CFAY Natural Resources Program Selected as USFJ’s Best
By Ronald Inman, NAVFAC Far East Public Affairs 


(Left) CFAY Environmental Director Charles Schulz, CFAY Commanding Officer Capt. Daniel Weed and CFAY Environmental Natural and Cultural Resources Program Manager Ryouko Araki accept the United States Forces Japan 2009 Environmental Excellence Award for Natural Resources Protection from Commander Navy Region Japan Executive Director Susan Carey and Commander Naval Forces Japan Chief of Staff Capt. Peter Rush, June 15. Photo by Yasuko Nakamura

Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY) Public Works Department Environmental Division’s efforts to protect the community’s natural resources have been recognized as the best in Japan with the selection of CFAY in the Natural Resource Protection category of the 2009 Headquarters, United States Forces Japan (USFJ) Installation Environmental Excellence Awards May 26.
 
“Much of what we do as an environmental department comes down to protecting our natural resources,” said CFAY Environmental Director, Charles Schulz.

CFAY was recognized for its efforts as a leader in environmental protection, including the installation of low-illumination light bulbs to protect its threatened firefly population and its role in the 2009 Earth Day celebration.

During the event, CFAY teamed up with base units, the Kanagawa Prefectural Fisheries Technology Center and 150 Yokosuka Elementary School students to plant eel grass and release 400 young marbled flounder into the marina and bay surrounding the base to increase the marina population.

CFAY held the event again this month, this time inviting Girl Scouts from the local community to participate.

In addition, the award recognized CFAY’s effort to enhance Yokosuka City’s cultural and historical resources program through its donation of more than 50 items to the Yokosuka City Museum which resulted in an exhibit dedicated solely to relics from Yokosuka.

CFAY also started an adopt-a-monument program designed to stimulate greater familiarity and awareness of the 19 monuments located on Yokosuka Naval Base and provided over 2,200 opportunities in 2009 for cultural interaction by conducting and sponsoring cultural volunteer activities between American and Japanese families.

“The USFJ Environmental Excellence Awards recognize the outstanding achievement in environmental management by USFJ Service Components,” said Air Force Major Rodney C. Harris, U.S. Forces Japan Logistics in a USFJ press release. “As part of the U.S. - Japan Alliance, USFJ Service Components sustain military readiness, training and operational capabilities; while at the same time they conserve and sustain the natural and cultural resources of facilities and areas entrusted to them.”

The ceremony was in conjunction with the annual Japan Joint Environmental Conference at Camp Foster, Okinawa.