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-- <November 7, 2003> JOINT
NEWS RELEASE FROM FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – November 7, 2003 – Washington, D.C. – Legislation was introduced today in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam), Congressman Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), and Congressman Ed Case (D-HI), to provide for a long-overdue comprehensive approach, through the U.S. Departments of Interior and Agriculture, to eradicate the brown tree snake in Guam and to bolster efforts aimed at preventing its introduction to affected jurisdictions in the Pacific, including the State of Hawaii and the Northern Marianas. “The brown tree snake has negatively impacted Guam’s ecosystem, wreaked havoc on our infrastructure and economy, and continues to be a risk to our health and safety. The legislation introduced today will empower appropriate Federal agencies to work in concert with local entities to address the problem of the brown tree snake in a comprehensive fashion. It is time we place emphasis on eradication and it is time we address this issue head on. It is a problem that simply will not go away on its own,” Bordallo said. “The brown tree snake is one of the greatest threats to Hawaii’s fragile environment and our endangered bird species which are found nowhere else on earth,” said Case. “Its unwanted introduction would also be devastating to our state’s economy, causing between $28 million and $450 million annually in electrical power outages. In addition, Guam’s experience demonstrates how the brown tree snake’s presence in Hawaii would cripple our agriculture industry in areas ranging from poultry to fruit and vegetable crops,” said Case. “The brown tree snake is a clear and present danger to Hawaii. If it becomes established here, it will wreak havoc on our island ecosystem. It would be a disaster for the visitor industry. We’ll have a tsunami of cancellations when word gets out that paradise is infested with slithering serpents. Anything we can do to keep the brown tree snake out of Hawaii is money well spent,” said Abercrombie. The legislation is a product of collaboration between the three Congressional offices, the Nature Conservancy in Hawaii, and other key Federal, State, and territorial stakeholders in Guam and Hawaii. The legislation establishes a Brown Tree Snake Control and Eradication Committee to coordinate Federal policy with State and local efforts. In addition, the legislation increases authorized funding levels for brown tree snake control, research, prevention and eradication activities. “The legislation we have introduced will provide Federal agencies $18 million in each of the fiscal years 2005 – 2010 to escalate Federal, State, and local efforts to control and eradicate this threat in the Pacific,” Case commented. The brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis, is a non-native invasive species presumably introduced to Guam in the late 1950s-early 1960s on military cargo. This alien predator has no natural enemies in Guam and is responsible for the decimation of Guam’s native bird species. The State of Hawaii is especially vulnerable to the spread of the brown tree snake due to air and maritime commerce and military movements between Guam and Hawaii. The three Members will be working to ensure the legislation is given consideration during the second session of the 108th Congress, which will convene in January. Abercrombie and Bordallo are both members of the House Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife, and Oceans, which shares jurisdiction over invasive species legislation with the Committee on Agriculture, of which Case is a member. In related news, the House passed this afternoon the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004, which is on its way to the White House for signature by the President. The Act includes an amendment that was added by Congresswoman Bordallo with the support of Congressman Abercrombie in the House Armed Services Committee. The provision will establish a new pilot program in Guam that would, for the first time, specifically require the Department of Defense (DOD) for the next five years to consider the eradication of invasive species, not just the protection of endangered species, when developing its land use management plans for military installations. “The brown tree snake is a threat to military readiness. I felt, and my colleagues in Congress agreed, that DOD ought to take action and develop plans to control and eradicate the brown tree snake on its installations in Guam. This pilot program will demonstrate the cooperation between the military and local stakeholders in Guam in addressing common concerns and land use issues,” said Bordallo. [ Section-by-Section Summary of the Legislation ] ### Contact: Neil Weare
in Washington, D.C., at (202) 225-1188 or Joaquin
Perez in Guam at (671) 477-4272. |
