By Emmanuel T. Erediano
Variety News Staff

THE Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council is looking for more wetlands that can be converted into “education islands,” says its vice president, Ike Cabrera, during the inauguration of the Kagman wetland project yesterday.
Students from Kagman High School were the first ones to learn more about wetlands at the Kagman Education Island on Chacha Road.
“We want kids to do more studies about wetlands,” Cabrera said.
Council president Roland Quitugua said turning wetlands into educational venues helps spread awareness of the need to protect the environment.
The seven acre Kagman Education Island is the latest component added to the wetland which also provides flood control and irrigation to the surrounding farmlands.
Four educational signs have been installed in the area.
Coastal Resources Management Office’s Tim Lang said the signs are federally funded and cost $7,000.
The signs provide information about wetlands, how they works, their locations, and the endangered species that can be found in these areas.
Kagman is a farming area for Saipan, according to Scott Crocket, a district conservationist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Services.
“So the wetland also plays an important role in irrigation,” he added.
Quitugua said the purpose of the education island project is to mitigate some environmental impacts.
“This is a living laboratory not only for the students but for the community as well,” he added.
According to Ken Kramer of the Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council, “what we do with land management affects the quality of our marine environment.”
He said wetlands filter water that runs to the beach and the ocean.