We Are Guahan and Dave Lotz with Ray Gibson

We Are Guahan and Dave Lotz with Ray Gibson

Interview between Ray Gibson, Dave Lotz and members of We Are Guahan about the Guam Boonie Stompers cleanup and hike to Pagat and Marbo Caves. They also talked about the military buildup Draft EIS.

Click here to download the entire podcast.
http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/images/stories/k57podcasts/feb10/100215_083736.mp3

Part 2 - Interview between Ray Gibson, Dave Lotz and members of We Are Guahan about how there is still time to present testimony concerning the Draft EIS. They also discussed upcoming activities of the Guam Boonie Stompers including a hike on Naval Station at Orote Point.

Click here to download the entire podcast.
http://www.pacificnewscenter.com/images/stories/k57podcasts/feb10/100215_090556.mp3

Students sound off on DEIS

Students sound off on DEIS

Posted: Feb 10, 2010 2:23 PM
Updated: Feb 10, 2010 6:49 PM

by Michele Catahay

Guam - Guam has until next Wednesday to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement. Students plan to voice their concerns about a number of issues that will affect them come 2014.

Several Okkodo High School students recently participated in a "Youth Speak" event where experts spoke about the potential impacts of the move of 8,000 U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam. Today, these students spoke before their peers about their own concerns.

Jeremy Denusta says he's most worried about the Department of Defense's plans to dredge at Apra Harbor to make way for a transient aircraft carrier berthing. He says because Apra Harbor is home to many forms of marine life, he isn't in support of it. "I really care about all of those stuff. Marine life is precious, so we're removing all of the coral there. It's like you're taking away the homes all of the fish. So they can't do that. I wouldn't want them to do that," he said.

Students also raised concerns about the military's plans to use lands in Umatac, Marbo Cave and Pagat to build training stations and firing ranges. Megan Borja says she would hate to have these pristine areas taken away from the people, telling KUAM News, "When they said they were going to use Marbo Cave as a firing range, that was like an insult because they're just going to be blowing all their bullets in there, you know?"

Christina Vasquez told her fellow students that they need to get involved since most of the decisions made will affect them and their families, saying, "Who plans to live here? and build their houses and raise their children? You will be dealing with every single issue that we speak about. The dredging, the landfill, the wastewater, the sewage, the animals. We won't have fish," she said.

Guam Coastal Management Program Outreach Coordinator Tammy Jo Taft says her presentations have allowed students to speak about these impacts in hopes for the youth to comment on the Draft EIS. "The point is to encourage students to comment because students are the generation that will inherit the decisions in the Draft EIS. The point is to help them find a voice and to help them comment on this process," she said.

The island has until next week to comment on the EIS. Taft says while many adults have attended public testimonies and submitted responses, she says the youth need to do so, too. "Most of the students that are in high school, by the time the buildup takes place they're going to be the young adults out in out community looking for jobs, starting families and these are the people that are going to be impacted the most because they have the longest time to spend on this island and deal with the changes that are happening," she said.

Will Landholders Unite? (Jan 15, 2010)

Will Landholders Unite? (Jan 15, 2010)



GUAM - At stake is some 22-hundred acres of prime real estate, most of it along the seaward side of the Back Road to Andersen. The looming question: will the military again take pristine lands from Guam's people without considering the pricelessness of its value?

Not if guys like Ed Cruz and Bob Bucek have anything to say about it.

Cruz and Bucek are among Calvo Memorial Raceway Park's most ardent devotees. For years they've helped develop the Yigo park into a successful sports tourism facility. Cruz doesn't oppose the military's planned 15-billion-dollar buildup. He just doesn't want to get kicked off a landmark property that means so much to race enthusiasts and the economy.

Sound bite: Ed Cruz

Sound bite: Bob Bucek

During recent Draft-EIS hearings, a public outcry has emerged over the military's need for lands like Sasayan near Marbo Cave.

