we like him. And all the representatives from America Samoa, really appreciate you all coming. Apologize for the weather, but I don't apologize for the policy, because we're fixing to do some fabulous policy.

It's interesting that we're gathered a few steps from the office once occupied by a young Assistant Secretary of the Navy named Theodore Roosevelt. Not long after he left the position, he was back on these grounds as the 26th President of the United States. And exactly a hundred years ago, he embarked on his final weeks as the President -- something I can relate to. (Laughter.)

President Roosevelt left office with many achievements, and the most enduring of all was his commitment to conservation. As he once said: "Of all the questions which can come before the nation, short of the actual preservation of its existence in a great war, there is none which compares in importance with leaving this land even a better land for our descendants than it is for us."

That spirit has guided the conservation movement for a century; it's guided my administration. Since 2001, we have put common-sense policies in place, and I can say upon departure, our air is cleaner, our water is purer, and our lands are better protected.

To build on this progress, I'm pleased to make several announcements today. Under the Antiquities Act that Theodore Roosevelt signed in 1906, the President can set aside places of historic or scientific significance to be protected as national monuments. With the proclamations I will sign in a few moments, I am using that authority to designate three beautiful and biologically diverse areas of the Pacific Ocean as new marine national monuments.

The first is we will establish the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument. At the heart of this protected area will be much of the Marianas Trench -- the site of the deepest point on Earth -- and the surrounding arc of undersea volcanoes and thermal vents. This unique geological region is more than five times longer than the Grand Canyon. It is deeper than Mount Everest is tall. It supports life in some of the harshest conditions imaginable. A fascinating array of species survive amid hydrogen-emitting volcanoes, hydrothermal vents that produce highly acidic and boiling water, and the only known location of liquid sulfur this side of Jupiter.

Many scientists -- and I want to thank the scientists who have joined us today -- believe extreme conditions like these could have been the first incubators of life on Earth. As further research is conducted in these depths, we will learn more about life at the bottom of the sea -- and about the history of our planet.

The other major features of the new monument are the majestic coral reefs off the coast of the upper three islands in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. These islands, some 5,600 miles from California, are home to a striking diversity of marine life -- from large predators like sharks and rays, to more than 300 species of stony corals. By studying these pristine waters, scientists can advance our understanding of tropical marine ecosystems not only there, but around the world.

The second new monument will be the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument. The monument will span seven areas to the far south and west of Hawaii. One is Wake Island -- the site of a pivotal battle in World War II, and a key habitat for nesting seabirds and migratory shorebirds. The monument will also include unique trees and grasses and birds adapted to life at the Equator; the rare sea turtles and whales and Hawaiian monk seals that visit Johnston Atoll; and some of the most pristine and spectacular coral reefs in the world. These isolated specks of land and abundant marine ecosystems are almost completely undisturbed by mankind. And as part of the Pacific Remote Islands National Monument, they will be ideal laboratories for scientific research.

The third new monument will be the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument. Rose is a diamond-shaped island to the east of American Samoa -- our nation's southernmost territory. It includes rare species of nesting petrels, shearwaters, and terns -- which account for its native name, "Island of Seabirds." The waters surrounding the atoll are the home of many rare species, including giant clams and reef sharks -- as well as an unusual abundance of rose-colored corals. This area has long been renowned as a place of natural beauty. And now that it's protected by law, it will also be a place of learning for generations to come.

Taken together, these three new national monuments cover nearly 200,000 square miles, and they will now receive our nation's highest level of environmental recognition and conservation. This decision came after a lot of consultation -- consultation with local officials, consultation with prominent scientists, consultation with environmental advocates, consultation with the United States military and the fishing community. Based on these consultations, as well as sound resource management principles, the monuments will prohibit resource destruction or extraction, waste dumping, and commercial fishing. They will allow for research, free passage, and recreation -- including the possibility of recreational fishing one day. For seabirds and marine life, they will be sanctuaries to grow and thrive. For scientists, they will be places to extend the frontiers of discovery. And for the American people, they will be places that honor our duty to be good stewards of the Almighty's creation.

