Name That Abyss!

University of Hawaii professor and geologist Patricia Fryer and George Washington High School marine biology teacher and Marine Mania advisor Linda Tatreau are holding a contest to rename HMRG Deep, the second deepest place in the ocean.

According to the article in Pacific Daily News:

The contest is open to all Guam and Northern Mariana Island students ages 18 and under. The proposed name must reflect Guam's history, culture or language and the applicant must include a paragraph explaining the significance of the name.

All entries should include the applicants name, school and contact information. The deadline to submit entries is July 14 to lindian@ite.net.

The winner of the contest will have their chosen name on all bathymetric/geologic maps and will also get to ride on the UnderWater World float in the Liberation Day Parade, with a banner stating the winning name.

Friends of the Monument featured on EPA blog

The Environmental Protection Agency blog has a blog post about the Friends of the Monument. Woot!

Saipan to host regional environmental conference

Registration is now open for the 26th Pacific Islands Environment Conference, which will be held on Saipan on June 22 to June 25, 2009, and is expected to draw attendance from government officials and environmental leaders across the Pacific as well as the U.S. mainland.

This year's theme is “Climate of Change: Energizing a Sustainable Future for Pacific Islands.”

The conference is designed to provide a forum for leaders throughout the Pacific Basin to focus on important environmental issues through excellent speakers and interactive roundtable sessions.

On Monday, June 22, there will be pre-conference workshops and a CNMI Energy Summit. The formal PIEC conference agenda runs from June 23 to 25 and will feature both plenary and breakout sessions with a strong focus on clean energy and climate change. Field trips will be held the afternoon of Thursday, June 25.

The Pacific Islands Environment Conference is jointly sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the governments of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. Register today at www.regonline.com/PIEC2009.

There is no registration fee for the conference, although the field trips and some lunches are subject to a fee. A block of rooms has been set aside at the Saipan World Resort for conference attendees, with rates starting at $100 per night (tax included). Airport transfers are available for a fee. Discounted rental car rates are being negotiated and additional details will be available soon. Those interested in participating in the conference are being urged to use the hotel reservation form on the registration Web site to reserve their room before the May 22 deadline.

For more information about the conference, contact Nuria Muñiz at (415) 972-3811 or muniz.nuria@epa.gov, or Michael Mann at (415) 972-3505 or mann.michael@epa.gov. For information on exhibit opportunities, contact Fran Castro at 670-664-8500 or francastro@deq.gov.mp.

For additional information and registration, visit www.regonline.com/PIEC2009.

Tan Holdings, Friends of the Monument recognized with Beautify CNMI awards

Beautify CNMI announced today the winners of their annual Environmental Champion and Environmental Steward Awards. The awards are given out to recognize individuals, organizations, and businesses that have proven to be environmental leaders in the Commonwealth.

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.

This year Beautify CNMI will recognize Tan Holdings, Laurie Peterka, and Ken Kramer as the 2009 Environmental Champions.

Tan Holdings is being recognized as a model of corporate environmental responsibility. Under the leadership of President Jerry Tan, Tan Holdings employees and friends have been part of several environmental projects over the past year. All Tan Holdings offices on Saipan participate in a Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle program and the company participates in a reusable shopping bag campaign with Joeten. Employees, often with the participation of management, regularly participate in cleanups, including the recent island wide cleanup.

Laurie Peterka and Ken Kramer are being recognized for their roles in the creation of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Kramer was so inspired by the concept of the monument that he quit his job so that he would have more time to collect signatures. Kramer was the largest signature collector for a petition being circulated in support of the monument, collecting over 1000 signatures at the street market, in front of stores, at the Sabalu market, and door to door. Kramer also penned nearly two-dozen letters to the editor educating newspaper readers about the benefits of a monument.

Peterka is being recognized for the role she played as staff with the Pew Environment Group. According to one of her nominations for the award, “Laurie has been the backbone of the Friends of the Monument’'s efforts: always there, always supportive, keeping things moving, doing much of the organizing, writing, scheduling, as well as a lot of the scut work.”

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.

This year Beautify CNMI will recognize Friends of the Monument as the 2009 Environmental Stewards.

