FOR IMMEDIATE NEWS RELEASE (July 30, 2020- Hagåtña, Guam)

“I join the Governor in supporting the State Historic Preservation Officer’s decision to invoke his authority to halt any clearing of the site designated for a Multi-Purpose Machine Gun Range in order to preserve our historic sites in place.  We already know in the adjacent areas that 14 known historic properties have already been cleared of all artifacts, 9 sites at the complex containing human remains and 6 sites containing historic artifacts were inadvertently discovered, and approximately eighty other known historic properties and the adjacent village of Litekyan will be impacted by the proposed LFTRC site,” states Senator Therese Terlaje.

Senator Therese Terlaje further states, “I encourage the SHPO to use this as an opportunity to negotiate a plan to preserve in place our artifacts and human remains in this obviously historic and culturally significant area without destroying the context and cultural landscape of our history.  Surely, the DoD can adjust their plans and use their resources to come up with alternatives to clearing this area while still meeting their training objectives.”

Site P-735 of the Live Fire Training Range Complex is the largest of the firing ranges which spans 59 acres.

Click this link for a copy of Resolution No. 164-35, which was overwhelmingly passed by the Legislature last year.  The resolution includes additional reasons to call for a pause to the clearing, pre-construction, data recovery, and construction activities related to the U.S. Department of the Navy’s proposed Live-Fire Training Range Complex at Northwest Field.

For information regarding the SHPO’s decision to invoke Stipulation XIII, download the press release and SHPO letter below.