The benefits of today's decision reach far beyond nature. The monuments will preserve sites of cultural and spiritual significance to native peoples. They will ensure full freedom of navigation, and include measures to uphold training missions and other military operations. And they will open the door to new economic benefits in the Territories. After all, if travelers now, or students, or scientists, book a ticket to Saipan or Pago Pago, they will know they're headed for a place with friendly people and a vibrant culture, and some of our country's most treasured natural resources.

This morning I'm also pleased -- today I'm also pleased to share some news about two other national treasures. One is the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, which I created in 2006. This stunning island chain is the largest single conservation area in American history, and the largest fully protected marine area in the world. And the other is Mount Vernon -- the home of America's first President and an agricultural pioneer -- that would be George Washington. I'm pleased to announce the United States will soon submit a request that these two landmarks become UNESCO World Heritage sites -- America's first such submission in 15 years.

The new steps I've announced today are the capstone of an eight-year commitment to strong environmental protection and conservation. Look, I know that sounds contrary to the conventional wisdom of many in the news media. But let me just share a few facts about our record -- and you can be the judge for yourself:

Since 2001, air pollution has dropped by 12 percent. The strictest air quality standards in American history are now in place, as are strong regulations on power plant and diesel engine emissions. More than 3.6 million acres of wetlands have been protected, restored, or improved. Millions of acres of vital natural habitat have been conserved on farms. More than 27 million acres of federal forest land have been protected from catastrophic wildfires. The maintenance backlog in our national parks has been reduced. More than 11,000 abandoned industrial brownfields are on their way back to productive use. We've had a new focus on cleaning debris from our oceans. Popular recreational fish like the striped bass and red drum are gaining new protection. And new marine protected areas are helping improve the health of our fisheries off the southeast coast.

At the same time, we've taken aggressive steps to make America's energy supply cleaner and more secure -- and confronted the challenge of global climate change. I signed two major energy bills. We raised fuel efficiency standards for automobiles for the first time in more than a decade. We mandated major increases in the use of renewable fuels and the efficiency of lighting and appliances.

We dedicated more than $18 billion to developing clean and efficient technologies like biofuels, advanced batteries and hydrogen fuel cells, solar and wind power, and clean, safe nuclear power. We're providing more than $40 billion in loan guarantees to put these technologies to use.

We forged an international agreement under the Montreal Protocol mandating major cuts in refrigerants that are some of the most potent greenhouse gases. We built international consensus on an approach that will replace the Kyoto Protocol with a global climate agreement that calls for meaningful commitments to reduce greenhouse gases from all major economies, including India and China.

With all these steps, we have charted the way toward a more promising era in environmental stewardship. We have pioneered a new model of cooperative conservation in which government and private citizens and environmental advocates work together to achieve common goals. And while there's a lot more work to be done, we have done our part to leave behind a cleaner and healthier and better world for those who follow us on this Earth.

And now I'd like those who have been assigned the task of standing up here to join me as I sign the national monuments. (Applause.)

Monument Proclamation Language

Establishment of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Over approximately 480 nautical miles, the Mariana Archipelago encompasses the 14 islands of the United States Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the United States Territory of Guam that sit atop the Mariana Ridge in an area known as the Mariana Volcanic Arc. The Mariana Volcanic Arc is part of a subduction system in which the Pacific Plate plunges beneath the Philippine Sea Plate and into the Earth's mantle, creating the Mariana Trench. Six of the archipelago's islands have been volcanically active in historic times, and numerous seamounts along the Mariana Ridge are volcanically or hydrothermically active. The Mariana Trench is approximately 940 nautical miles long and 38 nautical miles wide within the United States Exclusive Economic Zone and contains the deepest known points in the global ocean.

The Mariana Volcanic Arc contains objects of scientific interest, including the largest active mud volcanoes on Earth. The Champagne vent, located at the Eifuku submarine volcano, produces almost pure liquid carbon dioxide. This phenomenon has only been observed at one other site in the world. The Sulfur Cauldron, a pool of liquid sulfur, is found at the Daikoku submarine volcano. The only other known location of molten sulfur is on Io, a moon of Jupiter. Unlike other reefs across the Pacific, the northernmost Mariana reefs provide unique volcanic habitats that support marine biological communities requiring basalt. Maug Crater represents one of only a handful of places on Earth where photosynthetic and chemosynthetic communities of life are known to come together.

