Susupe Lake, Saipan

One of the wetlands visited by the HGM team was Susupe Lake, which is prehistorically and historically significant. The Lake lake was part of Saipan’s lagoon around 6000 B.C., but by 500 A.D it had been sealed off through the natural buildup of sand. The Pre-Latte Period (from around 2000 – 500 B.C.) would have seen human occupation, perhaps in, and definitely around the inland banks of the lake. The presence of humans in the area carried through to the Latte Period (around 700/800 – 1521 A.D.) according to a more recent study of the lake by the CNMI Historical Preservation Office through the International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc. (IARII).
Magellan “discovered” the Northern Mariana Islands in 1521 and the Spanish began their occupation of the islands. The Spanish removed all indigenous occupants from Saipan for the greater part of the 18th century and early on into the 19th century.
The islands were sold to Germany in 1899. During this period, the island inhabitants settled mostly within the villages of Garapan and Tanapag. However, they also began coconut grove plantations throughout the islands for copra production. This included around the border of Susupe Lake.
By World War I, the islands were mandated to the Japanese by the League of Nations and human activity within the Susupe Lake area increased, with many of the coconut groves being replaced for other agricultural uses. The marshes around Susupe Lake were now cultivated for rice production, and the lake was connected to the lagoon by a dug out channel associated with a sugar mill located at what is now Sugar Dock. During the Latte Period, Chamorros also cultivated rice, although it has still not been confirmed whether this was the case at Susupe Lake.
After the Battle for Saipan in July 1944, the civilian population was located at Camp Susupe. The boundaries of the camp stretched close to the western and northwestern banks of the Lakelake. In November of the same year, the Chamorros and Carolinians were relocated to Camp Chalan Kanoa. The camp boundaries here also touched on the outer edges of the lake’s southwestern and western banks. To sustain the Japanese, Okinawan, and Korean civilians in Camp Susupe, and the natives in Camp Chalan Kanoa, the U.S. military Civil Affairs Unit got the civilians to conduct agricultural activities within the Chalan Kiya area. This area includes certain portions of the Lake’s lake’s northern and northeastern peripheral marshes.
Today the channel has filled in and the Lake lake is once more isolated from the lagoon. The northwestern end of the lake in Susupe is the most densely inhabited area, with some homes strung along the ridge on the eastern side, visible from the Lake lake itself. The Lake lake is about 42 acres in size, and the surrounding marsh is approximately 420 acres. The Lake lake is home to the Mariana Common Moorhen and the Nightingale Reed Warbler, two endangered species. The Moorhen inhabits the open water, while the Reed Warbler lives in the Phragmites karka (karisso), Hibiscus tiliacius (pago), and Casuarina equisetifolia (gago, Ironwood).
Terrapins (fresh water turtles) were introduced to the Lake lake as a food source by the Japanese, but are now raised by local residents as pets. The Lake lake is full of tilapia that are sometimes fished by residents from row boats or kayaks. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the Lakelake. Acrostichum aureum (Wetland fern) can be seen growing around the perimeter of the lake on top of matting created by the needle-like leaves of the Casuarina equisetifolia forested area. (Genevieve Cabrera and Kathy Yuknavage)

Genevieve Cabrera is a CNMI historian; Kathy Yuknavage is a natural resources planner at the Coral Reef Management Office.