The land issue has galvanized a diverse group of concerned citizens from activists to professionals to everyday citizens. It has also brought together a loose bunch of influential families. Calvos, Unpingcos, Nelsons, Sgambelluris. Members of these clans bring new dimensions to the arguments made on behalf of the people of Guam. Lawyers, businessmen, politicians all bringing their expertise to the table and raising the stakes in the fight for lands.

Story Credits: Written by Jeff Marchesseault
Camera and video editing by David F. Macaluso

Guam Raceway still faces uncertain future

Guam Raceway still faces uncertain future

Tuesday, 12 January 2010 03:22
by William Martin | Variety News Staff

The fate of the Guam International Raceway and Jose and Hermenia Off Road Park is still up in the air as discussions continue between the Department of Defense and park officials.

The local community has been in an uproar regarding possible plans – outlined in the recently released Environmental Impact Statement, which assesses possible ramifications of Guam’s upcoming military buildup – to acquire additional, non DOD land for the construction of a training complex on eastern coastal lands off Route 15 in Yigo.

The land in question contains the raceway, as well as closely held ancestral sites Marbo and Pagat Caves, also including some privately owned land.

Last Friday, park officials began talks with the DOD on the future of the park, according to Henry Simpson, president of the Guam Racing Federation and general manager of the raceway.

He said park officials remained steadfast in talks that if the DOD is in need of the land, a new raceway must be built for Guam.

“If they still want it and aren’t willing to build us a new park,” he said. “They’re going to have to take it through imminent domain.”

Simpson said the difficulty in finding a new park lies in locating an area far enough away from the general public that noise generated from racing activities won’t become a nuisance to those residing nearby – a quality the current site possesses. The land was licensed to the federation for a period of 21 years nearly a decade ago by the Chamorro Land Trust, Simpson said.

He estimates some $7 million in cash has been put into the raceway, not including some $5 million in volunteer efforts by the non-profit federation, adding that raceway officials are also willing to neighbor the training complex if possible.

The third in a series of DOD-hosted public hearings on the matter took place last night at the Yigo Gymnasium, during which local residents attended to make their voices heard regarding the areas in question.

Many residents took the opportunity to make impassioned testimonies about their feelings on the buildup and plans for DOD to acquire the land.

Capt. Neil Ruggerio, public affairs officer for the Joint Guam Program Office declined comment to the Variety on the raceway’s future while attending the hearing, saying only that it was the local residents’ time to speak.

Bob Bucek, spokesman for the raceway said park personnel now plan to prepare and submit written testimony to the JGPO, and asks anyone interested in the park to do the same.

He said that while he was concerned about the raceway, the possibility of some of Guam’s historical sites is also cause for concern.

“If those areas are lost forever,” he shared. “It’s not just the people of Guam, but everybody that will lose.”

The next hearing is scheduled for today at Okkodo High School, with an open house segment from 5 to 7 p.m., followed by a public comment allotment ending at 9 p.m.

For more information regarding the statement or future related events, including an option to submit a statement about the buildup, please visit www.guambuildupeis.us.

‘Don’t’ take our lands’

‘Don’t’ take our lands’

Wednesday, 30 December 2009 04:19
by Therese Hart | Variety News Staff

Public hearing raises anti-military sentiments

LAND is one subject that has always stirred the hearts and minds of the Chamorro people and yesterday’s public hearing at the legislature once again charged emotions as landowners opposed the military’s plan to take their properties.

The public hearing also raised anti-military sentiments among Chamorro activists, who also took the opportunity to discuss the decolonization issue.

Lands that their ancestors fought for are passed down from one generation to the next until they were indiscriminately taken away “for purposes other than sustaining and nourishing the family clan,” said Gloria B. Nelson.

Nelson was one of over 40 people who submitted testimony during yesterday's public hearing on Resolution 258, which drew angry property owners who are wary of federal government possibly condemning lands under its eminent domain power.

Nelson and her children provided testimony in support of the resolution, which strongly opposes any land condemnation by the federal government for use in the military buildup.

No decision yet

David Bice, executive director of the Joint Guam Program Office, was invited to the hearing but did not make it. He sent a letter to Sen. Judi Guthertz, chairman of the military buildup committee.

