,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #fgd  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of   
,,representatives  ,february #ac1 #bjac 
,mr4 ,sablan 7for himself1 ,mr4         
,grijalva1 ,ms4 ,bordallo1 ,mrs4        
,napolitano1 ,mr4 ,young of ,alaska1 and
 ,mr4 ,markey7 introduced the following 
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on ,natural ,resources  ,a   
,,bill  ,to authorize the ,secretary of 
the ,interior to study the suitability  
and feasibility of designating          
prehistoric1 historic1 and limestone    
forest sites on ,rota1 ,commonwealth of 
the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 as a   
unit of the ,national ,park ,system4    
#a4 ,short title2 findings  7a7 ,short  
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,rota ,cultural and ,natural ,resources 
,study ,act4  7b7 ,findings ,congress   
finds as follows3  7#a7 ,the island of  
,rota was the only major island in the  
,mariana ,islands to be spared the      
destruction and large scale land use    
changes brought about by ,world ,war    

,,ii4  7#b7 ,the island of ,rota has    
been described by professional          
archeologists as having the most        
numerous1 most intact1 and generally the
 most unique prehistoric sites of any of
 the islands of the ,mariana            
,archipelago4  7#c7 ,the island of ,rota
 contains remaining examples of what is 
known as the ,latte ,phase of the       
cultural tradition of the indigenous    
,chamorro people of the ,mariana        
,islands4 ,latte stone houses are       
remnants of the ancient ,chamorro       
culture4  7#d7 ,four prehistoric sites  
are listed on the ,national ,register of
 ,historic ,places3 ,monchon            
,archeological ,district 7also known    
locally as ,monchon ,latte ,stone       
,village71 ,taga ,latte ,stone ,quarry1 
the ,dugi ,archeological ,site that     
contains latte stone structures1 and the
 ,chugai ,pictograph ,cave that contains
 examples of ancient ,chamorro rock art4
 ,alaguan ,bay ,ancient ,village is     
another latte stone prehistoric site    

that is surrounded by tall-canopy       
limestone forest4  7#e7 ,in addition to 
prehistoric sites1 the island of ,rota  
boasts historic sites remaining from the
 ,japanese period 7#aiad-aide74 ,several
 of these sites are on the ,national    
,register of ,historic ,places3 ,nanyo  
,kohatsu ,kabushiki ,kaisha ,sugar      
,mill1 ,japanese ,coastal ,defense ,gun1
 and the ,japanese ,hospital4  7#f7 ,the
 island of ,rota's natural resources are
 significant because of the extent and  
intact condition of its native limestone
 forest that provides habitat for       
several federally endangered listed     
species1 the ,mariana crow1 and the     
,rota bridled white-eye birds1 that are 
also native to the island of ,rota4     
,three endangered plant species are also
 found on ,rota and two are endemic to  
the island4  7#g7 ,because of the       
significant cultural and natural        
resources listed above1 on ,september   
#bjje1 the ,national ,park ,service1    
,pacific ,west ,region1 completed a     

preliminary resource assessment on the  
island of ,rota1 ,commonwealth of the   
,northern ,mariana ,islands1 which      
determined that the 8establishment of a 
unit of the national park system        
appeared to be the best way to ensure   
the long term protection of ,rota's most
 important cultural resources and its   
best examples of its native limestone   
forest404  #b4 ,,nps study of sites on  
the island of ,rota1 ,commonwealth of   
the ,northern ,mariana ,islands  7a7    
,study ,the ,secretary of the ,interior 
shall--  7#a7 carry out a study         
regarding the suitability and           
feasibility of designating prehistoric1 
historic1 and limestone forest sites on 
the island of ,rota1 ,commonwealth of   
the ,northern ,mariana ,islands1 as a   
unit of the ,national ,park ,system2 and
  7#b7 consider management alternatives 
for the island of ,rota1 ,commonwealth  
of the ,northern ,mariana ,islands4  7b7
 ,study ,process and ,completion ,except
 as provided by subsection 7c7 of this  

section1 section #h7;c7 of ,public ,law 
#ia-chc 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #a;a-#e7;c77     
shall apply to the conduct and          
completion of the study required by this
 section4  7c7 ,submission of ,study    
,results ,not later than #c years after 
the date that funds are made available  
for this section1 the ,secretary shall  
submit to the ,committee on ,natural    
,resources of the ,house of             
,representatives and the ,committee on  
,energy and ,natural ,resources of the  
,senate a report describing the results 
of the study4