The waters of the archipelago's northern islands are among the most biologically diverse in the Western Pacific and include the greatest diversity of seamount and hydrothermal vent life yet discovered. These volcanic islands are ringed by coral ecosystems with very high numbers of apex predators, including large numbers of sharks. They also contain one of the most diverse collections of stony corals in the Western Pacific. The northern islands and shoals in the archipelago have substantially higher large fish biomass, including apex predators, than the southern islands and Guam. The waters of Farallon de Pajaros (also known as Uracas), Maug, and Asuncion support some of the largest biomass of reef fishes in the Mariana Archipelago. These relatively pristine coral reef ecosystems are objects of scientific interest and essential to the long-term study of tropical marine ecosystems.

WHEREAS the submerged volcanic areas of the Mariana Ridge, the coral reef ecosystems of the waters surrounding the islands of Farallon de Pajaros, Maug, and Asuncion in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Mariana Trench contain objects of scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States;

WHEREAS the United States continues to act in accordance with the balance of interests relating to traditional uses of the oceans recognizing freedom of navigation and overflight and other internationally recognized lawful uses of the sea;

WHEREAS the islands, waters, and airspace of the Mariana Ridge are of particular importance to the national security of the United States;

WHEREAS section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225, 16 U.S.C. 431)(the "Antiquities Act") authorizes the President, in his discretion, to declare by public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest that are situated upon lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States to be national monuments, and to reserve as a part thereof parcels of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected;

WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve the known volcanic areas of the Mariana Ridge, the marine environment around the islands of Farallon de Pajaros, Maug, and Asuncion in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Mariana Trench for the care and management of the scientific objects therein:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United States of America, by the authority vested in me by section 2 of the Antiquities Act do proclaim that there are hereby set apart and reserved as the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (the "monument" or "marine national monument") for the purpose of protecting the objects identified above, all lands and interests in lands owned or controlled by the Government of the United States within the boundaries described below and depicted on the accompanying map entitled "Marianas Trench Marine National Monument" attached to and forming a part of this proclamation. The monument includes the waters and submerged lands of the three northernmost Mariana Islands (the "Islands Unit") and only the submerged lands of designated volcanic sites (the "Volcanic Unit") and the Mariana Trench (the "Trench Unit") to the extent described as follows: The seaward boundaries of the Islands Unit of the monument extend to the lines of latitude and longitude depicted on the accompanying map, which lie approximately 50 nautical miles from the mean low water line of Farallon de Pajaros (Uracas), Maug, and Asuncion. The inland boundary of the Islands Unit of the monument is the mean low water line. The boundary of the Trench Unit of the monument extends from the northern limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to the southern limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States in Guam approximately following the points of latitude and longitude identified on the accompanying map. The boundaries of the Volcanic Unit of the monument include a circle drawn with a 1 nautical mile radius centered on each of the volcanic features identified on the accompanying map and its legend. The Federal land and interests in land reserved consists of approximately 95,216 square miles of submerged lands and waters of the Mariana Archipelago, which is the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected.

Submerged lands that by legislation are subsequently granted by the United States to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands but remain controlled by the United States under the Antiquities Act may remain part of the monument, for coordination of management with the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Any submerged lands and interests in submerged lands within the monument not owned or controlled by the United States shall be reserved as a part of the monument upon acquisition of title or control by the United States.

Management of the Marine National Monument

The Secretaries of Commerce, through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Interior, shall manage the monument pursuant to applicable legal authorities and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense. The Secretary of the Interior shall have management responsibility for the monument, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, except that the Secretary of Commerce shall have the primary management responsibility, in consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to fishery-related activities regulated pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and any other applicable authorities. The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall not allow or permit any appropriation, injury, destruction, or removal of any feature of this monument except as provided for by this proclamation or as otherwise provided for by law.

The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall take appropriate action pursuant to their respective authorities under the Antiquities Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and such other authorities as may be available to implement this proclamation, to regulate fisheries, and to ensure proper care and management of the monument.

