Rare Endemic Plants up for Review

According to the Bonner County Daily Bee, the Pacific Region of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service is initiating a five-year review of three rare plants found only in the Northern Marianas Islands and protected under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The reviews, announced Wednesday, include plant species Nesogenese rotensis, Osmoxylon mariannense, and Serianthes nelsonii. All are currently listed as Endangered.

As part of the reviews, FWS is opening a 60-day public comment period for the submission of scientific and commercial information relevant to their listing status under the act. The public, government agencies, tribes, industry and the scientific and conservation communities are asked to submit information by June 7. However, the agency accepts new information about any listed species at any time.

According to FWS, A species could be recommended for reclassification from endangered to threatened or be removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species. Any recommended change in classification would be subject to a separate rule-making process that includes opportunities for public review and comment. If no change in classification is recommended, the species would remain under its current listing status.

More information on each tree, "borrowed" from the CNMI Division of Fish & Wildlife:

Serianthes nelsonii
Serianthes nelsonii (Fire tree, Trongkon guafi) is a native tree that is endemic to the Mariana Islands. The flower is a deep pink pompom, similar to the Monkeypod. This large tree can grow to about 2m in diameter and over 30m in height. On Rota, there are approximately one hundred and twenty-one trees in upper elevation forests.

Nesongenes rotensis
Nesogenes rotensis is a very small herbaceous, creeping plant with pointed toothed leaves. It has small white flowers with five petals that develop anywhere along the branch. It grows in small clumps with many branches growing in different directions. The leaves are greenish-yellow, and it often grows under other low lying shrubs, making it very difficult to see. The only known population of N. rotensis is found along the rocky coast of Pona Point on Rota.

Oxmoxylon mariannense
Osmoxylong mariannense is a soft-wooded tree that is endemic to Rota. These trees are only found in the Sabana area of Rota at high elevations. They grow to about 10m in height. The fruit of O. mariannense is a cluster of large dark blue berries at the end of branches.

Here is link to more info on Serianthes nelsonii from the University of Guam.

Paseo de Marianas Monthly Clean-up

Kudo's to PDM Promotor's who lead their monthly clean-up at Paseo de Marianas & the Garapan area with 15 volunteers from PDM Promoters,Inc & 20 kids and some parents of Koblerville --- 440 lbs. of trash was collected!

Beautify CNMI award nominations deadline on Friday 4/16

The deadline to submit nominations for the annual Beautify CNMI Steward and Beautify CNMI Champion awards is this Friday, April 16.

The awards are given out to recognize the individuals or groups who have been environmental leaders during the past 12 months. There are two award categories, the Environmental Steward and the Environmental Champion.

The Environmental Steward award recognizes a person or group that leads the community in activities that help protect our environment in a variety of ways. This individual or group has demonstrated the need to take pride in our islands and to take care of the place we all call home. They serve as an example for others, especially the next generation, to follow.

The Environmental Champion award recognizes a person or group that exemplifies the Beautify CNMI spirit. Those qualities include volunteerism, cooperation, innovation, creativity and the ability to infect others with the Beauty Virus. The Environmental Champion is a role model for others to follow. They bring environmental issues to the forefront of public consciousness. They make things happen and effect change.

The 2007 Environmental Champion winners were Bree Reynolds, Kathy Yuknavage, and Carl Brachear. The winners of the 2007 Environmental Steward award were Adam Sablan and Friends of the Mariana Islands.

The 2008 Environmental Champion winners were Nava Khorram, Marites Castillo, Katie Busenkell and Rose Callier of PAWS, Mike Tripp of Marianas Dive, and Aqua Resort Club. The winners of the 2008 Environmental Steward award were Friends of the Marianas Islands, Marianas Dive, Paseo de Marianas Promoters and Max Aguon and the Pantalon Boys.

The 2009 Environmental Champion winners were Tan Holdings, Laurie Peterka, and Ken Kramer. The winners of the 2009 Environmental Steward award were the Friends of the Monument.

To nominate an individual or group, submit a written nomination explaining why that person or group deserves recognition. You can make as many nominations as you like, but individuals and groups can only be nominated for one award category. Nominations must include the award category the nominee is being considered for, a well written argument detailing the reasons why this nominee should be considered, and contact information for the nominee and for the person making the nomination.

Send nominations to Laurie Peterka at beautifycnmi@gmail.com or mail them to PMB 112 BOX 10,000; Saipan, MP 96950 or call 483-7499 for more information.

SAVE THE DATE! for the Awadori Festival April 15th

Enjoy the festivities and cultural exchange at the Paseo de Marianas April 15th!

There are 25 members from the Tokyo Tensuiren group from Koenji Japan and the 50 children members of the Saipan Awaodori Team ages 6 to 16 years old.

Click on photo below to see the performance schedule.

Draft Meeting Minutes for April 8, 2010

MEETING MINUTES
Thursday, April 8, 2010 – 5:30PM
Fiesta Resort & Spa: Azucena I

SPECIAL THANK YOU TO FIESTA RESORT & SPA FOR HOSTING THIS MONTH'S MEETING!