Friends of the Monument was formed to help promote the idea of creating a national marine monument in the waters around the three northernmost islands of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Friends of the Monument engaged in activities to help educate the community --distributing leaflets, conducting meetings, and coordinating with teachers for classroom presentations. The organization gathered more than 6,000 signatures on petitions in support of the designation of a Monument. The Friends sent representatives to Washington, D.C. to meet with White House officials, and participated in television and radio public service announcements and advertising. Ultimately, they were instrumental in the process that resulted in former President George W. Bush designating the Marianas Trench Marine Monument, along with three larger national marine monuments.

The awards were handed out at the Beautify CNMI/PAWS Boonie Dog Show on Saturday, June 13 at the CPA Airport Field.

Beautify CNMI recognizes Steward and Champion Awards winner each year in Spring. Nominations are taken from the community at-large and the Beautify CNMI Committee Chairs select winners. Past winners include Aqua Resort Club, Friends of the Mariana Islands, Marites Castillo, Kathy Yuknavage, Captain Carl Brachear, Adam Sablan, Katie Busenkell, Rose Callier, Mike Tripp, Marianas Dive, Nava Khorram, Max Aguon, Paseo de Marianas Promoters, and Bree Reynolds.

Beautify CNMI! is a coalition of concerned citizens, private groups, and government entities united to enhance the CNMI's natural beauty and foster community pride in its residents and visitors. The coalition was a recipient of a 2007 EPA Environmental Award and received a Certificate of Commendation from the United States Congress in 2009. For more information visit them online at http://www.beautifycnmi.org.

Carnival of the Blue 25

The best in ocean blogging this month can be found at Carnival of the Blue 25, hosted at Blogfish this month. Carnival of the Blue 25 represents the beginning of a third year of ocean-related blog carnivals. Woot!

Beautify CNMI Selects New Committee Chairs

During their regular meeting on June 4, 2009, Beautify CNMI partners brainstormed on projects for 2009 and selected chairs to head four committees.

Joe Kaipat of Division of Environmental Quality and Kathy Yuknavage of Mariana Islands Nature Alliance are to co-chair the Solid Waste Committee, the goals of which are to increase the percentage of solid waste recyclables collected, reduce littering, and remove solid waste from local beaches, roads, and villages.

The Solid Waste Committee has plans to develop an adopt-a-spot program in conjunction with a marine debris removal and recycling campaign.

“In the next year we want to take the success we’ve had with keeping Wing Beach clean and spread it to at least seven other beaches,” explained Yuknavage. “We have plans to work with the community putting recycling and trash bins next to some of the most popular beaches on Saipan.”

Angelo Villagomez of the Rotary Club of Saipan, Ronnie Rogers of Historic Preservation Office, and Kathleen Hermann of Division of Environmental Quality will co-chair the Restoration Committee, which will focus on re-vegetation projects and maintaining historical sites.

The committee plans to continue work on the Laulau Revegetation Project started by the CNMI Watershed Group in 2005. They also want to start a volunteer corp who will maintain local historical areas.

Dr. Dan Lamar of FHP Saipan will chair the Parks & Trails Committee, which seeks to create a system of local, state, and national parks under a Commonwealth Parks System.

“A Commonwealth Parks System connected by a series of trails would be a great draw for tourists,” according to Lamar. “It would also attract professionals who look at quality of life issues when deciding where they want to practice their profession.”

Laurie Peterka of Practical Solutions and local student Tyler Yoshimoto were named as the co-chairs of a new Beautify CNMI Committee that will launch a campaign uniting youth, the community, artists, and businesses to combat graffiti.

“This is something that I’ve been working on with the ISK8 Society for quite some time and I’m really excited to make it a part of Beautify CNMI,” said Peterka.

All of the coalition partners agreed that youth education and development through coalition building and partnerships should be an integral part of Beautify CNMI.

“It is so important to work with the kids,” said Hopwood Junior High School teacher Kimberly Vaillancourt.

Beautify CNMI! is a coalition of concerned citizens, private groups, and government entities united to enhance the CNMI's natural beauty and foster community pride in its residents and visitors. The coalition was a recipient of a 2007 EPA Environmental Award and received a Certificate of Commendation from the United States Congress in 2009. For more information visit them online at http://www.beautifycnmi.org.