Regulation of Scientific Exploration and Research

Subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary deems necessary for the care and management of the objects of this monument, the Secretary of the Interior may permit scientific exploration and research within the monument, including incidental appropriation, injury, destruction, or removal of features of this monument for scientific study, and the Secretary of Commerce may permit fishing within the monument for scientific exploration and research purposes to the extent authorized by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The prohibitions required by this proclamation shall not restrict scientific exploration or research activities by or for the Secretaries, and nothing in this proclamation shall be construed to require a permit or other authorization from the other Secretary for their respective scientific activities.

Regulation of Fishing and Management of Fishery Resources

Within the Islands Unit of the monument, the Secretary of Commerce shall prohibit commercial fishing. Subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary of Commerce deems necessary for the care and management of the objects of the Islands Unit, the Secretary, consistent with Executive Order 12962 of June 7, 1995, as amended, shall ensure that sustenance, recreational, and traditional indigenous fishing shall be managed as a sustainable activity consistent with other applicable law and after due consideration with respect to traditional indigenous fishing of any determination by the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Monument Management Planning

The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce shall, within 2 years of the date of this proclamation, prepare management plans within their respective authorities and promulgate implementing regulations that address any further specific actions necessary for the proper care and management of the objects identified in this proclamation. In developing and implementing any management plans and any management rules and regulations, the Secretaries shall designate and involve as cooperating agencies the agencies with jurisdiction or special expertise, including the Department of Defense, the Department of State, and other agencies through scoping in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), its implementing regulations and with Executive Order 13352 of August 26, 2004, Facilitation of Cooperative Conservation, and shall treat as a cooperating agency the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, consistent with these authorities. The monument management plans shall ensure that the monument will be administered in accordance with this proclamation, and shall, as appropriate to their respective authorities, provide for:

1. management of the Islands Unit of the monument, in consultation with the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, including designation of specific roles and responsibilities and the means of consultation on management decisions as appropriate, without affecting the respective authorities or jurisdictions of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands or the Secretaries of the Interior or of Commerce;

2. public education programs and public outreach regarding the coral reef ecosystem and related marine resources and species of the monument and efforts to conserve them;

3. traditional access by indigenous persons, as identified by the Secretaries in consultation with the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, for culturally significant subsistence, cultural and religious uses within the monument;

4. a program to assess and promote monument-related scientific exploration and research, tourism, and recreational and economic activities and opportunities in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands;

5. a process to consider requests for recreational fishing permits in certain areas of the Islands Unit, based on an analysis of the likely effects of such fishing on the marine ecosystems of these areas, sound professional judgment that such fishing will not materially interfere with or detract from the fulfillment of the purposes of this proclamation, and the extent to which such recreational fishing shall be managed as a sustainable activity consistent with Executive Order 12962, as amended, and other applicable law; and

6. programs for monitoring and enforcement necessary to ensure that scientific exploration and research, tourism, and recreational and commercial activities do not degrade the monument's coral reef ecosystem or related marine resources or species or diminish the monument's natural character.

The management plans and their implementing regulations shall impose no restrictions on innocent passage in the territorial sea or otherwise restrict navigation, overflight, and other internationally recognized lawful uses of the sea, and shall incorporate the provisions of this proclamation regarding Armed Forces actions and compliance with international law.

This proclamation shall be applied in accordance with international law. No restrictions shall apply to or be enforced against a person who is not a citizen, national, or resident alien of the United States (including foreign flag vessels) unless in accordance with international law.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to diminish or enlarge the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Advisory Council

The Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce, within 3 months of the date of this proclamation and after considering recommendations from the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, shall establish the Mariana Monument Advisory Council to provide advice and recommendations on the development of management plans and management of the monument. The Advisory Council shall consist of three officials of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and one representative each from the Department of Defense and the United States Coast Guard.

Members of the Advisory Council will be appointed for a term of 3 years by the Secretaries of the Interior and Commerce after nomination by the head of the pertinent executive branch agency or, with respect to the officials of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, by the Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Advisory Council will adopt such procedures as it deems necessary to govern its activities. Each participating agency shall be responsible for the expenses of its representative and the Departments of the Interior and Commerce shall be equally responsible for the costs of the Advisory Council.

