Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force Brown Tree Snake Control Committee Meeting

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

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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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