Wednesday, November 05, 2008

White House Not Unified On CNMI Marine ‘Monument’

Written by Phillip Leon Guerrero, Pacific News Center - Guam, Saipan, CNMI, Asia-Pacific

Guam - The divisiveness on whether a marine monument should be created in the Northern Marianas has spread into the White House. The L.A. Times is reporting First Lady Laura Bush is amenable to the idea, while Vice-President Dick Cheney has echoed sentiments of fisherman that the ban on fishing and mineral exploration will hurt the region's economy.

The paper quotes James Connaughton, the White House official both Governor Felix Camacho and Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo wrote to say saying the process has been hard, but it should be.

President George Bush told several agencies to begin working on a plan to create two marine preservation areas. The Marianas Trench monument is one of the potential sites.

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