Check out a few project highlights. For a deeper dive, simply get in touch with us
PCRP was awarded an Urban & Community grant through the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service to build community resilience to climate stressors and food security in the CNMI. Our efforts are focused on planting native and fruiting trees, removing hazardous and invasive trees (i.e. African tulip [Spathodea campanulata]), and increasing local capacity through job training and expanding local tree nurseries with our partners at DLNR Rota Forestry and the Northern Marianas College. Our Forestry team will be working with the community at residential and public spaces, homesteads and other private lands to increase availability of native trees and productive fruiting trees on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. Stay tuned for opportunities to work with us in your community!
In a significant environmental restoration effort, PCRP successfully completed the removal of the derelict fishing vessel Charito from Tanapag Harbor, Saipan. Grounded since Typhoon Winnie in 1997, the 97-foot vessel had long obstructed a popular area for recreational fishing, boating, and birdwatching, posing environmental and navigational risks.
The project, spanning from April to August 2024, removed 81.5 tons of metal, 14.5 tons of common waste, 480 cubic feet of insulation, and safely disposed of 110 gallons of oily waste. This comprehensive cleanup has significantly improved the area's ecological health and safety.
Funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and NOAA Marine Debris Program through the Hurricane Response Marine Debris Removal Fund, the project showcased effective collaboration between non-profit organizations, local contractors, and government agencies.
[Click here for more information and photos of the Charito Vessel Removal Project]
PCRP was contracted to provide field support for NOAA’s National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) 2024 CNMI Socioeconomic Survey. This survey was administered by local surveyors on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota with questions focused on residents’ use of coral reefs and their knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions of coral reef ecosystems and coral reef management. This was the second resident survey conducted in the CNMI with the first survey taking place in 2016 and 2017.
Head to high ground!!! …but how high? PCRP worked with the CNMI Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management and Guam-based Tropical Weather Sciences to map tsunami evacuation zones, assembly areas, and routes on the islands of Saipan, Tinian, and Rota. This evacuation planning effort was a key component of CNMI’s participation in the National Tsunami Hazard Mitigation Program.
Check out some of the results in the CNMI Tsunami Evacuation App.
The Beach Road pathway on Saipan is the most heavily used pedestrian and recreational corridor in the Northern Mariana Islands, and a crucial asset for public shoreline access. It’s also a great canvas for designing nature-based solutions to coastal issues. Learn more about the Shoreline Stabilization and Enhancement Plan for the Beach Road pathway on Saipan, view and download the plan, or take an oblique image tour of the project area.
We worked with the Northern Marianas Humanities Council and a team of residents and government officials on the Island of Tinian to complete full field surveys of 21 historic sites, culminating in the formal delineation of the proposed Tinian North Field National Historic Landmark. Curious to see how this small island changed the course of WWII (and the world in general)? Take a virtual tour through our story map.
Use the “swipe map” at the end of the tour to compare the current site conditions to what they looked like just after the War, in 1949!
It’s not always easy living in “Typhoon Alley”. Despite a great deal of effort to prepare for hazardous conditions, the Micronesia region still deals with plenty of post-storm debris. We worked with NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and a diverse team of local partners to remove the F/V Lady Carolina from a patch reef in the Saipan Lagoon. This Story Map tells a visual tale of an angry typhoon, a wrecked fishing vessel, and our efforts to remove it.
PCRP conducted a comprehensive Natural Resource Condition Assessment for American Memorial Park in the Northern Marianas. Even though the park is one of the smallest units of the U.S. National Park Service, there’s quite a bit to discover! Check out the final publication from 2019.
We had a great time working with the fishing community in the Mariana Islands to develop a reef fishery atlas. Where are we fishing? Why are those fishing grounds important, and what issues do those areas face? PCRP used a combination of participatory mapping methods to get at the answers. Funded by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program and the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, the project report can be viewed here.