Emergencies, National Security, and Law Enforcement Activities

1. The prohibitions required by this proclamation shall not apply to activities necessary to respond to emergencies threatening life, property, or the environment, or to activities necessary for national security or law enforcement purposes.

2. Nothing in this proclamation shall limit agency actions to respond to emergencies posing an unacceptable threat to human health or safety or to the marine environment and admitting of no other feasible solution.

Armed Forces Actions

1. The prohibitions required by this proclamation shall not apply to activities and exercises of the Armed Forces (including those carried out by the United States Coast Guard).

2. The Armed Forces shall ensure, by the adoption of appropriate measures not impairing operations or operational capabilities, that its vessels and aircraft act in a manner consistent, so far as is reasonable and practicable, with this proclamation.

3. In the event of threatened or actual destruction of, loss of, or injury to a monument living marine resource resulting from an incident, including but not limited to spills and groundings, caused by a component of the Department of Defense or the United States Coast Guard, the cognizant component shall promptly coordinate with the Secretary of the Interior or Commerce, as appropriate, for the purpose of taking appropriate actions to respond to and mitigate any actual harm and, if possible, restore or replace the monument resource or quality.

4. Nothing in this proclamation or any regulation implementing it shall limit or otherwise affect the Armed Forces' discretion to use, maintain, improve, manage, or control any property under the administrative control of a Military Department or otherwise limit the availability of such property for military mission purposes.

This proclamation is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity, by any party against the United States, its agencies, instrumentalities, or entities, its officers, employees, agents, or any other person.

All Federal lands and interests in lands within the boundaries of this monument are hereby withdrawn from all forms of entry, location, selection, sale, or leasing or other disposition under the public land laws, to the extent that those laws apply.

The establishment of this monument is subject to valid existing rights.

Nothing in this proclamation shall be deemed to revoke any existing withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation; however, the national monument shall be dominant over any other existing Federal withdrawal, reservation, or appropriation.

Warning is hereby given to all unauthorized persons not to appropriate, excavate, injure, destroy, or remove any feature of this monument and not to locate or settle upon any lands thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of January, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third.

GEORGE W. BUSH

# # #

A busy morning

Delegate Kilili hosted an open house at his office this morning. He is in the Cannon Building up on the fourth floor in room 423. Stop by and give him a visit if you are in town.

The Friends in DC: Eddie Pangelinan and Becky Cruz with the Friends of the Monument...and my Mom!

Historic kind of guy: That's Delegate Kilili and me.

Uncle Ben: The Governor, his First Lady...and me.

We spent about an hour at Kilili's new office. We left around 12:15 PM and took a cab over to the White House. Actually, we took two cabs to the White House. Our first cab got rear-ended, so we got out and flagged down another one.

The Pew Team: Me, Rebecca, Josh and Jay

Famous people: Jean-Michel Cousteau and Sylvia Earle with the Friends of the Monument.

8 years of Bush and the environment: President Bush gave remarks on his environmental record before declaring the monuments.

Done Deal: Governor Ben Fitial and First Lady Jose Fitial look on as President Bush declares the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Gift from the Marianas: Vice Chair Agnes McPhetres presented First Lady Laura Bush with two of our orange campaign t-shirts.

Exit Stage Left: President Bush and the First Lady thanking the other atteendees. Notice the orange t-shirts under the First Lady's arm.

The Chairmen: James Connaughton and Jean-Michel Cousteau with the Friends of the Monument.

So it is done. We have a monument.

I wish I had gotten my picture taken with the President, but I have to be honest that sitting in the front row for the event was a real treat.

Thank you, President Bush.

President Bush Enters the Room

The deed is done. The Marianas are now the proud home of the MARIANAS TRENCH MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT. Pictures and video are on the way.

Pacific Marine Monuments

The Washington Post has a great map of all the monuments being declared today.  I've got my laptop and my camera cord with me.  I'll get pictures up of the ceremony as soon as I find a wifi signal.

