[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 23 (Wednesday, February 13, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E133-E134]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             ROTA CULTURAL AND NATURAL RESOURCES STUDY ACT

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                  HON. GREGORIO KILILI CAMACHO SABLAN

          of the commonwealth of the northern mariana islands

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 13, 2013

  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, today I am re-introducing the Rota Cultural 
and Natural Resources Study Act, which authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to report to Congress on the feasibility and suitability of 
designating certain areas on the island of Rota as a unit of our 
magnificent national parks system. This same measure passed the House 
in both the 111th and the 112th Congresses. I hope that we can quickly 
bring the bill to the floor in the 113th Congress for passage again and 
send the measure back to the other body for its agreement.
   The cultural and natural resources of Rota merit our persistence. In 
2005 a National Park Service reconnaissance survey determined

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that these resources meet the standards of national significance and 
are not adequately represented anywhere else in our national parks. The 
next step in the very thorough and methodical process of choosing which 
areas of our Nation should become part of the system is the 
determination of feasibility and suitability, which my bill authorizes.
   Rota's cultural resources are truly unique. People first arrived on 
the island some 3,500 years ago. Remnants of their ancient settlements 
are found at several sites and include the iconic latte stone houses. 
These consist of two parallel rows of limestone columns with each 
column supporting a hemispherical capstone upon which a wooden framed 
house was placed. A quarry for these columns and capstones is also 
among the archaeologically important sites that could eventually be 
part of a Rota National Park.
   Also of national significance are Rota's natural resources, not 
least of which is the native limestone forest there that provides 
habitat to the endangered Mariana crow, the Aga. This rare species is 
protected under both local and federal laws; and its future could be 
further assured if areas of its already limited range were incorporated 
into a park.
   The Rota Cultural and Natural Resources Study Act was passed by the 
House in both the 111th and 112th Congress with broad bipartisan 
support. One important reminder made then and worth repeating is that 
passage of the Act gives the Rota study no special preference. There 
are other suitability and feasibility studies, which Congress has 
approved and which are waiting in turn for the National Park Service to 
have the resources to conduct. The bill I am introducing simply ensures 
that the island of Rota is in that queue.
   That is not to say there is no urgency to completing a study. Rota 
is very much at a crossroads. Land use changes are taking place that 
could affect eventual park boundaries. Rare and endangered species, 
such as the Aga, would be safer with the permanent protection of a 
park. The economy of Rota, which could be developed around themes of 
eco-tourism, needs a high value destination that park designation would 
provide. These are some of the many reasons that the people of Rota 
support the park study and why I am introducing the bill today.
   I want to thank all those Members who are original cosponsors of the 
Rota Cultural and Natural Resources Study Act. And I want to thank the 
hundreds of House Members who voted in favor of this study in the 111th 
and 112th Congresses. I ask that you do so again, when this bill 
returns to the floor in the 113th Congress

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