Congressional Record, Volume 156 Issue 103 (Tuesday, July 13, 2010)

[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 103 (Tuesday, July 13, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H5509-H5511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

ROTA CULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES STUDY ACT

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4686) to authorize the Secretary of Interior to study the
suitability and feasibility of designating prehistoric, historic, and
limestone forest sites on Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana
Islands, as a unit of the National Park System, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:

H.R. 4686

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDINGS.

(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Rota
Cultural and Natural Resources Study Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
(1) The island of Rota was the only major island in the
Mariana Islands to be spared the destruction and large scale
land use changes brought about by World War II.
(2) The island of Rota has been described by professional
archeologists as having the most numerous, most intact, and
generally the most unique prehistoric sites of any of the
islands of the Mariana Archipelago.
(3) The island of Rota contains remaining examples of what
is known as the Latte Phase of the cultural tradition of the
indigenous Chamorro people of the Mariana Islands. Latte
stone houses are remnants of the ancient Chamorro culture.
(4) Four prehistoric sites are listed on the National
Register of Historic Places: Monchon Archeological District
(also known locally as Monchon Latte Stone Village), Taga
Latte Stone Quarry, the Dugi Archeological Site that
contains, latte stone structures, and the Chugai Pictograph
Cave that contains examples of ancient Chamorro rock art.
Alaguan Bay Ancient Village is another latte stone
prehistoric site that is surrounded by tall-canopy limestone
forest.
(5) In addition to prehistoric sites, the island of Rota
boasts historic sites remaining from the Japanese period
(1914-1945). Several of these sites are on the National
Register of Historic Places: Nanyo Kohatsu Kabushiki Kaisha
Sugar Mill, Japanese Coastal Defense Gun, and the Japanese
Hospital.
(6) The island of Rota's natural resources are significant
because of the extent and intact condition of its native
limestone forest that provides habitat for several federally
endangered listed species, the Mariana crow, and the Rota
bridled white-eye birds, that are also native to the island
of Rota. Three endangered plant species are also found on
Rota and two are endemic to the island.
(7) Because of the significant cultural and natural
resources listed above, on September 2005, the National Park
Service, Pacific West Region, completed a preliminary
resource assessment on the island of Rota, Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, which determined that the
``establishment of a unit of the national park system
appear[ed] to be the best way to ensure the long term
protection of Rota's most important cultural resources and
its best examples of its native limestone forest.''.

SEC. 2. NPS STUDY OF SITES ON THE ISLAND OF ROTA,
COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS.

(a) Study.--The Secretary of the Interior shall--
(1) carry out a study regarding the suitability and
feasibility of designating prehistoric, historic, and
limestone forest sites on the island of Rota, Commonwealth of
the Northern Mariana Islands, as a unit of the National Park
System; and
(2) consider management alternatives for the island of
Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
(b) Study Process and Completion.--Except as provided by
subsection (c) of this section, section 8(c) of Public Law
91-383 (16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and
completion of the study required by this section.
(c) Submission of Study Results.--Not later than 3 years
after the date that funds are made available for this
section, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate a
report describing the results of the study.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Guam (Ms. Bordallo) and the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Mrs. Lummis) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Guam.

General Leave

Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from Guam?
There was no objection.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4686, introduced by Congressman
Sablan, directs the National Park Service to study the cultural and
natural resources of the island of Rota in

[[Page H5510]]

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The study will
determine if those resources are suitable and feasible for addition to
the National Park System.
Mr. Speaker, the NPS has already done a preliminary survey of the
island and found some wonderful cultural resources and important
natural features. The study authorized by H.R. 4686 will allow for a
more complete examination of these resources and, just as importantly,
provide for full public participation as the agency considers whether
to recommend establishment of a park on Rota.
Mr. Speaker, I commend Congressman Sablan for his diligence in
pursuing this matter, and I urge the House to support H.R. 4686.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites on Rota as a
unit of the National Park System. With now almost 400 parks, our far-
flung National Park System is already vast and, under this bill, will
be extended further to include the island of Rota in the Commonwealth
of the Northern Mariana Islands. Rota's caves and prehistoric relics
should be appropriately preserved and its limestone forests and sites
commemorating the Japanese occupation properly managed. But it is a
mistake to assume that designation as a national park is the only way
or is always the best way to manage places that require special
administration.
Although our good intentions adding to the park system are unlimited,
our ability to pay for every conceivable new park is limited. And our
ability to manage the upkeep of our existing parks is obviously in
doubt. So I feel compelled to raise a note of caution about this and
certain other bills that add to the already very long list of new park
ideas awaiting evaluation by the National Park Service.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio (Mr.
Austria).
Mr. AUSTRIA. I thank the gentlewoman from Wyoming for yielding.
I rise in support of H.R. 4686, but also H.R. 4514, the Colonel
Charles Young Home Study Act, the bill previously discussed.
Just to talk about the previous bill, if I may, the bill directs the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of the
Colonel Charles Young Home located in Xenia, Ohio, to determine if the
home could be designated as a unit of the National Park Service. The
Colonel Charles Young Home, built in 1859, is a national historic
landmark and has been designated as the future site of the National
Museum of African American Military History.
Colonel Charles Young was a distinguished officer and Buffalo soldier
and the third African American to graduate from the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point. He served in the Army for 37 years, carrying out
a variety of assignments throughout the U.S., Philippines, Haiti,
Liberia, and Mexico. When forced into retirement--and this is very
interesting--by the Army for medical reasons, Charles Young rode his
horse 500 miles from his home in Wilberforce, Ohio, to Washington, DC,
to prove he was fit for duty. And I can tell you I drove 8\1/2\ hours
over the weekend--that same route. So that's a long way.
After petitioning the Secretary of War, Young was reinstated and
promoted to full colonel, becoming the first African American to reach
his rank by World War II. In addition to a distinguished military
career, Colonel Young was also a professor of military science at
Wilberforce University in Xenia, Ohio, and the first African American
named as superintendent of a national park. Because of his immeasurable
contributions Colonel Young has made to not only military history, but
our American history, it's necessary we recognize his achievements by
passing this legislation to determine if his home can be designated as
a unit of the National Park Service.
I would like to thank Representative Clay from Missouri for his help
also on the bill. Again, I support both these bills. I thank the
gentlewoman from Wyoming for yielding, and I strongly support, again,
H.R. 4514.

