Northern Mariana Islands Preservation Plan

Number of Pages:  45
Approval Date:  December 23, 2003
Planning Cycle:  5 years

Contact Information:

Epiphanio E. Cabrera, Director
Division of Historic Preservation
Dept. of Community & Cultural Affairs
P.O. Box 500090 CK
Saipan, MP 96950
(670) 664-2120; fax (670) 664-2139
E-mail cnmihpo@vzpacifica.net or
hpoadmin@vzpacifica.net

Mission/Vision Statement:
In the future, historic preservation will play a key role in improving the quality of life for all residents of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Historic resources will be considered by Commonwealth residents as irreplaceable links to our past whose preservation and study will add to our understanding of the archipelago's unique cultures and history.

Educators will take full advantage of historic preservation by ensuring that important historical data generated from historic preservation projects are integrated into school curricula. Students will take inspiration from the past and use it as a compass to navigate an uncertain and challenging future. communities and children will become more illuminated about the history of their roots and attain a greater sense of cultural identity.

The legislature will recognize the importance of historic preservation and will appropriate adequate levels of funding to ensure that historic resources are identified, protected, studied and interpreted. The legislature will also enact stronger laws, which will provide preservationists and others with the tools necessary to ensure that important historic resources are respectfully considered and extended appropriate treatment. Members of the upper and lower houses will value the commitment and projects by the historic preservation program to expand and promote historic sites in the tourism industry.

Historic preservation will be integrated fully into economic development and historic resources will be view by developers as assets rather than liabilities. Preservationists and developers will recognize common ground, thus avoiding the adversarial relationship, which previously characterized many of their interactions. Communities will develop a profound understanding of the value in integrating historic resources with community landscapes and its benefit to increasing the quality of life in the Commonwealth.

Visitors to the Commonwealth will be provided with opportunities to learn about the history and cultures of the Northern Mariana Islands and residents will take rightful pride in the many accomplishments of their ancestors. Cultural tourism will be embraced and will serve as an important drawing attraction for visitors from around the worlds.

More Commonwealth residents will feel intrinsically motivated to identify, recognize, and preserve the Commonwealth's resources and heritage. Each individual will feel compelled to collaborate and share int eh importance of increaisng the stewardship of our legacies of the past. Partnerships and commited organizations will achieve and build better communities through preservation efforts.

Public participation in the CNMI needs to be reexamined and for the most part, become a conscientious part of daily social activities, because many professionals have noticed the inherent decline of spoken local languages, the practice of cultural activities, and the preservation of cultural properties on private lands in CNMI. The continuity of public participation in aspects of cultural preservation needs to be realized before it gets too late and is needed to prevent the future reinventing of our cultural practices.

Table of Contents:

Message from the Governor and Lt. Governor
Message from the Secretary [of the Department of Community
   and Cultural Affairs]
Message from the SHPO
Introduction
The Physical and Cultural Environment
The Framework for Historic Preservation in the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth's Historic Resources
The Quest of the Vision: A Discussion of Challenges and
   Actions for Historic Preservation
Goals & Objectives
Implementing the Plan
The Planning Process
Appendix [responses to the State Plan Questionnaire]
Bibliography

• Three public meetings;
• Informal meetings with government and private sector officials;
• State Plan Questionnaire;
• Discussion with the Historic Preservation Review Board.

HISTORIC AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
Archaeological, historic, architectural, and cultural resources; traditional landscapes; ancient landmarks that speak of thousands of years of habitation, migration, periods of conflict, development, growth, and change; pre-Latte and Latte archaeological sites; Spanish convents; German blockhouses; Japanese sugar mills and trains; World War II airfield; two National Historic Landmarks representing the theme War in the Pacific; indigenous cultural systems, practices, and knowledge; oral history, traditional crafts and skills; latte quarries, water wells, tool-making sites, rock shelters, caves, and pictographs; Spanish period ruins and sites; Spanish shipwrecks; German period infrastructure; Japanese period farmsteads, factories, railroad lines, mill towns, mining equipment and sites, hospitals, stores, administrative offices, Shinto shrines, and buried refuse dumps; World War II sites, such as Japanese and U.S. airfields, bunkers, pillboxes and blockhouses, barracks, anti-aircraft and coastal defense guns, tunnels and caves, individual and mass graves; underwater remains of combat aircraft, patrol boats, and merchant ships; American invasion sites and sites associated with post-invasion use, such as airfields, roads, hospital complexes, Quonset hut platforms, equipment dumps, and buried ordnance; early post war churches, commercial buildings, temporary "typhoon houses" built following Typhoon Jean in 1968, Cold War sites; buildings associated with the political development of the Commonwealth including the old Congress of Micronesia complex, Marianas District Legislature, and municipal government buildings.

ISSUES, THREATS, & OPPORTUNITIES

• Ethnically diverse population spread out over thousands of square kilometers of ocean;
• Topical storms and typhoons;
• Public participation and support for historic preservation is limited;
• Decline of spoken local languages, practice of cultural activities, and preservation of cultural properties on private property;
• Increasingly aggressive demands for land for economic development;
• Increasing populations of outside contract workers;
• Protecting cultural resources viewed as a burden that limits owner ability to benefit from economic development schemes;
• Pressures by developers to reduce or eliminate historic preservation requirements;
• Historic preservation is not seen as a routine part of land use planning;
• Loss of historic open and cultural spaces can become social, economic, and political issues as land for subsistence and habitation becomes more scarce;
• Knowledge gained through historic preservation projects have not been incorporated into school curricula;
• Public access to historic, archaeological, and cultural information can be difficult or impossible;
• Few public outreach programs exist, other than those provided by the HPO;
• Few surveys have been conducted on Northern Islands;
• Results of surveys are not readily available to scholars or the general public;
• Ongoing challenge of developing a comprehensive inventory and management system for cultural resources;
• Inadequate funding for historic preservation;
• Tourism promotion has failed to recognize the connection between CNMI's unique cultural landscape and its historic properties;
• Tourism and economic development are critical to the Commonwealth's economic vitality, but there is little progress in integrating historic preservation into tourism efforts;
• Some federal agencies are not fully cooperative in complying with their historic preservation responsibilities;
• Chamorro and Carolinian cultural traditions and practices are at risk from rapid development and increasing numbers of alien residents.

