Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
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COMPREHENSIVE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STRATEGY for the COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS COMPREHENSIVE WILDLIFE CONSERVATION STRATEGY for the COMMONWEALTH OF THE NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS September 2005 Submitted to: The National Advisory Acceptance Team c/o Chris McKay Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds and State Programs U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 911 NE 11th Avenue Portland, OR 97232-4181 Submitted by: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Department of Lands and Natural Resources Division of Fish and Wildlife Caller Box 10007 Saipan, MP 96950 Authored by: Gayle M. Berger Natural Resources Planner CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife Saipan, CNMI John Gourley Micronesian Environmental Services P.O. Box 502802, Saipan, MP 96950 Greg Schroer Resources Northwest P.O. Box 506369, Saipan, MP 96950 &ommonboealtb of toe Aortbern #lariana 3slanbe Bffice of toe Qobernor Bepartment of Panbs' anb BaturaI Bes'ources' Caller %ox 20007 Saipan, Bortfiern flariana 3ilslanbs' 96950 QCabIe IZLbbress: Qob. 399fl3f Saipan Qelepbone: 322-98301 9834 $ax: 322 -2633 September 27,2005 National Advisory Acceptance Team C/OChris McKay Assistant Regional Director for Migratory Birds and State Programs U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service 91 1 NE 1 lth venue Portland, OR 97232-4.181 Re: Submission of the Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy For the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Dear Mr. McKay: The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands is pleased to submit its Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS) to the National Advisory Acceptance Team for their approval. Enclosed you will find two hardcopies that are 3-hole punched, and an electronic copy in Adobe Reader format. The CWCS presented to you here is the culmination of a year-and-a-half's hard work on the part of prokssional staff of our Division of Fish and Wildlife. Inasmuch as it was developed to satisfl the Eight Elements required by U.S. Congress, we have styled this strategy also to serve our local conservation needs. In one document, we have identified the species in greatest need of conservation, their habitats, priority research needed, and a set of conservation actions to give us conservation direction over the next decade. Sincerely, Secretary CNNII Department of Lands and Natural Resources cc: (with duplicate electronic copy only) Genevieve Pullis LaRouce, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arlington, VA Paul Hamilton, Director, Division of Fish and Wildlife Ernest Kosaka, USFWS, Honolulu TABLE OF CONTENTS TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... xxiv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ....................................................... xxv LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... xxvi LIST OF TABLES......................................................................................................... xxix Chapter 1: WHERE WE START....................................................................................... 2 Mandate to prepare a Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy...................... 2 The Eight Elements..................................................................................................... 2 Road Map to the Eight Elements in this CWCS......................................................... 3 Data Gathering Approach ........................................................................................... 5 Authorship and Acknowledgements........................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: THE ISLANDS ................................................................................................ 8 Location ...................................................................................................................... 8 Political Status ............................................................................................................ 8 Geology....................................................................................................................... 9 Climate...................................................................................................................... 10 Features of individual islands ................................................................................... 10 Conservation areas.................................................................................................... 10 Chapter 3: SPECIES OF SPECIAL CONSERVATION NEED FOR THE CNMI ........ 19 Species Selection Process ......................................................................................... 19 Terrestrial Species..................................................................................................... 19 Selection criteria for terrestrial species of special conservation need .................. 19 Refinement of the list of terrestrial species........................................................... 19 Addressing the full array of terrestrial wildlife..................................................... 19 Hearing from the public........................................................................................ 20 Marine Species.......................................................................................................... 20 Selection criteria for marine species of special conservation need....................... 20 Refinement of the list of marine species............................................................... 21 Addressing the full array of marine fish and wildlife........................................... 21 Hearing from the public........................................................................................ 21 Chapter 4: TERRESTRIAL HABITATS OF THE CNMI.............................................. 30 Data Sources ............................................................................................................. 30 Characteristics of terrestrial habitats in the CNMI ................................................... 30 Native forest.......................................................................................................... 30 Secondary forest.................................................................................................... 31 Tangantangan forest.............................................................................................. 32 Agricultural forest................................................................................................. 32 Grassland and Savanna ......................................................................................... 33 Wetlands ............................................................................................................... 33 Strand .................................................................................................................... 34 Limestone caves and crevices............................................................................... 34 Urban..................................................................................................................... 35 Location and relative condition of key wildlife habitats in the CNMI..................... 35 Rota....................................................................................................................... 35 i Aguiguan............................................................................................................... 36 Tinian .................................................................................................................... 36 Saipan.................................................................................................................... 38 Farallon de Medinilla............................................................................................ 39 Anatahan ............................................................................................................... 40 Sarigan .................................................................................................................. 41 Guguan.................................................................................................................. 42 Alamagan .............................................................................................................. 42 Pagan..................................................................................................................... 42 Agrihan ................................................................................................................. 43 Asuncion ............................................................................................................... 43 Maug ..................................................................................................................... 44 Uracas ................................................................................................................... 44 Problems which adversely affect terrestrial habitats ................................................ 44 Loss of forested habitats through land development ............................................ 44 Damage to native forest understory by feral ungulates ........................................ 44 Natural phenomena ..............................................................................................