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Marines, USDA prevent brown tree snakes from arriving on Tinian
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- Shaun, a working dog from Tinian, inspects munition boxes at Tinian’s Echo Field on Sept. 24, during Exercise Forager Fury III. As part of FF III all military aircraft and cargo is screened to prevent the spread of the brown tree snake on Tinian. Shaun is with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services’ canine unit. (Lance CPL. Luis Ramirez)
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- Stephen Mosher, checks a snake trap at West Field Sept. 24 during Exercise Forager Fury III. The snake traps are designed to trap any brown tree snakes that may have stowed away in aircraft or cargo departing from Guam. Mosher is the brown snake program handler with the Navy Facilities Engineering Command. (Lance CPL. Luis Ramirez)
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- Antonio Castro, from Tinian, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, places a mouse inside a snake trap at West Field Sept. 24 during Exercise Forager Fury III. Castro is a snake and cage handler with the Division of Fish and Wildlife for Tinian and Saipan. (Lance CPL. Luis Ramirez)
An estimated 1,300 personnel are participating in Forager Fury III, which is an exercise involving a full spectrum of fixed wing and rotary aircraft operations between Guam and Tinian. The exercise began Sept. 24 and is scheduled to last until Oct. 7.
The brown tree snake, an Australian native species, poses a looming threat to the wildlife on Tinian as its infestation has already impacted Guam’s ecosystem. The USDA, Marines and Navy Facilities Engineering Command on Guam and Tinian are working together to ensure the same damage to Guam’s wildlife doesn’t happen on Tinian.
“When the snake first arrived in Guam in the late ’40s and early ’50s, it had no predators to stop its population growth,” said Stephen Mosher, the brown tree snake program handler with the NAVFAC. “Within 35 years it has caused the disappearance of 10 of the 12 forest birds native to Guam.”
Mosher said the snakes superseded most of the reptilian population and cause power outages by interacting with power lines in Guam.
“We don’t want what happened in Guam to spread across the Marianas or the mainland of the U.S.,” said Mosher. “That’s why the Navy and the Department of Defense have a major commitment to inspect all cargo and aircraft during military exercises to ensure the island stays snake free.”
During Forager Fury III all cargo and aircraft coming from and leaving Guam are visually inspected and searched with canines to prevent invasive species stowaways.
“We are working very closely with the USDA and NAVFAC to prevent the spread of the snakes,” said 1st Lt. Jeremy Graves, an air traffic controller with Marine Air Control Squadron 4, Marine Air Control Group 18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, III Marine Expeditionary Force, and the lead liaison for the Marines. “I contact them each day to ensure they have the proper flight schedules for all incoming flights as well as making sure they are at the flight line when any cargo or aircraft touches down.”
Graves said since they are guests on the island it is only natural to take the proper precautions to keep the snake threat at bay while conducting their exercise.
The team has placed dozens of snake traps near all areas with landing aircraft and the harbor.
“We have the snake traps as a backup precaution,” Antonio Castro, a snake and cage handler with the Division of Fish and Wildlife for Tinian and Saipan. “In order to be 100 percent efficient with our work we have to set up these traps. It’s rare that we miss something but the possibility is always there. That’s why we work so close with the Marines, to make sure the possibility of us or them missing a snake is nonexistent.”
Castro said they have found no snakes since the beginning of exercises on Tinian. He attributes that to the continuing partnership of all the agencies. He said he is certain Tinian will continue to be brown tree snake free for the span of the exercise. (Laura Pattawi/III Marine Expeditionary Force)