Job Opening in CNMI

The CNMI Coral Reef Initiative has a job vacancy for a qualified attorney.

Please CLICK HERE for the full announcement.

Friends of the Monument elect Directors

A diverse group of individuals -- a lawyer, a teacher, a dive instructor, a former president of the local college, a former director of the Division of Environmental Quality, a small business owner and a community organizer -- have been elected as the first directors of the Friends of the Monument.

The Friends of the Monument previously had three officers, but the group is expanding as the role of their organization expands.

“Last year our main focus was building local support for the monument and showcasing that support to the decision makers in Washington, DC,” explained Director Ignacio Cabrera.

The organization has plans to set up as many as six committees to fulfill the vision they outlined in their October 2008 Vision Statement, but for now will focus on three areas: Outreach & Education, working with the local government, and working with the federal government.

“Our organization plans on being involved with the management of the monument,” said Director Agnes McPhetres. “It is so important that the people of the Marianas, and not just a handful of political appointees, get to have their say in how this monument is managed.”

The new Directors are Cabrera, McPhetres, Bryan Jones, Jane Mack, Laurie Peterka, Mike Tripp, and Angelo Villagomez. The directors will elect officers during their next Board of Directors meeting scheduled for this month.

The Friends of the Monument were the main proponents of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument, a 95,000 square mile marine protected area designated by President George W. Bush on January 6, 2009. More information of the Friends of the Monument can be found online at http://marianamonument.blogspot.com.

Looking for a new MIC coordinator

JOB OPENING

TITLE: MIC/PIMPAC Coordinator

RESPONSIBLE TO: Executive Director

CLOSING DATE: June 26, 2009

Background: Regional Social Networks & Capacity Building Programs -
Micronesians in Island Conservation (MIC) - MIC began in 2002 as a peer learning network designed to help Micronesian conservation leaders strengthen their agencies by: 1) identifying and addressing shared needs for technical assistance, training, and other support; 2) rapidly sharing successes and lessons learned; and 3) working together on local, national, and regional issues. The purpose of MIC is to leverage conservation work in Micronesia by increasing the success, effectiveness, and number of conservation leaders in the nonprofit and government sectors. MIC's approach is to create a support structure that fosters shared self-directed learning to address priority organizational and technical needs of its members.

Pacific Islands Managed and Protected Area Community (PIMPAC) – PIMPAC is a collaboration of area-based managers, non-governmental organizations, local communities, federal, state, and territorial agencies, and other stakeholders working together to collectively enhance the effective use and management of “managed and protected areas” in the U.S. Pacific Islands and Freely Associated States. PIMPAC aims to provide continuous opportunities for the sharing of information, expertise, practice, and experience to develop and strengthen area-based management capacity throughout the Pacific Islands region. The focus of PIMPAC is to provide support to “on the ground” resource managers, and maintain good coordination/ communication with other networks that focus support to political/organizational leaders (e.g. MC/USCRTF/MIC) or community members (LMMA). As a social network, PIMPAC will continue to use four main approaches to reach its goals and objectives: 1) Training and Technical Support, 2) Learning Exchanges, 3) Partnership Building, and 4) Communications/ Information Sharing. A 2010-12 PIMPAC strategic plan has been developed and implementation will build off previous efforts focused around the topics of MPA management planning, community engagement, and monitoring (social).

Project Scope and Tasks:
Many of the associated tasks under both MIC and PIMPAC are similar and require similar functions as a coordinator. As a half time coordinator for both of these social networks (MIC and PIMPAC), this position will carry out overall coordination of partners, support for project planning and implementation, and communications.

The major function for the coordinator is to communicate and coordinate across a number of partners in the Pacific Islands to support the planning and implementation of MIC and PIMPAC activities. While some of these partners overlap between programs, there are also many differences. Both functions will be under the direct supervision of the Micronesia Conservation Trust. For MIC functions, the coordinator will work closely with MIC members and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Micronesia staff. For PIMPAC the coordinator will work with the PIMPAC Co-Coordinator within NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (based in Hawaii), and the PIMPAC Resource Group, which consists of Sustainable Visions, the Locally Managed Marine Area Network, and The Nature Conservancy, among others. For PIMPAC, the work will focus primarily on the Micronesia region and with strong emphasis on advancing the PIMPAC goals and support for the Micronesia Challenge.

