[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 68 (Monday, April 8, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15508-15509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-8464]



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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Brown Tree Snake Control 
Committee Meeting

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Brown Tree Snake 
Control Committee, a Committee of the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 
Force. The Committee will meet to review the final draft Brown Tree 
Snake Control Plan and approve a final version. The Committee also will 
discuss potential implementation strategies for the plan, the 
interrelationship of the Brown Tree Snake Control Committee and the 
multi-agency members of the Memorandum of Agreement regarding brown 
tree snake control efforts, and the future of the Brown Tree Snake 
Control Committee.

DATES: The Brown Tree Snake Control Committee will meet from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 1996, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on 
Wednesday, May 1, 1996.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Ilikai Hotel, 1777 Ala Moana 
Boulevard, in Honolulu, Hawaii. Minutes will be maintained by Robert P. 
Smith, Chair, Brown Tree Snake Control Committee, U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Ecoregion, 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, 
Room 3108, Box 50088, Honolulu, Hawaii 96850. The minutes will be 
available for public inspection during regular business hours, Monday 
through Friday, within 30 days following the meeting.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Robert P. Smith, Chair, Brown Tree Snake Control Committee, at (808) 
541-2749 or Jay Troxel, Coordinator, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 
Force, at (703) 358-1718.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App. I), this notice announces a 
meeting of the Brown Tree Snake Control Committee, a committee of the 
Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force established under the authority of 
the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 1990 
(P.L. 101-646, 104 Stat. 4761, 16 U.S.C. 4701 et seq., November 29, 
1990).
    A native of Indonesia, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and 
Australia, the brown tree snake (Boiga irregularis) has caused or been 
a factor in the extirpation of most of Guam's native terrestrial 
vertebrates, including fruit bats, lizards, and some of the island's 
forest birds. In addition, brown tree snakes in Guam have caused more 
than a thousand power outages, damaged agricultural interests by 
preying on poultry, killed many pets, and envenomated numerous 
children.
    Several governmental agencies and private entities have been 
working to prevent similar ecological disasters on other Pacific 
islands, since the threat of the brown tree snake's dispersal to other 
islands and continents is significant. The brown tree snake is a major 
threat to the biodiversity of the Pacific region and other areas at 
risk. High densities of snakes occur in many urban areas on Guam where 
cargo is loaded for transport by air and sea to other Pacific islands, 
and dispersal has been documented by snakes discovered on islands in 
Hawaii and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and even 
in the continental United States.
    In recognition of this threat, the United States Congress included 
a section in the Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control 
Act of 1990 that authorizes a cooperative program to control the brown 
tree snake outside of its historic range. Representatives of the 
Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, and the Interior; the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; the Territory of Guam; 
and the State of Hawaii formed the Brown Tree Snake Control Committee 
in May 1993 to develop an

[[Page 15509]]
integrated pest management approach that would:
     Reduce existing brown tree snake populations on Guam;
     Prevent the spread of brown tree snakes to other Pacific 
islands and mainland areas;
     Eradicate or contain new populations as soon as detected;
     Protect endangered species and other wildlife from brown 
tree snake predation;
     Assist organizations and individuals on Guam to manage and 
control brown tree snake infestations, and especially to reduce 
disruptions of electrical supplies and human-snake encounters resulting 
in emotional trauma and bites;
     Develop adequate information on the brown tree snake's 
biology, dispersal dynamics, and control to support Federal, State, 
Territorial, and Commonwealth needs; and
     Develop more effective and environmentally sound control 
strategies and methods.
    To meet these objectives, the Brown Tree Snake Control Committee 
developed a draft plan reviewing the biology of the brown tree snake, 
its population development and status on various Pacific islands, its 
current and potential impacts on the environment and the economy, and 
past and present brown tree snake control activities. The draft plan 
also outlined specific tasks that need to be accomplished and funding 
needed for operational and research activities. The draft plan was 
released for public review and comment in April 1995, and comments 
received have been incorporated into a final draft plan, to be reviewed 
and approved during the upcoming Brown Tree Snake Control Committee 
meeting.

    Dated: April 1, 1996.
Gary Edwards,
Assistant Director--Fisheries, Co-Chair, Aquatic Nuisance Species Task 
Force.
[FR Doc. 96-8464 Filed 4-5-96; 8:45 am]
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