As part of its $87 million buildup on Guam, in anticipation of its final exit from Okinawa, the US Marines want to destroy a 1,000 acres of pristine limestone forest to make room for a firing range. The forest is one of the only remaining patches of contiguous untouched limestone forest on the island
[photo left], home to the endangered Marianas fruit bat and the very last remaining mature hayun lágu
(Serianthes nelsonii) tree. The only other trees of this species, the tallest in the Marianas, live on nearby Rota island.
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| an endangered Heritiera longipetiolata tree |
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A botanist contracted by the Navy says the ecological impact of destroying the forest goes beyond the mere 8% of forest loss. That is because the rest of the forest on Guam is degraded and located on land captured by the military in 1944, making it vulnerable to development. US Fish and Wildlife concurs with that assessment saying, the forest slated for destruction represents "some of the best native limestone forest left on Guam to serve as habitat for listed. Unsuprisingly the Marines did not consider more suitable locations for their firing range, one not requiring the destruction of such valuable habitat. The southern end of the island has already been cleared and converted to grassy savanna with plenty of room for development. The agency advised the military not to locate their proposed range on Ritidian Point, but were ignored.
The Marines have offered to mitigate the clearance by fencing off 400 hectares of degraded forest to "enhance" it by removing invasive species such as the brown tree snake, Philippine deer and feral pig, and by planting salvaged native seedlings. The snake consumes bird eggs and the ungulates consume native plant seedlings. So much of the remaining limestone forest is silent and consists of aging trees. But the Marines have already spent $1.1 million fencing off portions of the peninsula to protect against ungulates. The plan is to tear down that fence. Conservationists are concerned that any plan to restore forest by permanent fencing will be at the mercy of uncertain funding and future development plans. It will take only one gap for invasive species to exploit and the fencing plan to fail. Funding is anticipated to last only thirty years.
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| endangered fadang cyclad, credit S. Hiebert |
Limestone forest are once submerged coral reefs pushed to the surface by tectonic forces. Plants have put down roots in the deep crevices formed by limestone karst. Dozens of endangered species have made homes in this environment. They include include the critically endangered Mariana crow (
Corvus kubaryi), fragile tree snail (
Samoana fragilis) and Guam tree snail (
Partula radiolata). The Marines say the acre for acre trade of pristine forest for "enhanced" forest is a net benefit for the island's ecosystem. Conservationists disagree. They point to relocation plans for some species such that are not ecologically appropriate or to areas slated for other development. In addition to developing Ritidian Point, the Marines plan to take over two other smaller islands where native species still thrive, Tinian and Pagan, for ecologically destructive war games. The native Chamoro people accuse the US military of obscuring its development plan's cumulative impact on the Mariana Islands. ecosystem. The 'empire' wins out yet again.
