Some are not appeased by the Department of Defense’s attempt to reach compromises on the military buildup plan, while others are a little more receptive, and still others dread the uncertainties that lie ahead.
Vice Speaker BJ Cruz and Sen. Judi Guthertz said the final environmental impact statement, which was signed last Friday, does not completely rule out land condemnation for the purpose of acquiring additional land including the areas covered by the Pagat site.
Members of the federal delegation met with the community at the University of Guam Fieldhouse on Friday to discuss the final impact study.
Hundreds of people attended the two-hour briefing presented by White House officials including Assistant Secretary of the Navy Jackalyne Pfannenstiel, Assistant Secretary of Interior for Insular Affairs Tony Babauta, Council on Environmental Quality Chairwoman Nancy Sutley, and Deputy Undersecretary of Defense Dorothy Robyn.
The officials assured the public that what was decided for Guam in the final draft is in the best interest of the island.
Bruce Mantanona, a resident from Yigo who occasionally visits Pagat, said he was disappointed that other avenues for a firing range were not studied. “It makes me think that they don’t care about what the people want. They are only concerned with their wants and needs,” he said.
Some are convinced that Guam’s economy will boom because of the impending buildup.
’Not such a bad thing’
Jorel Carrera, of Dededo, said he is not completely opposed to the decisions made in the final impact report. “It’s not such a bad thing that [the defense department] is willing to compromise. I just hope this will make people realize how important Guam is to them and that it will make residents want to explore their history even more and treat the island better,” he said.
Other key points disclosed in the FEIS was that the initial population estimate of 80,000 by 2014 was reduced to a more realistic number of 41,000 and that the full implementation of the military buildup will only go at a pace Guam’s infrastructure can handle.
Brian Datuin, a resident of Dededo, who recently moved back to the island from Hawaii, said he is more concerned about where the workforce for the military buildup will come from. “I heard most of the workers will be foreigners. I’m not really comfortable knowing that I might not even benefit from this,” he said.
Pagat protest
Protesters on Friday gathered and formed a human chain at the Pagat site, expressing their opposition to the defense department’s decision to pursue its plan to build a firing range in the ancient village site, which they noted ranks No. 9 on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of top 11 most endangered sites.
“It doesn’t make sense for the military to continue to condemn Chamorro property, especially a property that is sacred to the people,” said Al Lizama, a retired archaeologist who was at the protest rally on Friday.
Lizama said he excavated the site in the 1970s. “I know there is plenty of information that can still come out of that site,” he said of the potential history that may be lost if the military takes over the land.
Several of the delegates from Washington D.C. accepted an invitation to see the ancient place first hand.
Barbara Tainatongo, who had her children in tow at the protest rally, said the Pagat site must be preserved for generations to follow. “You feel so much of our people there,” she said. “The spirits are there.”
“We may be a small island, but we have a big voice,” she added as the protesters continued to chant in the background, “Hey, hey, ho, ho the firing range has got to go.”
Horst Greczmiel, associate director for the Council on Environmental Quality, said he came to Pagat “to see what it is the visitors see when they come as well as to hear from some of the Native Chamorro people which of these areas are most sacred to them and what it is they focus on when they come to visit.”