Specific activities that will be carried out for both programs include:
• S/he helps organize MIC/ PIMPAC retreats, meetings, learning exchanges, facilitated self-assessments, training and capacity building events, and provides follow-up for evaluation and reinforcement.
• S/he helps to raise funds for the network(s) and/or specific projects by writing proposals, negotiating with bilateral and multilateral agencies and cultivating donors as needed.
• S/he collaborates with other regional programs/initiatives to provide and extract useful lessons and experiences, and coordinate on joint functional initiatives. This includes the Micronesia Challenge Support Team, and the Locally Marine Managed Area Network. Particularly, s/he will explore opportunities for collaboration among MIC and PIMPAC activities where they can meet shared goals.
• S/he is responsible for maintaining all documents relevant to MIC/PIMPAC carried out through MCT, including budgets, financial administration systems, contracts, workplans, and training materials. For PIMPAC s/he is responsible for communicating with the PIMPAC coordinator at NOAA about budgets and finance.
• S/he is responsible for coordinating PIMPAC/MIC funding and technical support to the Micronesia Challenge Regional office for the development and implementation of the Micronesia Challenge internship program.
• S/he will partner and coordinate with appropriate resource agencies/organizations/individuals to provide capacity building and technical assistance to carry out PIMPAC and/or MIC support activities such as organizational development planning, management planning, and technical assistance in priority focus areas (e.g. community engagement, monitoring, enforcement, etc.). This work may include development of work plans with jurisdictional teams to identify capacity needs and coordination with appropriate consultants to implement capacity building needs on community engagement activities, development of management plans, and community based socio-economic and biological monitoring.

Deliverables:
• Implementation of MIC and PIMPAC retreats and meetings with respective partners
• PIMPAC annual work-plans for Freely Associated States identifying capacity needs and mechanisms and timeline for providing support
• MIC and PIMPAC annual budget development, contract development and implementation for technical assistance activities that support MIC and PIMPAC objectives
• Implementation of MIC/PIMPAC learning exchanges within Micronesia
• Dissemination and development of communications materials for websites, reports, newsletters, list-serves, etc.

QUALIFICATIONS:
• Bachelor’s degree in natural resource management (or related field) and 3-5 years’ experience in the functional field, or equivalent.
• Ability to set objectives, manage multiple priorities and independently complete tasks within assigned time frames.
• Experience organizing meeting or events remotely, including arrangements for air travel, accommodations, meeting venues, meals, receptions and other logistics.
• Ability to plan, administer and record results of work-team meetings and activities.
• Ability to coordinate project information from a number of sources to create reports and maintain good program records and files.
• Strong administrative skills, attention to details and numerical ability.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office suite.
• Excellent communications in English.
• Prepares and monitors program budget.
• Negotiates contracts and services. Purchases equipment and supplies.
• Responsible and accountable for meeting strategic/financial goals and objectives.
• Ability to communicate professionally with a wide variety of people of different cultures to develop, negotiate and/or implement functional programs.
• Ability to work cooperatively often under pressure to complete project work and achieve goals.
• Solicit program support through clear written communications, including proposal writing and other written materials.
• Strong communications and presentation skills
• Work in partnership with other organizations in a collaborative and advisory capacity.
• Willingness to travel 25-40% of time.
• Work requires only minor physical exertion and/or physical strain.
• Priority will be given to a Micronesian national or long-term resident.

Travel
• Domestic and International travel is required to perform certain tasks. All travel costs will be paid by MCT.
• The coordinator will spend significant time on travel for the project (approximately 6-8 regional site visits). The coordinator will follow MCT policies and procedure for travel. Additionally, travel expenses and reports should be shared with NOAA regarding PIMPAC activities.

