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Description:
Project Manager:
Rob Ferguson
Project Years:
2015
Project Summary:
The project will assist in reducing soil loss, identified as a priority need in the Talakhaya Conservation Action Plan. The existing re-vegetation efforts occurring in the watershed require continued data collection to quantify the effects they are having in terms of reduced sedimentation. This project will quantify the reduction in sediment as a result of re-vegetation efforts occurring in Talakhaya watershed. The planting of Vetiver grass that is currently being conducted by DLNR Rota Forestry is anticipated to be completed in the summer of 2016, and this project aims to monitor the impacts through the end of the Vetiver planting. The project will measure current and past changes in soil loss from the re-vegetation efforts, quantify these changes in soil loss, and more importantly train community members in continued data collection. Study results will help inform and guide re-vegetation efforts in other parts of the CNMI and potentially the Micronesia region, fulfill objectives of the Talakhaya Conservation Action Plan, and quantify existing efforts being funded through the Coral Program State and Territorial Cooperative Agreement to CNMI. The primary project partner will be the University of Guam as they will conduct the study. Secondary partner is the Rota Department of Land and Natural Resources - Forestry Division, whose staff will be trained in the data collection methods and will assist the University of Guam. CNMI Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality is also a benefitting partner of the program.
Expected Outcome:
The primary outcome of this project will be the quantification of reduced sediment load from Talakhaya badlands as a result of the revised re-vegetation efforts by DLNR Rota Forestry. This project will directly address identified management Objective A3 Reduce Soil Loss, from the Talakhaya CAP (2012). The CAP strategies this project addresses are the following:A3a - Establish methodologies, and purchase equipment if necessary, to assess the rate of soil loss off of the Talakhaya/Sabana watershedA3b - Train at least two DLNR Rota Staff and/or stakeholders to assess rate of soil loss using established methodologyA3e - Annually assess rate of soil loss in the watershedA3f - Re-evaluate reduction of soil loss goal (25%) based on on-the-ground measurements of total soil loss and what the reduction would mean for conservation targets downstream.The FY12-13 funding for the project has already achieved strategy A3a. There is one stakeholder is who trained in the monitoring methodologies and works part-time with UOG on the project, contributing to strategy A3b. The project will fulfill A3e for the years during data collection by UOG. And the project will assist with providing the data needed to accomplish A3f. As CNMI updates the Talakhaya CAP in 2015, the results of this project will inform that revision process and help shape the final product.This project has already led to other complimentary monitoring work by CNMI resource agencies. The Marine Monitoring Team (MMT) in 2012 established additional water quality sampling sites in the nearshore stream exits where UOG is taking their sediment samples. The aim is to later compare the MMT benthic data with the various water quality data to assess if there is a correlation in health of the reef and/or changes in health of the reef over time, as a result of this re-vegetation work.In addition, this effort may be used to quantify CNMI's Micronesia Challenge goals of effective conservation and active management. Ultimately, the results of this project, and any future projects leveraged from this one, will result in reduced sedimentation of Rota's coral reefs, leading to healthier reef ecosystems.
Project Locations:
- Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
Jursdiction Priority Sites:
Project Category:
Land-based Sources of Pollution (LBSP)
Project Type:
Closed
Project Status:
Completed
Associated Products:
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