Monumental Coverage

The monument story is on the front pages of both the Washington Post and USA Today today. Solid.

The Infamous Agnes McPhetres

Friends of the Monument Vice Chair Agnes McPhetres is quoted by the Associated Press, Los Angeles Times and Asbury Park Press in today's media. Way to go, Agnes!

KSPN also had a great story today. The story has video of fishing consultant John Gourley saying, "Only time will tell if it [the monument] is a blessing in disguise."

The monument was also reported by Pakistan News today. Pakistan News! In Pakistan!

Even better than Pakistan News is the story in the Zimbabwe Star. Zimbabwe Star! In Zimbabwe!

7 hours in Narita

Back in the day when you flew between the US and Saipan you would have to spend the night in Narita. The airline would put you up at a hotel in town along with everyone else traveling from the US to Saipan or vice versa. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong, but it used to be called the International Something and now it’s a Radisson. I think.

Anyway, depending on your flight schedule, back in the day you might have arrived early in the afternoon or late in the evening, but if I remember correctly you always flew to Saipan in the morning. So depending on how early you arrived, you could spend some time in Narita or take the train or the bus into Tokyo.

The last time I did that I think was 1995. Alex and I spent the summer in Saipan that year and for whatever reason Dad came to meet us up in Narita (maybe because Alex was with me. Mom always treated Alex like a baby so maybe she made him come up).

Anyway, like I said you don’t have to spend the night anymore. The last two times I came through Japan my connections were so tight that I was the last person to board before they closed the gate.

So this rambling is actually leading somewhere, I promise. So my layover in Narita was seven hours this trip, and I wasn't looking forward to strolling around a Duty Free Shop all day. Nope. I decided to something I’d never done before. I left the airport and went into Narita.

It seems like only yesterday that I was living in Japan, taking trains, deciphering food labels, and generally getting in the way of throngs of Japanese trying to get on with their lives. What seems like yesterday is now three years ago. Man, I'm getting old.

As I walked out of immigration, the first time I’d been outside the secure area of the airport in three years, I was flooded with memories of my first few hours in Japan waaaay back in 2005.

I changed my money at the same moneychanger. Walked by the telephones that I used to call Emily to tell her that I had arrived. I even went down to the same JR ticket counter, this time not so much confident in my ability to ask for a round trip ticket to Narita City in Japanese, but confident in the ticket agent’s ability to understand English. That’s right, three years later and I speak even less Japanese than when I first arrived in this half of the globe.

You know what? That’s not entirely true. Now I actually know how the trains work in Japan. I knew how to buy my tickets. Knew that it was cheaper to buy one round trip ticket rather than two one way tickets. Knew how to find my train. Knew how to put my tickets into the machine (harder than it sounds, especially if you have more than one ticket). Knew not to sit in the reserved car. I was pretty darn proud of myself.

I didn't know too much about Narita, though.  Before today’s little day trip I knew exactly two things about Narita. I knew that there was a train station one stop away from the airport and I knew there was a buddhist temple.

I figured if I could find the train station, I could find the temple and if I found the temple that would kill enough time for me to, well, killing time was really the name of the game.

As we rolled into the station I spotted an Aeon shopping center with a Jusco. Whoa, flashbacks. When I lived in Takaoka the highlight of my week was going to Aeon. We used to go there for ladies’ night movies and Starbucks coffee.

Behind the Aeon, sort of up on a hill, jutting out from the trees was the top of a stupa. Is that the right word? Anyway, it looked templey and figured the rest of the temple lay around it.

Problem was that from the ground in front of the station I couldn’t see the stupa. From the train it looked like it was sort of off to the left, so I headed in the direction of left, I think.

Famous in Japan: I'm sure Barack Obama would love to know that his mug is on this particular magazine rack.

By now it was about 8:10 AM and the town was just starting to wake up. Shop keepers were unlocking their doors and baskets of fruits, vegetables, and something that looked like Antarctic krill and I guess passes for food in these parts were being placed on the sidewalks.

The town of Narita is great. The streets are all really small and there are all these small shops with old ladies weighing out piles of vegetables. I even walked by a few old guys that were taking live freshwater eels and slicing them up for yaki inagi (is that the right name?). They were alive and wriggling in a bucket one moment and the next they were being grilled up with teriyaki sauce. Talk about fresh!

