Division of Coastal Resources Management Updates

Saipan Lagoon User Education Plan Workshop

The 2017 update to the Saipan Lagoon Use Management Plan (SLUMP) resulted in a recommendation to produce a user informed education plan for the Saipan Lagoon and popular tourist sites, such as the Grotto and Laolao Bay. The stakeholder workshop originally scheduled for March 26, 2020 has been postponed until further notice. 

For more information, please contact Kelsey McClellan at kmcclellan@dcrm.gov.mp. 

Saipan Coastal Sites Resident Survey

Lynker and its Sustainable Pacific Program has partnered with DCRM to develop and implement a resident perceptions and satisfaction survey regarding eight coastal sites on Saipan. This survey will complement the work DCRM is doing to develop a carrying capacity for prime tourist sites on Saipan. However, both these projects require certain socioeconomic data to best inform its end-products. Please take 10-15 minutes to take the survey here and enter a chance to win a BBQ grill: Click here to enter

For more information, please contact Kelsey McClellan at kmcclellan@dcrm.gov.mp. 

Wildfire Management in our Watersheds

In the CNMI, drought-like conditions lead to an increased vulnerability to fire. Grasslands in particular contain flammable vegetation that routinely ignite during these the drought months. After a fire spreads throughout a grassland, the next rain erodes the now loose topsoil down slope into streams and the ocean. Through this process of sedimentation, the soil then spreads out over the seagrass and coral reefs in the form of sediment plumes, eventually smothering and killing large areas of habitat directly. The CNMI’s National Coral Management Fellow is participating in research identifying temporal and spatial patterns of fire as well as evaluating methods to further reduce the number of fires that occur. To-date, the Fellow’s research has produced a map of Saipan highlighting areas that are most vulnerable to fire. This map can be accessed via DCRM’s website, under Watershed Management. 

For more information, contact Ilan Bubb at ibubb@dcrm.gov.mp.

Notice of Postponement of Public Hearing

Due to the continued shutdown of the CNMI government and to safeguard ourselves and our community from the spread of the novel coronavirus, the public hearing for the Agape Christian School and Dormitory Building, CRM Coastal Permit Application No. SMS-2020-X-030, has been postponed until further notice. 

For more information, contact Sam Sablan at ssablan@dcrm.gov.mp. 

Notice from the CNMI Coastal Management Program of the CNMI’s Division of Coastal Resources Management: Federal Consistency Review

The Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality (BECQ) Division of Coastal Resources Management (DCRM) is currently reviewing federal consistency determination (CD) requests from the following federal agencies: 

1) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has submitted a CD regarding the proposed provision implementation for protection of Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPFC) regional observers, and notification procedures for obtaining observers. For more information about the project, please proceed to the following link:

https://dcrm.gov.mp/wp-content/uploads/crm/NMFS-Consistency-Determination-WCPFC- Observer-Rules.pdf 

2) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has submitted a CD regarding a catch limit of 2000 metric tons of longline-caught bigeye tuna for each U.S. Pacific territory including the CNMI for 2020. For more information about the project, please proceed to the following link:

https://dcrm.gov.mp/wp-content/uploads/crm/NMFS-Consistency-Determination-Bigeye-Tuna- Catch-Limit.pdf 

3) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has submitted a CD regarding the proposed 2020 multi-sector general permit (MSGP), which would replace the existing five-year 2015 MSGP and authorize stormwater discharges from industrial facilities in geographic areas where EPA is the permitting authority including the CNMI. For more information about the project, please proceed to the following link:

https://dcrm.gov.mp/wp-content/uploads/crm/EPA- Consistency-Determination-Stormwater-Discharge.pdf 

This public notice has been published for compliance with 15 CFR § 930.42. DCRM is soliciting public comments for fifteen (15) days, starting April 8, 2020 and ending on April 23, 2020. 

Federal consistency is a provision of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) that requires federal actions that affect the coastal zone to be consistent to the maximum extent practicable with the enforceable policies of a coastal state’s federally-approved coastal management plan. Comments on whether the project is consistent with the enforceable policies of the CNMI’s coastal management program can be submitted to the Division of Coastal Resources Management at fedcon@dcrm.gov.mp. 

DCRM Summer Internship

For the health and safety of our island community and its future environmental leaders, DCRM has decided to make certain necessary adjustments to the upcoming Summer Internship Program. 

The deadline to submit applications has been extended to April 30, 2020. Application packets must include all required documents to be considered complete. Due to the closure of the courts we are waiving the requirement of police clearances until further notice. However, please note that when the courts re-open, all applicants accepted into the Program will be required to obtain a police clearance before processing of their contracts can begin. 

Updated list of required documents: 

• CNMI Employment Application (available for download at www.cnmiopm.net) 

• Cover Letter 

• Resume/CV 

• Transcripts (Unofficial OK) 

• Two (2) Letters of Recommendation from a Current or Former Instructor or Employer 

• Copy of One (1) Form of Valid ID (i.e. Driver’s License or Passport) 

Please scan and email your application packets to Mallory Muna at mmuna@dcrm.gov.mp or to Colleen Flores at cflores@dcrm.gov.mp. 

After your application packet has been submitted in its entirety, we will contact you to schedule an interview. Interviews will be conducted exclusively via videoconference (i.e. Zoom, Google Hangouts). Due to added time restraints, no interviews will be scheduled after Thursday, May 7, 2020. 

At this time, we’re still unable to confirm when our office will be able to reopen and resume normal operations, however we do anticipate a starting date for the internship on or around June 15, 2020. Please note that this date is tentative and subject to change. Furthermore, please be aware that, although we remain hopeful in our current plans to move forward, the possibility that we will have to cancel this year’s summer internship due to the ongoing pandemic still remains. 

If you have further questions or concerns regarding the 2020 DCRM Summer Internship Program, please contact Mallory Muna or Colleen Flores at mmuna@dcrm.gov.mp and cflores@dcrm.gov.mp, respectively. 

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