Guam § 63103 - Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve.

§ 63103. Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve.

(a) Creation. There is hereby created within the Department of Agriculture of the government of

Guam, the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve, which shall be headed by the Director of

Agriculture, hereafter referred to as the Director. The Director, subject to the advice and control of I

Maga’hågan/Maga’låhen Guåhan, shall carry out the purposes of this Chapter and shall have such

additional duties and responsibilities as are authorized herein.

(b) Functions and Duties. The general function and duties of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation

Officer Reserve shall be to provide backup manpower for the suppression of fish and wildlife crimes,

preservation of law and order, and to assist in civil emergencies. The Director shall formulate a program

whereby the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve shall fulfill the functions and duties herein

prescribed. From time to time, the Director shall review and revise the functions and duties of the Civilian

Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve to insure an amicable discharge of its responsibilities and duties

knowing that its role is the extension of duties of regular Department of Agriculture personnel.

(c) Recruitment. The Director shall recruit, on an entirely volunteer basis, local residents who desire

to provide their services to the Department of Agriculture in carrying out its law enforcement duties and

emergency functions. The Director shall promulgate rules and regulations consistent with the requirements

of hiring regular Conservation Officers.

(d) Training, Equipment and Maintenance of Records. The Director shall devise a program whereby

the Law Enforcement Section in the Division of Aquatic and Wildlife Resources of the Department of

Agriculture and the Civil Defense Office provides the members of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation

Officer Reserve training in crime prevention and operational techniques and procedures for natural and

man-made emergencies. Volunteer officers must have a certificate of completion of a training program

approved by competent authority. The Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve shall maintain a

roster of volunteers who have received the training prescribed herein. In order to maintain membership in

the Reserve, each member must complete his or her scheduled training and no volunteer may remain in the

Reserve if he or she is unable to successfully complete the training. Additionally, basic supplies and

equipment shall be provided to assure constant functioning of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer

Reserve, including a continuing program for replacement of officers.

(e) Volunteer: Authority. Whenever members of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Reserve render

assistance to Conservation Officers, the volunteers shall have the same powers, duties, rights, including

coverage under the Worker’s Compensation Act, privileges and immunities, as full-time employees of the

Department of Agriculture, except that they shall earn recruitment credit for services performed as

volunteers.

(f) Same: Allowance. Each member of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Officer Reserve who

successfully completes probationary requirements as established by the Director and who contributes a

minimum of forty-two (42) hours or more per month, shall receive compensation in the amount of Five

Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per month, to defray the cost of maintenance of their equipment and uniforms.

The Department of Agriculture shall identify funds within department appropriations or other appropriate

funding sources to satisfy the requirements of this Section.

COL 2025-06-04

CH. 63 FISH, GAME, FORESTRY AND CONSERVATION

(g) Same: Eligibility and Oath. No person shall be a volunteer member of the Civilian Volunteer

Conservation Officer Reserve established under this Chapter who advocates a change by force or violence

in the constitutional form of the Government of the United States or Guam or the overthrow of any

Government in the United States by force, or who has been convicted of or is under indictment or

information charging any subversive act against the United States. Every volunteer shall, entering upon his

or her duties, take an oath, in writing, before a person authorized to administer oaths in Guam, which oath

shall be substantially as follows:

“I_______________________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the

Constitution of the United States and the laws of Guam, against all enemies, foreign or domestic;

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any

mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties

upon which I am about to enter and I do further swear (or affirm) that I do not advocate, nor am

I a member of any political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government

of the United States or of Guam by force or violence; and that during such time as I am a member

of the Civilian Volunteer Conservation Reserve I will not advocate nor become a member of any

political party or organization that advocates the overthrow of the Government of the United

States or of Guam by force or violence.”

(h) Rules and Regulations: Recommendations. The Director shall create rules and regulations through

the Administrative Adjudication process to implement and maintain the Civilian Volunteer Conservation

Officer Reserve.