Place and Period of Performance:
• The position is full time and based in Pohnpei (Federated States of Micronesia) but requires frequent travel throughout the Micronesia Region and occasionally to other Asia-Pacific countries and the United States.
• The MIC/PIMPAC Coordinator will work from the Micronesia Conservation Trust office. Work hours will vary according to task being performed but will average 40 hours per week. At times the Coordinator will need to work beyond 40 hours per week based on travel or up-coming projects.
• MCT will provide office space, computer, phone, and administrative support. MCT will also supervise the coordinator and may assist them on some tasks.
• The period of performance for this contract is one year from the date of award.

Salary and Benefits: US$30,000 to $35,000/annum, basic health insurance, annual & sick leave

To Apply:
Submit a Letter of Interest
Detailed Resume
2 Letters of Reference

Submit To:
Lisa Ranahan Andon
Deputy Executive Director
P.O. Box 2177 Kolonia
Pohnpei, FM 96941
mctlrandon@mail.fm

Angelo Villagomez on ABC

In April the Friends of the Monument were on NBC. This month we're on ABC, that's the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The interview is about what else in this interview? The Marianas Trench Marine National Monument.

Angelo Villagomez was interviewed for the program and it played on the Pacific Beat program on May 19. It may or may not play on the local NPR, but anyone anywhere in the world can listen to the program online.

Click HERE to listen to the interview.

You can listen to the entire 19 minute podcast to hear how it sounded on the radio. It is the last story, starting at about 17 minutes.

A longer, less edited version of Angelo Villagomez' interview can be found HERE. It is 3:34 minutes long and does not include the lead in to the story.

Nominate an Ocean Hero

I can think of a few people living in Micronesia that would make good candidates for Oceana's Ocean Hero award. From their website:

Oceana is accepting nominees for its first Ocean Heroes Award. This award was created in honor of a recent action by the United Nations recognizing June 8 as World Oceans Day.

Seventeen years and thousands of petition signatures after it was originally proposed, World Oceans Day will now and forever be a day to celebrate our oceans. We hope to pay tribute to the passionate, dedicated fish-huggers disguised as normal civilians and we need your assistance to expose their true identity. Please help us find our inaugural Ocean Hero.

See a full description of Oceana's Ocean Hero Award here.

Click HERE to nominate an ocean hero

Carnival of the Blue 24

Carnival of the Blue 24 is now live at Sea Notes, the blog of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This month's carnival features the best in ocean blogging from across the globe.

My contribution this month is the NBC Nightly News story on the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument from two weeks ago.

MINA Annual Meeting

The 2009 MINA general membership meeting will be held on Thursday, May 7, 2009 from 5:00PM to 8:00PM at the 13 Fishermen's Pavilion on Beach Road in Garapan. We would like to invite all of our members as well as the general public to join us, and learn about the opportunities and challenges facing MINA in 2009, as well as our accomplishments in 2008.

Micronesia Challenge Climate Change Workshop

April 14-17 the Micronesia Challenge Climate Change Workshop was hosted in the Republic of the Marshalls Islands.

Assessing potential oil spills from WWII Wrecks

Oil, chemicals and unexploded ordinance from an estimated 800 World War II Wrecks throughout the exclusive economic zones of Pacific Island countries and territories pose imminent danger to people, environment and fisheries of the region.

Of this total, more than 50 World War II shipwrecks can be found in Chuuk lagoon alone. Chuuk, formerly Truk, is one of the four states of the Federated States of Micronesia requesting assistance from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) to assess the environmental risk posed by these wrecks.

In April, SPREP’s Marine Pollution Adviser AnthonyTalouli visited Chuuk after an Earthwatch Report assessed the leaking wrecks in Chuuk, one of the World’s best dive spots, and found a number of areas of concern.

Talouli worked with members of the Chuuk Environment Protection Agency and other Government agencies to survey the coastal area and determine the extent of the present impact of the wrecks and determine the potential for from future oil spills and the resulting environmental damage.

“Part of the assistance SPREP provided was to assess what would happen to nearby coastal resources if the wrecks were to fail and the oil was to spill out catastrophically at once,” Talouli explained.

