Greetings and Welcome to Guam Department of Agriculture’s Web Site.

After browsing through this site for just a short time, you’re sure to recognize that the Department of Agriculture has a much broader mandate than the oversight and development of the agricultural industry.  We are, essentially, the stewards of our natural resources.  The binding tide that draws all of the divisions of the Department together is nature.  Our overall task is to protect, preserve and enhance our natural resources, including wildlife, the marine ecosystem and fisheries, of our forests, rivers and streams, and the prevention of invasion from unwanted plant and animal species and viruses.  We are also tasked with reducing the number of stray animals in our community and providing education on proper and lawful animal importation, exportation and pet care.

The divisions of the Department include the Division of Aquatic & Wildlife Resources (DAWR), Forestry and Soil Resources (FSR), Agricultural Development Services (ADS), the Plant Inspection Station (PIS), and Animal Control.  Each division is staffed with professional people who are self driven, self motivated, and are sincerely committed to the work they perform for the community and for the planet.  That may sound a bit over the top, but it’s true.  Being good stewards to nature is a human responsibility, not just a government responsibility.  If nature on our planet decays, becomes unbalanced, ends up unable to perform its function, life on earth cannot exist as we know it.  Nature is the provider of food and water and air, all the essentials of life.  Pollute the soil so that our food is no longer healthy, pollute the water so it is no longer potable, pollute the air so it no longer provides oxygen and we all die…it’s as simple as that.  A good example of that here locally is our coral reefs.  For decades, scientists at UOG’s Marine Laboratory have been telling us that our coral reefs are dieing.  Over-fishing, erosion and chemicals in our wastewater and runoffs are killing our coral reefs.  To combat this dilemma, leaders within DAWR, together with leaders in the legislature, established five marine preserves, designed to stop the abuse of coral reef ecosystem and give nature time to heal.  Over the past five years, the coral reef within the preserves has rebounded  tremendously, and the fish populations are rising.  What this tells us is that even though we are often the cause of environmental problems, we are also the solution.  All we have to do is stop the destructive behavior and nature will heal itself.  That’s an important lesson.

With an eye on working with nature rather than against it, our Agricultural Development Services division has developed an organic demonstration farm.  This way, we can show local farmers and gardeners that organic methods can work on island, and the food that is produced is the healthiest in the world.

From reforestation to plant quarantine to conservation enforcement, the Department of Agriculture uses a wide variety of methods and resources to help ensure that the nature that sustains us today will still be alive and healthy for the generations that follow.  It is an important responsibility, and an honorable role to play in our community.   The people of Guam should be proud of the men and women at the Department of Agriculture for the tremendous service they perform, and the professional way they perform it.  It has been an honor and a privilege for me to serve with the men and women of this Department and I sincerely hope that this website will help in expanding the public’s awareness of the work being done to enhance our quality of life now and for many generations to come.

Thank you,
Paul C. Bassler