In the Dec. 24 letter, Bice stated that the Department of Defense personnel were prohibited from providing testimony on the resolution since it could be interpreted as “predecisional actions,” which would indicate that alternatives “contemplating the acquisition of non-DoD lands will be selected.”

Bice said DOD has not made any decisions regarding which alternative will be selected or whether acquisition of land would be necessary. He added that strict procedure would be followed if DOD decides it is necessary to acquire land.

This means that the Department would seek an agreement with landowners and pay fair market value for any lands acquired.

Not for sale

However, it was clear during yesterday's hearing that property owners, especially those who own property in the Sasayan Valley, are not interested in selling their lands to the military.

They stressed their intention to keep their lands for future generations.

Juan M. Unpingco, 85, who owns properties in Marbo Cave, supported the resolution, saying how he had worked extremely hard to save enough money and sacrifice all his savings to buy property so that he could use it for his livelihood which has paid off, since it has helped him to pay his medical bills.

“I plan to deed it to my children upon my death. I anticipate that my children would do otherwise and deed the property onto the next generation,” said Unpingco.

Lourdes Sgambelluri Pisarri, whose grandfather bought the whole Sasayan Valley and used it to sustain his family, said she spoke to Capt. Neil Ruggiero from JGPO in June and told him that she would not allow anyone to enter her property for any purpose.

Pisarri said Ruggiero stated that much of the military land was saving the lives of various animals, as in a conservation area for birds. She said it unnerved her that the federal government would first consider displacing people who have lived on their lands for years, who use the land to farm for food.

Susceptible

Superior Court Judge Steven Unpingco, a resident of the Sasayan area, also supported the resolution. “Guam will need every square meter of land to keep our community safe. The upshot of condemning GovGuam land is that Guam's responsibility to provide for the future and Guam's ability to secure financing will be stifled and the impact will be devastating to the quality of life for all,” said Unpingco.

If government land is taken and the local leaders are amenable to these takings, Unpingco said, this would mean more public lands are susceptible to further takings because of the unpredictability and contingencies of war and national security interests.

Unpingco said if the Marines’ relocation were to happen, then GovGuam will have no choice but to take away private land from residents and the intergovernmental domino effect “will change Guam's demographics and way of life forever.”

“As described by a high ranking military official in a cable news documentary interview, “after the buildup, Guam will be a floating battleship,” he added.

Unpingco said the U.S. military has a moral duty to consider the history of the federal landtakings and reflect on the “dark chapter of land being taken away by coercion and oppression.”

Guthertz said the hearing brought up many concerns that cannot be ignored. Guthertz said the resolution will send a clear message to Washington that land condemnation by the federal government will not be tolerated.

Residents Testify Against Federal Land Condemnation

Residents Testify Against Federal Land Condemnation

Guam - Dozens of island residents from all walks of life showed up to testify in favor of Resolution 258 a resolution





Introduced by Senator Judi Guthertz to strongly oppose the condemnation of lands for use by the military.

Panel after panel of people spoke out today in favor of Resolution 258 and in opposition to the military's proposed taking of both government and private properties. Chamorro rights activist Danny "Pagat" Jackson said he felt the Chamorro people were "an endangered species in their own land."

In it's Draft EIS the military has proposed the possibility of taking over 2000 acres of additional property from the people of Guam for use as a firing range. One of the proposals calls for taking lands along the eastern shore of Guam in the Pagat area including the Marbo caves and Sasayan valley area. Today the Guam legislature heard from dozens of people both old and young alike.

Laura Nelson asked senators to consider her generation and give them the same opportunities and lifestyle their generation had been afforded as she said she knew that the military buildup would change the lives of all who live on Guam.

Some testified because they either owned or lived on property that the military is proposing to take. Others like businessman Henry Simpson testified because the proposed firing range would close down his Guam Raceway Park. The park is a popular attraction for auto, drag race, and offroad enthusiasts. Others testified because they have simply been opposed to the military buildup from the very beginning. Former Nacion Chamoru Magalahi Ben Garrido says he and the Chamoru Nation have been testifying against the buildup for years often in the face of ridicule and laughter. He said "Look where we're at now."

