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USGS outlines yearlong nighttime snake surveys to help Guam Power Authority reduce outages
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Summary
US Geological Survey Brown Tree Snake Project staff described a nighttime mark–recapture survey around eight substations to inform mitigation of snake-caused power outages, prompting mayoral concerns about the project's catch-and-release method and questions about local control and removal.
Christiana Kanata, research staff with the U.S. Geological Survey Brown Tree Snake Project, told the Mayor’s Council that USGS has begun nighttime visual surveys and mark–recapture work near substations to understand snake movements that cause power outages.
USGS is partnering with Guam Power Authority and said the Office of Insular Affairs funds the project. Kanata said snake-caused outages cost Guam Power Authority “more than $3,000,000,” can last minutes to several days depending on the hardware affected, and generally occur late at night when snakes are active.
The field work focuses on transects along rights-of-way near eight substations the agencies identified as repeatedly affected: Jigo, Harmon, Tumon/Tumuning, Agana area (Roy T. Damian Street), Mauneng/Toitu/Maite area, Piti/Parrot area, Talofofo and other trouble sites identified in maps passed to mayors. Teams search vegetation and lines using high-powered headlamps, flag transects, capture snakes for measurements and implant tags, then release them at the capture site so movements can be tracked over weekly checks for one year.
Kanata said the surveys are limited to public rights-of-way and coordinated GPA property; crews will notify GPA dispatch immediately if they encounter a snake on a live pole. She also provided a contact number for nightly search updates and scheduling (listed in the meeting): 362858511.
Mayors and others pressed the presenters on the catch-and-release method. Mayor Inalahan said releasing tagged snakes “kinda really doesn't feel… we are definitely trying our due diligence and trying to eradicate these snakes,” and urged that more snakes be killed than released. Joyce Sayama of Guam Power Authority Communications and John Beneventi, GPA utility administrative aide, responded that USDA-run traps at substations do remove and kill snakes captured in those traps and that the USGS project is intended to provide movement data to guide where control effort is most effective. Sayama said GPA line crews perform trimming and preventive maintenance year-round and encouraged residents to report snakes to GPA dispatch rather than approach downed or live lines.
Why it matters: Snake-caused outages are an island-wide reliability and safety problem. The study aims to identify snake origins and movement corridors to improve targeted control near critical substations and reduce repeated outages that affect many customers.
Next steps: USGS will continue weekly tracking for a year, provide weekly location notices of their night-survey schedule to the mayoral council contact, and coordinate with USDA and GPA on control work. GPA emphasized its 24/7 dispatch and line-crew availability for trimming and outage response.
