[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.

                          ____________________