Before I found the temple I found the temple festival. I remember that around New Years in Takaoka there was a celebration in Kojo Park near the big Shinto shrine. I am completely ignorant of Japanese religious holidays.  I apologize.  This was a Buddhist temple, not a Shinto shrine and it was a few days too late. Related? I have no idea.

All I know is that takoyaki (grilled octopus balls!) equals a good time in Japan. Choco-bananas? Even better time.

I was pretty much the only gaijin at the temple that day, that I saw anyway.  I should have bought one of these Hello Kitty masks to hide by gaijin-ness.

The temple was raking in the money. Every 20 feet was a booth selling religious trinkets. People were buying omikuji (little paper fortunes of a sort), Ema (wooden things that you write your name on), and other things I don't know the name of at an alarming rate. .

I’ve written about omikuji before. The way they work is that there is some chance involved in which omikuji you get. Either you reach into a bucket full of omikuji and pick a random one or there is an omikuji, um, thing that is a little box with small sticks with numbers written on them. You shake up the box until one of the sticks comes out of the hole. The corresponding number is your omikuji and it determines your future for the upcoming year. Or something like that.

Or, as is the case at Naritasan Temple, you can just get your omikuji at a vending machine.

Again, I make no claim to have any understanding of what was going on or even where I was or what I was looking at. I couldn’t understand why the temple was bursting at the seams with people, but the great garden behind the temple (if a garden is in Japan, you don’t have to call it a Japanese garden) was practically empty. If I was Japanese and I felt obliged to visit the temple, I’d have gone to the temple, said my prayers and then spent the rest of my time in the garden. It was a great garden.

Before I knew it my time had run out and it was time to get back to the train station. If you have a few hours to kill in Narita, I highly recommend going into town. If you feel a little intimidated doing so, drop me a line and I'll give you a play by play on how to get there.

Marianas Marine National Monument Map

This is it. The whole 95,000 square mile Marianas Marine National Monument. There is a trench unit, an islands unit, and 21 active hydrothermal submarine volcanoes. Each of those areas will have certain protections, but we do not know yet the specifics.  You will note that the trench unit includes some of the federal waters near Guam.

Narita Ume

I think these are plum trees (ume), not cherry trees (sakura). Why were they blooming in January? Global warming?

I've got a longer post in the works, but as you may guess from these pictures, I left the airport during my layover in Narita. I came across these blossoms at the Naritasan Temple. I also saw this sign that says "No Black Dogs."

That's what it says to me anyway. Oreo would be allowed here, right?

Marianas Marine National Monument

Our new monument is going to encompass 95,000 square miles of ocean. That makes it about the size of Oregon, Wyoming or Michigan. I went to high school and college in Florida. This monument is going to be about 1.5 times the size of Florida (who knew that Michigan was bigger than Florida?). This monument is big deal and it is big.

You'll notice that the world "trench" is not a part of the monument name. Oh well. We're still home to the world's 3rd largest protected area. That is something to be proud of.

Edit:

The official name is MARIANAS TRENCH MARINE NATIONAL MONUMENT!

Kurt Angle in Japan

Kurt Angle was on my flight from Narita to Detroit. He is really scary looking in person and I have no doubt he could crush me with one hand. Still, he was friendly and was more than happy to pose for a picture. He said he was in Japan for a "show." Who knew that Japan had 35,000 wrestling fans? When I told him that I was going to Washington, DC to witness the monument signing he told me that he met Bill Clinton after winning a gold medal in the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Tribune gets the scoop

The Mariana Trench Marine National Monument was front page news in Saipan today.

President Bush is set to declare the fate of the proposed Mariana Trench Marine National Monument tomorrow (Tuesday Jan. 6) at the White House, according to Friends of the Monument.

The group, the most ardent supporters of the project in the CNMI, was invited to attend the ceremony.

In a statement to media yesterday, Friends of the Monument said they expect Bush to issue his important remarks on conservation and environment and that they are optimistic that the President will approve the proposal.

