Bird snags buildup

The final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, a document that will move the military buildup closer to the start of major construction after years of delays, will be released by this summer, a military official said yesterday.

But there's one feathery snag two federal entities are trying to untangle before the document becomes final.

The federal Wildlife Service, which wants assurance the buildup plan has enough measures to reduce or mitigate the potential harm to wildlife habitat, including for the Micronesian kingfisher, remains in talks with Pentagon representatives. The consultations are nearing conclusion, said Marine Maj. Darren Alvarez, deputy director of the Joint Guam Program Office Forward. The Guam office and its Pentagon main desk deal with military buildup issues in Guam.

The kingfisher population in Guam was federally listed as an endangered species in 1984, but by 1988 was close to becoming extinct, primarily because of the brown tree snake, according to the Wildlife Service.

In 1984, Guam's Department of Agriculture captured 29 of the remaining Micronesian kingfishers and sent them to zoological institutions around the globe — including the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. — as a hedge against extinction, according to the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute .

Although the Micronesian kingfisher is believed to be extinct in the wild on Guam, the bird is being cared for in captivity in various locations with a plan to reintroduce the birds to their habitat — Guam limestone forests — at some point.

The Smithsonian last year announced the hatching of the most endangered species in its collection — a Micronesian kingfisher — on Jan. 1, 2014.

Guam and federal wildlife personnel continue to look for suitable sites on Guam to release the kingfishers, locally known as the sihek, according to the Smithsonian.

Alvarez said the goal to finalize the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for release by this summer remains. After the release of the document, the Record of Decision will be released, Alvarez said.

Last of the steps

The Record of Decision is expected to be the last of the procedural steps needed before the buildup goes from planning to unlocking the execution of the major construction projects to relocate about 5,000 Marines and their 1,300 dependents from Okinawa to Guam.

Japan and the United States first agreed in 2006 to a larger Marine relocation plan for Guam. But the larger relocation plan — involving 8,000 Marines and 9,000 dependents, became a major concern for Congress. Key U.S. senators balked at the estimated $10 billion to $15 billion cost for a Marine base on Guam.

Japan wants the U.S. military to reduce the presence of U.S. troops in Okinawa and is paying $3.1 billion of the estimated $8.6 billion cost to build a new Marine base on Guam. The first Marine units could arrive at a new base in Guam in 2020, according to tentative military plans.

Gov. Eddie Calvo said a few months ago that Pentagon representatives had told him the document would be released by June 26. The Joint Guam Program Office hasn't committed to that date.

Alvarez said yesterday the goal to release the final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement is on target for release this summer.

All federal agencies that are part of the buildup review process have concluded their consultation process with the Defense Department except for the Wildlife Service.

Last year, as part of the efforts to reduce the amount of jungle that will be cleared for the Marine base, the Pentagon revised its plan to build housing facilities for the Marines within Andersen Air Force base, instead of building on undeveloped land in the Finegayan area. That shift in the preferred location for Marine housing saves about 200 acres of jungle, Alvarez said.