About Us | Forestry & Soil Resources Division

About Us


	Forest Stewardship
	Cooperative Forest Health Management
	Urban & Community Forestry
	Cooperative Fire Protection
	Natural Resources Conservation Education

Rules & Regulations

Budget & contracts

Our Mission: To conserve, protect, and enhance Guam's vegetative environment and sustain its natural resources, specifically soil, water, and air quality.

Forestry & Soil Resources Division (F&SRD) addresses major natural resource problems by encouraging non-industrial private forest landowners, including farmers (for tree windbreaks and erosion control), to enroll in FSP to receive technical assistance and proper plant material to reduce erosion to conserve and improve soil and drinking/recreational water quality.

Government and private rural savannah lands are constantly burned consist of basically grasslands and badlands. Burned lands usually results in poor soil quality in which many native trees cannot grow properly due to eroded quality soil. These eroded soil negatively impact watershed productivity, drinking water quality, and marine ecosystems.

F&SRD’s role is to promote reforestation of these denuded areas with Acacia and Ironwood trees, which have been proven to grow vigorously in these poor quality soils. The establishment of these trees decreases erosion, slows down fire spread, builds soil quality, and enhances watershed productivity resulting in healthy terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems. The reduction of soil erosion and sedimentation into rivers and coastal areas will enhance drinking water quality and marine life. Improved soil quality will enable native trees to grow prosperously.

Another major objective is to eventually re-introduce native plants to these areas to enhance disturbed native ecosystems and promote cultural identity.

On urban settings such as roadways, parks, beaches, schools, and other government urban lands, F&SRD, through the Urban & Community Forestry Program (U&CF), works with the community and collaborating government agencies to reduce erosion in identified government lands by mass planting erosion-control plants with volunteers, and increase native vegetation to improve native environment, sustain natural resources, and enhance urban aesthetics.

High priority planting activities are conducted by volunteer groups with the assistance of Guam Forestry Staff.

F&SRD addresses wildland fires through the Cooperative Fire Program (CFP) where the division shifts into fire season (dry season) and routinely patrols Guam’s forests and grasslands to suppress wildland fires. It is believed that all wildland fires are started from man for several reasons including land clearing and hunting. Every dry season, which generally occurs from February through June, thousands of acres are burned which consist of grasslands, reforested lands, and pristine native forests. Major objectives are the safety of human life and assets, and to protect natural resources such as native forests and Guam Forestry reforestation projects. Other fire prevention activities include community and school presentations and educational activities.

Through Cooperative Forest Health & Management Program (CFHM), designated forestlands are monitored for pests and diseases, where Forestry works collaboratively with agencies such as the University of Guam on strategies to suppress increasing forest problems.

Through all programs, especially Natural Resources Conservation Education Program (NRCE), environmental educational presentations are conducted in schools and community events, and much literature is produced such as brochures, fact sheets and posters to promote the importance of sustaining Guam’s environment and natural resources.