Even Superior court Judge Steven Unpingco testified in favor of the resolution citing among many reasons the environmental impacts the proposed firing range would have on the Sasayan valley. It's a valley Judge Unpingco says offers both recreational activities like hiking to the marbo caves and traditional fishing areas.

Unpigco questioned the reasoning behind the military's need for additional property considering the fact that they already own 40 thousand acres or 27 percent of Guam's land. Judge Unpingco even suggested that the military could use other areas like Pati point.

Unpingco also brought up Guam's borrowing capacity something that is limited by the total value of Govguam property. Guam will need this borrowing capacity in order to beef up it's infrastructure for the military buildup.

Written by :
Clynt Ridgell

Sasayan landowners stand their ground: Residents refuse military's requests to survey land in northern Guam

Sasayan landowners stand their ground: Residents refuse military's requests to survey land in northern Guam

By Amritha Alladi • Pacific Daily News • December 28, 2009

Landowner Joseph Sgambelluri shows the pristine beachside of the Sasayan area in northern Guam on Dec. 18.



Sixty-one-year-old Lourdes Sgambelluri Pisarri remembers learning to swim in the Marbo Caves.

When she was 6, her grandfather, Marcello Sgambelluri, took her down to the freshwater caves, where she saw lobster and shrimp crawling at the bottom of the pool, and the stalactites and stalagmites jutting from its walls.

"It's freshwater that abuts the ocean. It's one of the most miraculous things that you can have," Pisarri said. "A freshwater pool, and the ocean is right there next to it."

But in a few months, access to those caves may be limited, and the lands where Pisarri's family farmed may be tainted with runoff from a decontamination facility and shooting range to be built there by the military, as part of their buildup projects, Pisarri said.

It's about 1,000 acres of ancestral land that's been in the Sgambelluri family for almost 100 years, Pisarri said. Now, the military is planning to construct a Marine training facility there.

"It's really a travesty of justice," she said.

Pisarri, who currently lives in New York, said she received a letter from the military earlier this year, asking if it could survey her lands and perform EPA studies there, she said.

In response, Pisarri wrote a letter to the director of the Joint Guam Program Office, John Jackson, saying she didn't want the military to place one foot on her property. She copied the letter to President Obama, Guam delegate Madeleine Bordallo, Gov. Felix Camacho, Sen. Judith Guthertz, and Retired Adm. Ed Kristensen among others, of whom only Guthertz, chairwoman of the Legislature's buildup committee, responded to the letter, she said.

"Bottom line is, I did write to the military to tell them -- in no uncertain terms --that I didn't want anybody stepping one foot on my property," Pisarri said. "I also told them I don't want one coconut tree destroyed that my grandfather planted 90 years ago."

Instead, Pisarri suggested the military use their own unused lands within the Andersen Air Force Base, but JGPO officials have told her EPA regulations prohibit the use of those lands.

"Frankly, (JGPOs public information officer Capt. Neil Ruggiero) stated that much of the military land was saving the lives of various animals, as an conservation area for birds," Pisarri wrote to JGPO.

'Displacing people'

"It unnerved me that you would first consider displacing people who have lived on our land for many years."

A statement provided by Ruggiero to the Pacific Daily News last week reiterated the Defense Department has tried to utilize its own property for the military realignment, but must follow federal environmental laws and planning processes to determine the best locations for the facilities and ranges necessary for the military realignment.

"The military is also considering feedback collected through discussions with village mayors, Government of Guam officials, and the Legislature. Through this process it has been determined that certain facilities, such as training ranges, will not fit on DOD properties without possible negative effects on Guam's citizens," Ruggiero said. "We have also learned that it may be wise to develop property near existing bases to allow functions to be grouped together in one location and eliminate the need to travel from one range or training area to another. This will ease impacts, such as traffic, on the surrounding community."
But Pisarri and other residents have said land leasing, monetary compensation, or the promise of providing land elsewhere are not options they would consider because most residents in the area acknowledge the land's value.

