The lovely and culturally pristine village of Maaq is located in the Tomil Municipality on the east coast of Yap’s main island. This community has already taken an active interest in conservation with the establishment of the 477-acre Peelaek Channel Marine Conservation Area. This area is co-owned and co-managed by the villages of Maaq and Leebinaw in Gagil Municipality. The 35-acre area of pristine mangrove adjacent to the Maaq settlement survived both Typhoon Sudal and several oil spills. A preliminary rapid assessment found at least four of Yap’s main five genera of mangroves in the reserve. It is also a nursery for birds, mangrove clams, mangrove crabs, rabbit fish, and mullet, including the endangered Yap monarch.

The Maaq community is setting aside the Maaq Mangrove Reserve in perpetuity. It will use a Seacology grant to culvert a causeway that runs across the bay to a neighboring village. In addition,  it will extend its freshwater supply lines to houses in the community that currently do not have them. Seacology will fund these projects through a local NGO, the Yap Community Action Program, or YapCAP.