I leave for DC in about 30 minutes. I am excited to be going to the White House and I am happy the monument, although smaller than we asked for, is something that our local leaders are happy with. Comments on the Saipan Blogosphere claim that Governor Fitial and John Joyner were able to negotiate conditions that are amenable to them and the rest of our politicians.

******
John Gourley also had a letter to the editor, his final swipe at a monument now supported by the political establishment and the majority of the people in the Marianas.

Coed Soccer Tomorrow

I'll be on an airplane somewhere over the Pacific, but even so I am helping to coordinate three days of pickup coed soccer starting tomorrow. The games will be played at the CPA airport field starting around 5 PM. Bring a white shirt and a dark shirt. Teams will be picked at the field.

We have the fields reserved for Monday - Wednesday, so I hope everyone will take advantage and play three days of games. If somebody could print up some coed registration forms and hand them out that would be great.

Turn them in to David Khorram at Marianas Eye Institute.

White House bound

I leave first thing in the morning for Washington, DC. Several people from Saipan were invited to attend the monument declaration on Tuesday, including me.

BREAKING NEWS: Monument Announcement

Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The White House
1:00 PM

That's all I know. More to come.

Oreo, Federalization and Constant Black Outs

The netizens of the world have spoken and with 24% of the overall vote, Oreo goes missing is officially the biggest CNMI news story of 2008. Federalization and the Never ending power crisis tied for second place with 22% apiece. As Oreo's official spokesman, I would like to thank everyone who took the time to vote in this historic online poll.

24.0%
Oreo goes missing

22.0%
Never ending power crisis

22.0%
Federalization

12.0%
Lt. Governor indictment

10.0%
Marine monument

6.0%
Kazuyoshi Miura murder trial

4.0%
Kilili elected delegate

I find it interesting that only 10% of those polled thought that the marine monument was the biggest story of the year. Remember, everyone who voted is a reader of this blog and the monument is the subject of every other post I write. I thought my readers would be more concerned with it.

I guess not.

Apparently the antics of a fluffy white dog are more interesting than protecting some fish.

New Year's Eve in Saipan

New Year's was a blast last night. I took several hundred pictures, a handful of which I'll post here.

My first stop was Hawaii Bar & Grill for some chicken enchiladas and refried beans. There wasn't much going on there, so after eating I left to meet up with Brad.

I met up with Brad and his wife Jeong-ah at Godfathers. We sat in the back and ate tuna poki and onion rings.

The local girls were out last night, looking pretty for New Year's.

Gil, the Lou Gehrig of Godfathers was out (I'm the Cal Ripken of Godfathers).

I ran into a couple of white girls. Was everyone looking good last night or what?

One of the Crazy Thai Girls and Bea.

After midnight somebody took a short break for a smooch, a hug, and a picture. After that almost everyone went to Flair.

Yeng was smoking a cigarette outside. By the way, I think she's single (again), guys.

The Crazy Thai Girls were out in full force. Any night these girls show up is a guaranteed good time.

***CENSORED***

Not like there were any kids in the bar. Oh. Wait. My bad. Oh well. At least everyone kept their clothes on.

Oh. I forgot about that. Oops.

And no New Year's celebration is complete without a giant Russian girl dancing with a guy with no shirt. Now it's complete.

Happy New Year!

The Chamorro Mafia

We celebrated my uncle's 69th (I think) birthday at his house with family yesterday. Pictured are all of my Dad's brothers and sisters sans Uncle Pale (Father Joe) who is on Guam.

It's a New Day

I woke up this morning filled with optimism for the coming year. I've prayed and I've worked and I've put my personal and professional reputation, not to mention my family's reputation, on the line and it has come down to this. We are only a few days away from the designation of a Mariana Trench Marine National Monument. As I type this out on the first morning of 2009 I cannot believe that there are only 19 possible days left for this to happen.

If the President wants to conveniently designate the monument around our schedule, he'll do it next Wednesday. All of our leaders, including the governor, are going to DC for Kilili's swearing in on Tuesday. We can all go to the swearing in on Tuesday, do the monument signing on Wednesday and then we can all go out for cheesecake on Thursday. I love cheesecake.