1. Increase and encourage opportunities for the general public to participate in historic preservation projects, events, and activities.
2. Ensure that preservation planning is a routine part of all environmental, land-use, and public policy activities.
3. Expand the public's understanding of and appreciation for the rich history and cultures of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, through education and outreach programs.
4. Increase the identification and documentation of all significant historic resources in the Commonwealth.
5. Expand existing funding base for the historic preservation program while seeking more dependable, long-term sources of funding to support historic preservation projects and activities.
6. Stimulate the CNMI's economy by fully integrating historic preservation tools, incentives, and activities into policies and projects that support the local tourism industry and investment in local communities.
7. Increase and strengthen working relationships with all federal agencies, which implement undertakings within the Commonwealth with the aim of protecting significant historic resources.
8. Promote and reinforce important aspects of Chamorro and Carolinian cultures as a means of increasing awareness and appreciation for the rich legacy of the CNMI.

1. Increase public participation.
   • Establish partnerships with local or regional associations to strengthen programs that incorporate preservation and planning into community revitalization;
   • Expand historical, archaeological, and cultural resource identification efforts;
   • Encourage residents to seek degrees in fields related to preservation;
   • Establish para-professional groups or alliances;
   • Provide technical assistance and training to the public;
   • Use local and regional expertise in carrying out preservation activities;
   • Develop and implement a master plan to increase public participation;
   • Promote legislation that encourages historic preservation.
2. Include preservation planning in environmental, land-use, and public policy activities.
   • Increase awareness of the value of preservation;
   • Create multi-lingual informational materials that clearly outline policies of preservation;
   • Foster cooperation between developers and preservationists;
   • Make land-use procedures more responsive and efficient;
   • Establish a project-review fee to fund survey and emergency archaeology work;
   • Provide assistance in preservation programs to agencies and developers;
   • Assess current enforcement regulations to improve resource protection;
   • Include preservation as part of general plans, ordinances, economic incentives, environmental projects, etc.;
   • Implement government emergency and disaster plans.
3. Expand public understanding and appreciation for cultural resources.
   • Integrate cultural resources information into the public schools;
   • Increase the number of publications resulting from archaeological and historical research;
   • Promote support for historic preservation among community leaders, elected officials, and governmental staff;
   • Develop preservation programs, courses, and degrees in universities and colleges;
   • Incorporate preservation regulations, techniques, and training in environmental planning programs.
   • Conduct field trips for students of all ages;
   • Promote preservation education, training, and outreach;
   • Promote educational programs and materials;
   • Improve access to preservation activities, materials, and information through various media and technology;
   • Promote partnerships to improve the preservation program and its activities.
4. Increase resource identification and documentation.
   • Ensure accuracy, comprehensiveness, consistency, and completeness of resource identification and information;
   • Use GIS to maintain up-to-date mapping and records of historic resources;
   • Nominate historic resources for listing on state and federal registers;
   • Assist agencies in the identification, recordation, evaluation, and interpretation of historic resources;
   • Strengthen professional and technical capabilities of those conducting preservation activities;
   • Identify and record significant historic resources from all historic periods and CNMI regions;
   • Provide opportunities for agencies, organizations, and para-professional volunteers to participate in resource surveys;
   • Compile and manage historic resource information in an extensive inventory system.
5. Seek adequate funding to support prservation.
   • Create opportunities for economic partnerships that integrate preservation into community development;
   • Seek stable funding sources;
   • Request adequate local preservation funding from the Commonwealth Legislature;
   • Establish cooperative agreements with other agencies;
   • Use training strategies that allow the preservation program to be financially stable;
   • Seek out contacts to support the development and maintenance of preservation activities and resources.
6. Integrate preservation and tourism.
   • Promote partnerships with state tourism agencies to create integrated site development plans;
   • Promote viability of preservation projects to business community;
   • Develop and publicize financial incentives for historic resource preservation and rehabilitation;
   • Promote legislation to provide tax incentives for preservation and conservation activities;
   • Organize and participate in cultural tourism conferences and workshops;
   • Create opportunities for preservation projects that provide economic benefits;
   • Publicize successful community revitalization and preservation efforts.
7. Cooperate with federal agencies to protect historic resources.
   • Offer federal compliance workshops;
   • Provide assistance on preservation requirements to governmental agencies;
   • Improve management of preservation environmental review information;
   • Improve efficiency and effectiveness of preservation environmental review process;
   • Promote state and federal agency partnerships.
8. Reinforce cultural traditions.
   • Encourage residents to participate in preservation activities;
   • Highlight and recognize the diversity of historic properties in CNMI;
   • Establish organizations to support and carry out preservation activities;
   • Create partnerships to carry out cultural preservation projects;
   • Facilitate the practice and preservation of local culture and traditions;
   • Disseminate accurate information about history and cultures of CNMI;
   • Promote preservation and stewardship of cultural resources;
   • Educate residents and visitors on the benefits of preserving our unique and diverse cultural heritage.