The island of Rota, resting quietly 50-plus miles slightly northeast of Guam, is an idyllic location for anyone who has taken the time to go there.
Quiet and generally empty beaches, a slow and easy pace of life, superb scuba diving opportunities, a great aviary, farms and much more awaits visitors. That said, the tourism perspectives for this sleepy paradise have historically been somewhat limited.
Rota is our closest neighbor in the CNMI and can actually be seen from Guam. Heretofore we have not seen or heard of any significant mention of Rota as it relates to the long impending military buildup involved in the Pacific shift.
Maybe that should change.
As part of the impending military buildup in our region, there has been a mandated set-aside of some 5,234 acres of land for use as a recovery habitat for birds and flora.
However, this poses a significant challenge for making it happen successfully in the northeastern area of Guam, where the bulk of the U.S. military buildup is currently planned to occur.
While Guam has had an ongoing issue with predators of some of the birds involved in this effort, the island of Rota is snake-free and may be the perfect place in our region to establish such a habitat.
If, through forward thinking, the decision to do so were made, it would involve a potential $2 million a year over 10 years that would not only provide a naturally protected environment for these species, but also offer an unexpected economic boost for the people of Rota and their tourism economy.
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Rota could provide the perfect environment for rails, kingfishers and other birds, one that would be much safer from the brown tree snake, because the predator isn’t on the island of Rota.
It would also provide a 10-year, $20 million boost for the Rota economy that could potentially transform the Rota tourism draw in the years ahead, providing new jobs and potential new tourism-based businesses.
With the help of this federal program, we would not only be protecting the desired species but Rota could easily become known as the ecotourism Mecca of the Marianas islands.
This type of cooperation between those seeking protection for specific species can help Rota while simultaneously clearing the way for additional acreage on Guam that is in short supply.
As mentioned earlier, such a proposal would give $2 million per year for 10 year to Rota for a set aside of 5,234 acres designed to improve the recovery of habitat that was previously recommended for Guam — noted in previously identified set asides on NCTS-Finegayan (699) acres and Andersen Air Force Base (4,500-plus acres).
As move such as this would bring Rota and its residents into the potential future economic growth associated with the buildup, but in a way that better matches their natural environment.
Esta.
Lee P. Webber is a former president and publisher of the Pacific Daily News, and has been a resident of Guam since 1968.
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