Rota Park: Håfa siha hinason-mu

The National Park Service preliminary report released yesterday that a Rota National Historical Park is both suitable and feasible, and is a post-COVID economic opportunity for the Marianas. But a park is only feasible with the partnership of the Commonwealth government, the Rota municipal government, and, especially, public agreement that this is the right step for Rota. The ancient Chamorro sites on Rota, the island’s uniquely intact limestone forests, and historical artifacts of the Japanese colonial period are found nowhere else in the National Park system, the report says. It proposes three alternatives for a public discussion that will formally begin in September with virtual meetings and opportunities for written comment. After the public makes its views known, the Park Service will send a final report to the Secretary of the Interior, who will in turn make a recommendation to Congress. Only Congress can create a national park.