The Yela Watershed on Kosrae is reputed to be one of the last, undisturbed watersheds in the world. Yela is a great example of yet another resource unique to Kosrae that needs to be mapped and modeled so that a baseline may be established for further study, analysis, etc.
Yela has already been the subject of many USFS, USGS, and Nature Conservancy studies. Rightly so. To see it, even from offshore, made me think of Jurassic Park. It is the thickest, densest, greenest, forested area of land I have seen. From its highest point right down to the sea, Yela is undisturbed by any roads, utilities, culverts, etc. A rare place to be sure!
Because of the rarity of this site, the US Forest Service has been studying and surveying in the area for years. If you are curious to know more, simply enter Yela Watershed into a search engine—a lot of information is available.
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