The 8 years that it took to pass the second Palau agreement caused significant damage to the economy of Palau.

It is critical that we don't take for granted the goodwill that has been generated between us and our FSA partners.

It does not make sense to us why it is necessary to create additional bureaucratic layers when the current process has not had issues.

I think the issue of mandatory is essential in this discussion.

The signal that the FAS would receive from this change is that the U.S. is seeking to downgrade the importance of the U.S. relationship with the FAS.

I think there is still urgency.

Nearly 50 years ago, President Nixon signed what has become one of the world's most successful conservation laws--the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

These deficiencies cannot be ignored, and the Navajo people living on and around these lands cannot be erased.

Public Lands Order 7923 Disregards the Voice of the Navajo Nation and Fails to Honor Navajo Sovereignty

Why is it important, and why does that protection need to be in perpetuity?

Tribal sovereignty must be respected even when it is not politically expedient.