Council celebrates national RC&D week

The Marianas Resource Conservation and Development Council has joined the 375 RC&D Councils across the country in celebrating “RC&D Week,” which covers the period July 11–17.

RC&D week was declared in recognition of the 40th anniversary of the designation of the first 10 RC&D areas. In the past 40 years the program has grown from 10 designated areas to 375 designated areas that cover over 80 percent of the United States and its territories.

Sharon Ruggi, president of the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils, expressed pleasure and pride as the thousands of RC&D council members prepare to celebrate the National Community Service that RC&D Councils provide to America.

On Saipan, the Marianas RC&D council, with funding from the Coastal Resources Management Office, will install the Kagman Education Island Wetland Interpretive Exhibits. The interpretive exhibits will illustrate the role wetlands play in protecting coral reef resources from non-point source pollution and provide outdoor educational opportunities to students, residents, and visitors.

On Guam, the Marianas RC&D Council will partner with the Umatac village residents, Territorial Band, Forestry & Soil Resources Division, the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service and other volunteers to implement the Fouha Watershed Conservation plan by installing approximately five acres of soil erosion control matting and over 15,000 tree seedlings this summer. This is a continuation of Phase I tree plantings of 50 acres conducted in 2003. The goal of the project is to reforest the entire watershed with thousands of tree seedlings to help reduce sedimentation into Fouha Bay and the surrounding coral reef ecosystem.

“Local people determining their community needs and creating solutions for these needs in our communities, and the many projects that RC&D Councils carry out, are far too important to go unnoticed in our communities and unrecognized by the media,” Ruggi said.

Resource Conservation and Development Councils are volunteers who serve their communities in all 50 states and U.S. territories. The Councils identify, address, and solve the challenges needed to sustain and improve the quality of life in their own communities. For more information visit the National RC&DC website at http://www.rcdnet.org.