Termination of Wildlife Refuge

(a)Legislative statement. It is the policy of the government of Guam to seek the termination of federal ownership of real property in Northern Guam commonly known as the Wildlife Refuge and to seek the transfer of those lands from the control of the U.S. Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service to local authority for whatever purposes deemed appropriate by local authority, including possible return to original landowners. In as much as this is public policy, it is inappropriate for any government of Guam instrumentality to act in a manner inconsistent with this policy. While Guam has its own legitimate concerns and programs with respect to the conservation of local fauna, flora, and habitat, it is the position of the government of Guam that federal jurisdiction in these matters is to be opposed. Consequently, in the carrying out of local conservation initiatives and programs, it is vital that neither the government of Guam nor any of its instrumentalities implicitly or explicitly convey tacit or expressed approval of the continuous existence of the Wildlife Refuge under federal jurisdiction.

(b)Neither the government of Guam, nor any of its instrumentalities, shall enter into any cooperative agreement or memorandum of understanding, with any department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States federal government, which in any manner can be construed as providing tacit or expressed support CH. 68 USE AND DEVELOPMENT OF GOVERNMENT AND OTHER LAND of continued existence of the so-called Wildlife Refuge under federal jurisdiction at Ritidian. The use of any government of Guam resource, personnel, equipment, or funds to enforce any limitation of public access to the so-called Wildlife Refuge at Ritidian is prohibited. Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting the government of Guam from enforcement of local laws with respect to protection and management of fish, wildlife, and flora.

(c)The government of Guam hereby disestablishes all federal designations of critical habitat or wildlife refuge as an act of sovereignty.