Air Force officials at Andersen AFB, Guam, are helping local conservation officials to reintroduce two species of birds, the Guam rail and the Kingfisher, to the base’s national wildlife refuge. At the same time, they are trying to control a non-native brown tree snake that wiped out the flightless Guam rail by eating all the bird eggs and put other native birds and bats on the island’s endangered list. Officials say a military cargo ship accidentally introduced the snake to the island in World War II. Dana Lujan, the base’s chief conservation officer, supervises 30 conservation programs to save and reintroduce species.
Members of the House Armed Services Committee say the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile program has been set back three months due to the ongoing government shutdown. The comment is noteworthy because the JATM's status has been kept tightly under wraps.