In 2001 a State of Emergency was declared in Yap, another of the FSM states, after oil began leaking from the USS Mississinewa, a sunken World War II-era US military oil tanker. SPREP conducted an independent study on the wreck and the estimated impacts of the oil spill found that somewhere between 18,000 gallons to 24,000 gallons of oil had been released into the lagoon over a two-month period, but that some 5,000000 gallons of oil remained in the wreck. The US Navy was tasked with offloading the remaining oil cargo in 2003.

Eight of the wrecks in Chuuk are confirmed to be slowly leaking however the duration of the leaks is not known. Anecdotal evidence indicates the leaks may be slowing down.
Talouli also looked at the economic impact a dangerous oil spill could have upon the Chuukse economy. As a popular international dive destination, Chuuk’s main industry is tourism.
“We had four days of site surveys using the Shoreline Cleanup Assessment Technique (SCAT) where we visited wrecks, looked at currents and then determined the trajectory of a potential oil spillage. You could see oil slowly leaking and visible on the water. At this stage it is not dangerous however a typhoon could easily change that. Right now, I’d say it is a tier 1-2 oil spill, on a small scale,” Talouli said.

While in Chuuk, Talouli carried out a refresher course with the local oil spill response team using equipment purchased in 2006.

“They did very well and proved to be experienced with handling the equipment. They are capable to cope with a Tier 1 or Tier 2 oil spill.”

Talouli is now preparing an assessment report to present to the Chuuk State Government to assist them in developing a comprehensive strategy to deal with the wrecks.

For more details please contact SPREP’s Marine Pollution Adviser, Anthony Talouli E: anthonyt@sprep.org T: (685) 21929 F: (685) 20231 E: http://www.sprep.org/

You are invited to view Nan W's photo album: Chuuk Wreck Oil Spill Assessment April 09

Chuuk Wreck Oil Spill Assessment April 09
Apr 2, 2009by Nan W
View Album Play slideshow
Message from Nan W:

Images taken by Anthony Talouli while in Chuuk, April, 2009.

Friends of the Monument on NBC

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

The Friends of the Monument were featured as part of a series on the ocean that played on NBC Nightly News during the week of Earth Day.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

NBC also put together a piece called, "Voices from Saipan," that is viewable only on the Internet.

The Final Tally

We're done tallying up the final numbers for the Island Wide Cleanup. It is funny to think that several weeks worth of work are going to boil down to a sentence like, "27,070 lbs of trash were picked up by 4,140 volunteers from 61 volunteer groups at 54 adopted sites." I guess that's what this kind of stuff comes down to in the end.

So those are our official numbers. Here they are again:

Number of volunteers participating: 4,140
Weight of trash removed: 27,070 lbs (13.5 tons)
Volunteer groups participating: 61
Number of adopted sites: 54

There are too many people to thank for our success, but my Thank You letter is a start.

Thank you

Over the weekend over 4000 volunteers spent a few hours cleaning up the island of Saipan in what was the largest cleanup in Micronesian history. I wrote the following letter to the editor to thank all those who volunteered

Friday was an amazing day. Thank you. Thousands of people came together for a single cause: a more beautiful Saipan. Young and old, citizen and non-citizen, local and non-local, government workers and business owners volunteered a few hours of their time to pick up the trash littering our beautiful island. Later this week the islands of Tinian and Rota will do the same. Again, Thank you.

Our results were staggering. The final numbers are still being tallied, but our preliminary count shows 4040 volunteers, 55 volunteer groups and 48 adopted sites on Saipan, and 12,960 lbs of trash removed from our streets, beaches, and parks.

The collaboration between groups to make this island wide cleanup a success was enormous. Division of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Rotary Club of Saipan handled most of the pre-cleanup coordination and sign-ups. Marianas Visitors Authority, Marianas Tourism Education Council, McDonald’s, and the Kramis Family provided funds for supplies and prizes. On the day of the cleanup DEQ, Bureau of Environmental Health, and Division of Parks and Recreation coordinated all of the trash pickup. Additionally there were 55 volunteer group coordinators, who ensured that their adopted site had rubber gloves, trash bags, and most importantly, volunteers.

In every way, from the total number of volunteers, to the number of participating groups, to the amount of litter removed, this year’s cleanup was bigger than anything the Beautify CNMI coalition has ever accomplished.