{time} 1430

Mrs. LUMMIS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
the CNMI, Congressman Sablan.
Mr. SABLAN. I would like to thank the distinguished Member from Guam,
Chairwoman Bordallo, for assisting us and managing the bill through
today's session. I also want to thank Congressman Raul Grijalva,
chairman on the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public
Lands, and his staff for helping him bring this bill to the floor, and
thank Natural Resources Chairman Nick Rahall for moving this bill
through the committee.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation means a lot to my constituents on Rota.
I would like to add to the Record a letter of support for H.R. 4686
from the mayor of Rota, the Honorable Melchor A. Mendiola.
Mr. Speaker, it was residents of Rota who first asked me to explore
the possibility of a national park on their island. H.R. 4686 does just
that. It authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to determine whether
the cultural, archaeological, historical, and natural resources of Rota
are of national significance. If they are of national significance, the
bill asks the Secretary to report to Congress on the feasibility and
suitability of designating parts of Rota as a unit of our great
national parks system.
At the hearing on this bill before Chairman Grijalva's subcommittee,
Rota was represented by Teresita A. Santos, who is also Rota's
representative in the Northern Mariana Islands House of
Representatives. She described her island to the subcommittee. She
spoke of the ancient Latte Stone Culture of the original Chamorro
people at Mochan Village and Alaguan Bay Village and of the Taga
quarry, where the ancients carved out the massive stones that held up
their houses. She spoke of the Chugai Pictorial Cave where these same
people left their drawings. She spoke of the remnant structures from
the Japanese era of colonialism in the early 20th century, and she
spoke of the unique limestone forests, home to rare and endangered bird
and plant life which remain intact on parts of Rota; whereas, on other
islands in the Northern Marianas, volcanic activity and the impact of
modern-day humans have largely removed those forests.
Representative Santos also showed the subcommittee photographs of the
places she was describing. The presentation was so powerful that one of
the subcommittee members called Rota ``a jewel.'' I could not agree
more. But this jewel needs protection.
As the Interior Department witness at the hearing noted, Rota is
today at a crossroads. Development is bearing down. Just a few miles
across the ocean, a massive buildup of U.S. military forces is about to
commence on the island of Guam. That growth is bound to spill over to
Rota as military families look for weekend getaways and the waters and
beaches of Rota beckon.
The national park study offers the people of Rota an opportunity, I
believe, to make some thoughtful decisions about what is truly
important to preserve. The process of public input and discussion--that
will be as much a part of the study as the cataloguing of natural and
cultural resources--will help the people of Rota make these
determinations. And if a park is recommended and one day designated by
Congress, that clear definition of what most needs to be formally
preserved will also allow development on the rest of Rota to proceed
with more freedom.
It is the acknowledged goal of Rota to be a site for ecotourism, so
no development there will be conducted in a way that would spoil the
very character of the island that draws the ecotourist. In fact, the
presence of a national park, which underscores the rarity and
importance of the archaeological, historical, and natural resources I
have described on Rota, would itself complement and enhance this goal
of becoming an ecotourism destination.
It's a win-win. We can spur economic growth, create jobs, and
increase protection of significant national treasures. But for any of
this to occur requires, first, the study authorized by my bill. So let
us take the first step today, and I urge my colleagues to vote in favor
of H.R. 4686.

[[Page H5511]]

Northern Mariana Islands June 22, 2010.
Office of the Mayor,

Municipality of Rota,

Hon. Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington DC
Dear Congressman Sablan: Congratulations for getting the
Rota National Park Study (H.R. 4686) approved by the U.S.
House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee. It is
an important step towards approval by the U.S. House of
Representatives.
It is very important that a National Park in Rota be
established as it would greatly enhance Rota's attraction as
a tourist destination. It would also contribute significantly
towards our overall economic development. As you pointed out,
eco-tourism has been targeted as a most favorable type of
tourism for Rota. A well planned and well structured national
park would be the best avenue to develop Rota's eco-tourism
potential. Please convey to the member of the U.S. Congress
that the people of Rota support the establishment of a
National Park in Rota.
On behalf of the people of Rota, I wish to thank you for
your efforts and please do not hesitate to contact me should
you need my assistance.
Sincerely,
Melchor A. Mendiola,
Mayor of Rota.

Ms. BORDALLO. I again urge the Members of Congress to support the
bill.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 4686, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
The title was amended so as to read: ``A bill to authorize the
Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of
designating prehistoric, historic, and limestone forest sites on Rota,
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, as a unit of the National
Park System.''.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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