By Gerardo R. Partido
Variety News Staff

TESTIFYING in a congressional hearing, Guam officials have lobbied for the reauthorization of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000.
In the first legislative hearing of the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans of the Committee on Natural Resources in the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday, Guam officials, as well as Bush administration representatives, signaled support for H.R. 1205.
This legislation was introduced by Congressman Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa, Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo of Guam, Congresswoman Donna M. Christensen of the Virgin Islands, and Congressman Neil Abercrombie of Hawaii, on Feb. 27, 2007.
Guam Coastal Management Program administrator Evangeline “Vangie” Lujan appeared before the subcommittee on a panel of four at the invitation of Bordallo, the chairwoman of the subcommittee.
Lujan testified in favor of the bill on behalf of the All-Islands Group of the United States Coral Reef Task Force.
Lujan, who works in the Bureau of Statistics and Plans for GovGuam, also serves as the point of contact for Guam on the United States Coral Reef Task Force.
David B. Cohen, deputy assistant secretary for insular affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior, and Chris Bergh, director of the Florida Keys Program for The Nature Conservancy, also testified at the hearing.
The hearing on H.R. 1205 follows closely on the heels of the United States Coral Reef Task Force meeting held in Washington, D.C. last week and incorporates several changes recommended by members of the task force.
Bordallo emphasized that the Coral Reef Conservation Act has allowed scientists to better understand and evaluate coral reef ecosystems.
“Since its enactment in the year 2000, the Coral Reef Conservation Act has stimulated a greater commitment to protect, conserve and restore coral reef resources within jurisdictional waters of the United States. As a result, we now have a much better grasp of the condition of our coral reefs, and a more focused management capability than at any time in our history,” the congresswoman said.
Nevertheless, Bordallo said the work is far from over.
“Clearly, if we wish to have coral reefs in the future, we cannot retreat from our efforts to protect them in the present,” the congresswoman stressed.
Lujan also emphasized the importance and value of coral reef conservation for local communities across the United States and especially for the people of Guam.
“Often called rainforests of the sea, coral reefs provide economic and environmental services to millions of people as valuable areas of natural beauty, sources of food, jobs and revenues, recreation and tourism, cultural activities and shoreline protection,” Lujan stated as she urged support for the bill and offered recommendations for additional improvements in current law.