NEWSFLASH

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SALINAS SALT SPRINGS REVIVAL PUSHED

Nueva Vizcaya, Oct 19, 1997 - The Salinas Salt Springs, disrupted and damaged by the devastating July 1990 earthquake, is being revived and rehabilitated.

Mayor Luisa Cuaresma of Bambang town, where the springs are located, unveiled plans to make the Salinas Salt Springs a major tourist attraction once again. The OPLAN Task Force Salinas was created by the local government, with representatives from the Department of Tourism, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

The government's efforts begin with a master plan which will transform the area into a major eco-tourism project, complete with picnic groves, huts, a view deck and trekking routes for local and foreign tourists. Tourism Undersecretary Evelyn Pantig pledge financial support for the project.

A Phivolcs study shows that the salt springs stopped flowing when natural fissures tightened up after intense ground shaking in 1990, blocking and redirecting ground water flow.

Salinas Salt Springs, only 15 kilometers from the town proper of Bambang, has an area of 45 hectares, and is managed jointly by the town and the DENR.

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