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Partial funding for Guam’s anti-snake program
WASHINGTON—Interior Assistant Secretary Doug Domenech has authorized $147,140 for interdiction work being conducted against brown tree snakes, Boiga irregularis, at commercial ports in Guam.
Funds were provided to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services, a partner in ongoing efforts to contain the spread of this invasive snake.
“We are working to meet the multiple priorities across the U.S. insular areas under the current budgetary conditions,” said Domenech. “The brown tree snake has already done significant damage to Guam, and it is critical that it does not spread to other islands in the region.”
The total fiscal year 2018 appropriations are estimated to be $932,749.
U.S. Congress continues to provide funding in support of controlling the BTS in Guam and preventing its spread to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, and the freely associated states in the larger Micronesian region.
Inadvertently introduced during World War II, the BTS has caused the extinction of many native and endemic species of birds and lizards on the island of Guam, and has had cascading ecological effects on other native plants and animals. The BTS has also disrupted economic activity by causing power outages. This collaborative effort involves several federal agencies, Hawaii State, and island governments in the Micronesia region. (PR)
