For the next 30 days the public can comment on GovGuam's new draft deal with the defense department for consultations on military construction and training activities. KUAM News spoke today with the new acting state historic preservation officer, who says the new Programmatic Agreement is "One hundred percent better" than the previous one.

The governor's chief adviser on military and regional affairs, Carlotta Leon Guerrero, is the acting SHPO, as Patrick Lujan will be away until April on National Guard deployment. She says the new agreement allows for enhanced consultation and data sharing on how best to preserve historic properties and cultural resources.

"So now everybody that comes over in the military, their contractors, their dependents, even the allies that would be training here are all going to have to undergo a level of cultural sensitivity and awareness," she explained.

"We really pushed the boundaries and the parameters and asked for new language in here that creates more of a role for people within our community that we feel are subject matter experts," Leon Guerrero explained.

"So we pushed to say that within our community we know there are cultural and traditional practitioners that we want to listen to that we want to have in the contract to be able to listen to and have them involved in this," she said.

She says the governor believes it will create a greater role for concerned stakeholders. They're also anxious for public feedback which can still be incorporated into the final agreement, noting, "It's better than what's on the books, it'll only get better with more input, so we're very curious to see what could come in to improve this."

There's also an appendix that provides very specific details of the military training plans.

In a statement, Joint Region Marianas commander Rear Admiral John Menoni says it will increase community awareness and understanding. He said the agreement will also provide a higher degree of protection for Guam's historic and cultural resources, while also ensuring the Department of Defense can maintain the highest levels of training and readiness.

For more information, and to submit comments go to the State Historic Preservation Officer's website at www.historicguam.net.