For example, Pisarri's brother, Joseph Sgambelluri, said the land in the Sasayan area facing the ocean is ideal for them to build family homes for their children to settle down.

"This area here is just too nice, too beautiful to use as a military site," added Virginia Stadler, another resident of the valley. "There are people that are thinking of building their homes ... to pass it on to their children and grandchildren."

Plus, Pisarri said the Chamorros are still waiting to be compensated for the way they were mistreated during World War II.

"My parents and the rest of the people on Guam have not yet been compensated by the United States," she said, adding the Japanese, the Jewish, the Native Americans, the Filipinos, and residents of Saipan have all been compensated after the atrocities they've faced throughout history.

"Why are the people of Guam being discriminated (against)? Why have they not been compensated?" she said.

But perhaps there's hope for the Sgambelluri family.

Land condemnation

Guthertz has said she and other Guam senators have obtained assurances from JGPO Executive Director Retired Maj. Gen. David Bice, that condemnation is not part of the plan for obtaining buildup lands. However, in a recent television appearance, Jackson said that all options including condemnation are "on the table," creating further confusion.

Thus, Guthertz will be holding a public hearing tomorrow to allow Guam residents to voice their concerns.

Joseph Sgambelluri will be among those present at the hearing to share their comments. Pisarri said her brother will be reading out her letter at the hearing, since she's miles away.

"I've been fighting the fight for a while now. I just know that people need to voice their opinion," Pisarri said. "We don't mind bringing men to Guam, but this is an overtaking."

Military to hikers: Take up indoor hobbies

Military to hikers: Take up indoor hobbies

Friday, 18 December 2009 04:21 by Jude Lizama | Variety News Staff

SINCE bonnie stompers are likely to lose access to jungles and cultural sites on island, the military is suggesting that hikers switch to indoor hobbies.

The Marine Corps Community Service has proposed various quality of life facilities such as hobby shop, indoor physical fitness centers, indoor recreational resources such as bowling, skating rink, youth center, theater and recreational pavilion.

These are among the alternative recreations cited by the military in the draft environmental impact statement.

“By presenting alternate recreational options to the potential users, impacts to the recreational resources on non-DoD lands in north Guam could be lessened,” the study cited.

A significant portion of nonmilitary acreage on the east coast of the island, in addition to the loss of some of the island’s recreational and cultural sites, may be confiscated as a result of the training range complex construction alternatives proposed within the draft environmental impact statement.

According to the impact study, “There are several recreational resources that the public would lose the access to, and the use of the features if the proposed action were implemented: Guam International Raceway, Marbo Cave, Pagat Trail and associated trails near it, cultural gathering activities (suruhana), and off-shore fishing near Marbo Cave.”

Through the possible implementation of Training Complex Alternative A, the U.S. military would look to acquire 921 acres of nonmilitary land located east of both Andersen South and Route 15. This alternative would also require 1.7 miles of Route 15 to be realigned. Alternative B could possible would see the military take 1,129 acres with no realignment to Route 15.

If conducted, both of the training facility options would consist of live fire ranges under the classifications of known distance, unknown distance, pistol, square-bay, and machine gun; in addition to range control, range roads, range towers, and proposed special use airspace.

Additionally, the study cited that “Implementation of [Main Cantonment] Alternative 1, regardless of the Training Complex Alternatives A or B, would cause the cessation of the present activities at all the resources mentioned because the Known Distance Range Complex is proposed in that location. The loss of Guam International Raceway land and use would be an adverse impact. Therefore, [Main Cantonment] Alternative 1 would result in significant impacts to recreational resources.”

“Heightened awareness and education about environmentally sensitive areas,” will contribute toward “minimizing deterioration of resources,” the draft study says. “The general wear and tear of the amenities available and the conditions of the recreational resources would likely be accelerated due to the presence of potential users.”