I. Introductions – around the table
II. Adopt agenda and last meeting’s minutes
1) Agenda adopted “as is”
2) Minutes of 03/11/10 adopted “as is”
III. Special Initiatives
1) Identify and plan promotions for Signature Events
i. Island Wide Clean Up
1. Total impressions sent out 03/08/10 - 1,500+: Email sent to 300+ private list, www.beautifycnmi.org blog note posted, FaceBook Group page + blog note to 600+, FaceBook Event Invitation sent to 600+
2. Coalition members encouraged to publically announcement their participation to help move the media’s attention and the competition amongst volunteers
3. DEQ needs to contact last year’s participants to acknowledge them and invite them to join again this year
4. What are we doing about supplies? DEQ has stocks for now, but we will need to replenish for any events beyond this one
5. Why Friday? --- originally DEQ was targeting govt employees and first event was on an “austerity” Friday
6. After the event – post photos and volunteer counts
7. Joe will check with EAC chair to see if event can be extended to into Saturday to accommodate the private sector; once he knows, he will inform LP and we will do a media blitz to alert the public
ii. Environmental Expo – part of the EAC April calendar
1. Targeted for schools
2. Posted on blog and Google calendar
iii. PDM Promoters
1. April 15th Awadori Festival
2. Students from Japan coming here to perform with local students
3. Collaborating with DCCA
4. Three title sponsors: DFS, DoCoMo, and Fiesta Resort
iv. Other
1. We need to look all the way to the end of this year and identify our signature events
2. Signature events need to be promoted all throughout the year from the beginning so that we can establish continuity.
2) Identify and plan Environmental Champion Awards (should be April)
i. Categories & Nominations
1. Champion Award & Steward Award
2. Joe and Cinta will find the criteria used before and start list of nominees
3. Last year: Tan Holdings (Steward) and Laurie Peterka (Champion)
ii. History of these awards
1. Banquet dinner; slide show highlighting year’s events
2. Jake concert
3. PAWS Wars
iii. Publicity & Deadlines
1. Post blog asking for nominations – 4/12
2. Close nominations on – 4/16
3. Make a decision – by 4/19
4. Order plaques – 4/19 with a 4/23 delivery date
5. April 26th Beautify CNMI 4th anniversary
6. Cinta will check into making the presentation of the awards at the Flametree Festival (4/22-25)
3) Open Discussion: Public Information Campaign on BCNMI
i. Nominate committee chair - tabled
ii. Determine next steps – tabled
iii. Discussion on
1. PR Coordinator concerns with public perception and nature of inquiries being received
2. Founder Cinta’s concerns and historical information
3. Joe commented regarding accountability because of donations
4. We need a volunteer accountant to facilitate fiscal accountability problem
IV. Committee reports
1) Solid Waste
i. DEQ
1. Schools
a. SSHS – picked up at Coral Ocean Point beach
b. Kagman – picked up at Marine Beach
c. Cleanups produced less volume than previous cleanups which means programs are working
2. Congr Basa’s office reported clean ups in District 5
3. Saipan Fisherman’s Association reported a clean up
4. Shirley’s Restaurant did a cleanup at Sugar Dock
5. We need to get photos to put up on blog
2) PDM Promoters
i. Monthly clean up this Saturday
ii. Koblerville kids – 25 going to join
iii. Maybe send reminders to LP on Monday before to post on blog
iv. Sending info on Awadori for blog
3) Mariana Islands Nature Alliance (MINA) – not present
i. March 27th ribbon for recycling and mixed waste bins
ii. Event posted on the blog
iii. Seven sites adopted out of eight
4) Friends of the Marianas Islands (FMI) – not present
i. Family emergency
ii. No report
5) Tan Holdings - iServe-iGive back
i. Encouraging employees to be volunteers
ii. Adopt-A-Pavillion program launched – March 20th
iii. Adopted Susupe Park in 2008
iv. April 17th – clean up at pavilion across JP Center to 13-Fishermans
v. POI Aviation – monthly clean up launched March 26th
vi. Coalition members should send their info to be posted at blog before and after events
1. Identify event?
2. Indentify if it is re-occurring?
3. How many volunteers do you anticipate or did you have?
4. Where is/was it?
5. Which Tan Holdings entity is responsible?
6. If trash collection – how many pounds?
7. If other kind of cleaning what is/was the goal and what was accomplished?
8. PHOTOS, PHOTOS, PHOTOS!!!
6) Neighborhood Watch – not present
7) Graffiti – nothing new to report
8) Junk Cars – not present
9) New/Other - none
V. Coalition Housekeeping
1) Calendar of Events – LP is working with Angelo to fix the time zone issue
2) Making forms available for download from blog
i. Website – maybe we can use a Google site to be able to upload attachments and refer the link from the blog, but otherwise keep it dark?
ii. Need to investigate.
VI. Announcements
1) None
VII. Set day and location for regular monthly meeting
1) 2nd Thursday of the Month:
i. May 13th Confirm or Change to
ii. Time: 5:30pm
iii. Location: LP to ask SCC for an email forward – make a plea to SCC members to participate in hosting one meeting a year
VIII. Meeting adjourned at 7:50pm

DEQ'S ISLAND WIDE CLEAN UP --- APRIL 23rd

APRIL IS ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS MONTH
BEAUTIFY CNMI! - SOLID WASTE COMMITTEE
IS SUPPORTING DEQ'S ISLAND WIDE CLEAN UP PLANNED FOR APRIL 23rd

DEQ's Environmental Awareness (EAM) Committee needs you to lead your crew on April 23rd to "Pick it Up!" Be the leader in your village, your company or your agency and get your co-workers or family organized ASAP.