Furthermore, if the success of this cleanup has anything to teach us, it is that the government does not have the sole responsibility of solving our social problems, nor do they hold a monopoly on having the ability to fix them. We just showed that with a slight change in ethic and a small amount of effort on everyone’s part we can move mountains, in this case a 6.5 ton mountain of cans, bottles, and cigarette butts.

Unfortunately, Saipan’s streets and beaches will be covered in litter by the end of the week. Over the weekend hundreds of people went to the beach and left their trash, cigarette butts and cans are still being thrown out of cars, and homestead residents continue to dump their trash in the jungle.

Instead of being discouraged by this realization, I ask all of you to become reenergized. Change happens. The success of Beautify CNMI over the last three years and this latest cleanup are proof of that. Let us redouble our efforts to turn the Marianas into the cleanest, safest islands in the Pacific.

I encourage the volunteer groups that participated in this cleanup to adopt their spot for the next 12 months. Become the steward of that road, beach, or park for the next year.

I also encourage the eight government agencies charged with enforcing our litter laws to start making examples of some of the worst litter offenders. Hand out a few of those $500 tickets to businesses not properly storing their garbage or to residents dumping their trash illegally.

Finally, I encourage our donors to continue supporting our cleanup efforts. We cannot paint over graffiti if we do not have paint and we cannot pick up litter if we do not have garbage bags.

Volunteers, government policy, and business support are the three legs on which Beautify CNMI stands. The continued involvement of all three will improve the quality of life for the people that live here and make us a more desirable tourism destination.

Again, thank you to all who have supported the concept of Beautify CNMI over the last three years and to everyone who participated in this historic island wide cleanup. I look forward to many more years of collaboration and hard work as we move towards a more perfect Commonwealth.

Angelo Villagomez
Beautify CNMI

Nearly 4000 Ready to Beautify CNMI

The largest island-wide cleanup in Micronesian history is set to begin in a few short hours. From the Marianas Variety:

4,000 volunteers are set to hit the streets and beaches of Saipan in what is expected to be the largest islandwide cleanup in Micronesian history, a media release stated.

“The support the community is showing us has been tremendous,” explained co-organizer Angelo Villagomez of Pew Environment Group. “We have businesses, government agencies, schools, and even families registered to participate.”

As of Thursday afternoon, 51 volunteer groups had adopted 48 sites around Saipan. According to Beautify CNMI volunteer Ken Kramer, “The cleanup we organized in 2006 had 32 volunteer groups. This one is nearly double the size.”

Deputy Secretary of Labor and Beautify CNMI founder Cinta Kaipat had a reminder for all participants: “Don’t forget to take before, during, and after pictures of your cleanups. We will post these on the Beautify CNMI blog and the two groups with the largest number of volunteers and most trash collected will win $100 each. We’ll use the photos submitted to determine the winners.”

The Division of Environmental Quality, the Rotary Club of Saipan, the Marianas Visitors Authority and the Marianas Tourism Education Council are the co-organizers of the islandwide cleanup. Supplies were donated by MVA and McDonald’s.

For more information on the how to participate in the cleanup, contact Joe Kaipat at 664-8500 or Angelo Villagomez via email at angelovillagomez@gmail.com .

A list of all participants can be found by visiting http://beautifycnmi.blogspot.com.

Carnival of the Blue 23

Carnival of the Blue 23 is now posted at Deep Sea News. I contribute regularly to this blog carnival, having hosted twice.

A Blog Carnival is a particular kind of blog community. There are many kinds of blogs, and they contain articles on many kinds of topics. Blog Carnivals typically collect together links pointing to blog articles on a particular topic. A Blog Carnival is like a magazine. It has a title, a topic, editors, contributors, and an audience. Editions of the carnival typically come out on a regular basis (e.g. every monday, or on the first of the month). Each edition is a special blog article that consists of links to all the contributions that have been submitted, often with the editors opinions or remarks.

Carnival of the Blue is published on the first Monday of each month. Topics relate to the ocean and conservation, hence the 'blue.' Next month it is hosted on Sea Notes, the blog of the Monterey Bay Aquarium.