The Guam Department of Agriculture will be holding a public hearing next week to solicit public comments on the Guam Forest System Plan.

The Guam Forest System Plan is an inventory of land mandated by the Guam Forestry Legacy Act of 2012.

Agriculture’s Forestry and Soil Resources Division Chief Christine Camacho-Fejeran says the land inventory includes the lot number, size and location for proposed potential use in the Forest System Plan.

“An element of the plan is that it is a comprehensive and concise definition of the public interest in the System,” she said.

The plan has four main goals such as to manage watersheds to protect and improve water quality of surface water, groundwater and nearshore marine habitat, maintain and enhance biological integrity of native ecosystems, support public access to the Guam Forest System, and strengthen the economy by sustainable use of forest products and protection of key forest ecosystem services such as flood abatement, erosion control, carbon fixation, and ecotourism.

The public hearing will be held Monday, June 10 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Sinajana Mayor’s Office.

DOAG will also be hosting a Forest System Plan Summit scheduled for June 20th at the Hyatt Regency Guam.

“The purpose of the Guam Forest System Plan (GFSP) Summit is to engage partners and stakeholders through discussions that explore opportunities for collaboration in the implementation of the plan to meet the goals and objectives identified in the plan as well as those in shared initiatives of partners and stakeholders,” Camacho-Fejeran added.