Being the leader is SO easy --- make a plan with friends or co-workers to walk out your front door and pick up trash. That's it. It is recommended that groups plan to spend approximately 2-hours cleaning. Your area coordinator will provide you with supplies, so all YOU have to do is SHOW UP with YOUR TEAM!

Are you ready to take the next step? Guess what, this part is SUPER easy too --- contact Jonathan Arriola at DEQ for a form 664-8500.Filling out the application is easy as 1-2-3-4:

1. Fill in your contact information.
2. Check the box □ Island-Wide Clean-Up on Friday from 2pm to 4:30pm April 23rd; Open to the community.
3. Contact the area coordinator designated for your area --- scroll down below to see area coordinators and contact info.
4. Fax your completed form to 664-8540 or drop to the DEQ office in Gualo Rai (across from Subway)

When contacting your area coordinator:

1. Identify the area nearest to your agency, building, office space, house, or school that you will be cleaning (or ask to be assigned somewhere).
2. Identify how many volunteers will be in your group.
3. Identify the 2-hour time slot that your planning to gather and clean.
4. Identify who your team captain/point of contact is and provide a phone number.
- Team Capts will interact with DEQ for supplies
- Team Capts will be responsible for organizing a team photo
- Team Capts will be responsible for reporting back to DEQ at the end of the clean up

o Let's show the world that trash has a place and it's NOT on a beach or in a park or in the street.

o Let's work together for the health of our coral reefs and cleanliness of our beaches.

o Let's make it a family day and show our children how important it is to put trash in it's place.


For more information about signing up your dream-team for the Island-Wide Clean-Up, please contact Jonathan Arriola at 664-8500 or 8501 or via email jonathanarriola@deq.gov.mp.


2010 ISLAND WIDE CLEAN-UP ROUTES & SITE COORDINATOR CONTACT INFO

Kan Pacific Pool - Sadog Tasi Trafic Light(Chalan Pale Arnold)
Michael Kapileo: mikekapileo@deq.gov.mp

Sadog Tasi Trafic Light - Sugar King Park & Hiriguchi Bldg(Chalan Pale Arnold & Beach Road)
Solomon Castro: solomoncastro@deq.gov.mp

Sadog Tasi Trafic Light - Kagman High School (Isa Drive & Kagman Rd)
Jacob Lizama: jacoblizama@deq.gov.mp

Hiriguchi Bldg & Sugar King Park - Micro Toyota & Payless Shoe (Chalan Pale Arnold & Beach Road)
JP Flores: johnpaulflores@deq.gov.mp

Micro Toyota - Chalan Pio Trafic Light - Up As Perdido (Beach Road & As Perdido Road)
Larry Sugiyama: lorenzosugiyama@deq.gov.mp

Micro Toyota - Airport-Kiyoshi Rd (Chalan Monsignor Guerrero & Herman Pan Road & Kiyoshi Rd)
Ben Somol: bensomol@deq.gov.mp

Chalan Pio Trafic Light - Kobler Mobil - Shell Dandan (Beach Road & Chalan MSGR Martinez)
Chris Tomakane: christomokane@deq.gov.mp

REMINDER: Regular Monthly Meeting April 8th

This month's meeting will be hosted by Tan Holdings.

When: Thursday, April 8th
Where: Fiesta Resort & Spa at Azucena I (just north of the lobby behind the World Cafe)
Time: 5:30pm

Tentative Agenda:

I. Introductions – around the table (5-mins)
II. Adopt agenda and last meeting’s minutes
III. Special Initiatives (30-45 mins)
1) Identify and plan promotions for Signature Events
2) Identify and plan Environmental Champion Awards (should be April)
3) Open Discussion: Public Information Campaign on BCNMI
i. Nominate committee chair
ii. Determine next steps
IV. Committee reports (15-mins)
1) Solid Waste
i. DEQ
ii. PDM Promoters
2) Mariana Islands Nature Alliance (MINA)
3) Friends of the Marianas Islands (FMI)
4) TSL iServe-iGive back
5) Neighborhood Watch
6) Graffiti
7) Junk Cars
8) New/Other
V. Coalition Housekeeping (15-mins)
1) Calendar of Events
2) Website
VI. Announcements (2-mins)
VII. Set day and location for regular monthly meeting (2-mins)
1) 2nd Thursday of the Month:
i. May 13th Confirm or Change to
ii. Time:
iii. Location: