Resource Description Report Prepared for: Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Coastal Zone Management Commissioned by: University of the Virgin Islands Prepared by: Island Resources Foundation 14 August, 2002 Resource Description Report FOR BIBLIOGRAPHY PURPOSES THIS DOCUMENT MAY BE CITED AS: NOTE: Island Resources Foundation, 2002. Resource Description Report. University of the Virgin Islands and Department of Planning and Natural Resources. USVI, 14 August, 2002. This document was commissioned by the University of the Virgin Islands from the Island Resources Foundation under the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Coastal Zone Management's VI Marine Park Project (National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Award No. NA07020513.) Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Acronyms Executive Summary Chapter 1: Introduction 1.0 Project Background 1.1 Report Introduction Chapter 2: History of Marine Protection Efforts in the USVI 2.0 Historical Background 14 August 2002 v vi 1 1 1 3 3 2.1 Summary: Chronology of US VI Protected Area Initiatives 4 2.2 Summary of Existing Marine Protected Areas in the US Virgin Islands 7 2.3 Summary: Marine Management Policy Implications of Historical Initiatives16 Chapter 3: Description of Marine Resources in the Territorial Sea 19 3.0. The Virgin Islands Marine Environment 19 3.1. Overview of Potential Sites to be Included in Marine Protected Areas 27 3.2. Information Gaps 39 Chapter 4: Criteria for Selection of Marine Protected Areas 42 4.0 Methodology for Choosing Selection Criteria 42 4.1 Defining Selection Criteria 43 4.2 Assessment of Criteria for Ecological Significance 45 4.3 Additional Input Needed to Define Selection Criteria 49 Chapter 5: Priorities for Protection 50 5.0 Summary of Priorities for Protection 50 5.1 Relevant Policy Issues 54 References 56 Resource Description Report Page ii Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Appendices Appendix A: Summary of 150 VI Marine Sites and Data Availability Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for Forty Priority Marine Sites Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MP A Efforts Appendix D: Threatened and Endangered Species of the US Virgin Islands Appendix E: Maps and Recommended Mapping Resources Appendix F: Copy of Terms of Reference Appendix G: List of Contacts for this Report Appendix H: Copies of Key Documents Tables Table 1: Potential Areas For Virgin Islands MP As ............................................... 28 Table 2: Assessment of Criteria for Ecological Significance ••.••.•...•.••.••••••••••••••••••• 46 Table 3: Priorities for Protection-Selected Areas ......•..•...•.•.••.•••..•••..•.•...•...••....... 51 Appendix A: Summary of 150 Coastal Sites ............................................................. A - 1 Appendix C, Table 1: Proposed Territorial Marine Reserves, 1975 •.........•.•.•..••. C - 5 Resource Description Report Page iii Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report Figures 14 August 2002 Figure 1: Southeast St. Thomas Marine Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries ........... 8 Figure 2: Red Hind Closure Area, St. Croix ............................................................. 10 Figure 3: Mutton Snapper Closure Area, St. Croix ................................................. 11 Figure 4: Red Hind Bank Marine Conservation Area, St. Thomas ........................ 13 Figure 5: Boundaries of St. John Coral Reef National Monument ....•.....•.•.•..••.•.•.• 15 Figure 6: Proposed Boundaries VI Coral Reef National Park ................................ 16 Figure 7: Map of Virgin Islands ................................................................................. 20 Figure 8: Marine Portion of Virgin Islands National Park on St. John .•••••.••••.•..•• 34 Figure 9: St. Croix: High Priorities for Marine Protection ..................................... 53 Figure 10: St. Thomas/St. John: High Priorities for Marine Protection .•.•••.•.•.••••••• 54 Resource Description Report Page iv Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report LIST OF ACRONYMS APC CBRS CFMC DCCA DoC Dol DPNR ICRI IRF MPA Area of Particular Concern Coastal Barriers Resource System Caribbean Fisheries Management Council VI Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs US Department of Commerce US Department of Interior VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources International Coral Reef Initiative Island Resources Foundation Marine Protected Area NCRTF National Coral Reef Task Force NM Nautical Mile NMFS NOAA NPS SNA USVI VI VTNP VITPS National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, DoC National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration National Park Service, Dol Significant Natural Area United States Virgin Islands Virgin Islands Virgin Islands National Park Virgin Island Territorial Park System Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Page v Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Government of the US Virgin Islands has undertaken an initiative to establish the objectives, policies and procedures for management of marine resources within its territorial waters, through the development of marine protected areas (MPAs). This Resource Description report by Island Resources Foundation provides some of the background information necessary to design a successful system of marine protected areas in the u.s. Virgin Islands. The goals ofthis report are: • • • • To describe the current status ofthe Territorial Sea of the U.S. Virgin Islands; To summarize previous efforts to identify and create marine protected areas within the coastal and near coastal waters of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and, To assess generally accepted criteria for marine protected areas in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and, As possible, to suggest priorities for MP As in the Territorial Sea of the u.S. Virgin Islands. Historically, there have been several previous efforts to protect the marine enviromnent in the U.S. Virgin Islands. None have been fully implemented, although some of the existing "protected areas," such as the marine areas of Areas of Particular Concern (APCs) in the Territorial Sea, are artifacts of the ten previous Virgin Islands-wide efforts discussed in Chapter 2 and Appendix C of this report. Studies have demonstrated that even ecosystems within the currently managed marine areas in the US Virgin Islands such as the Virgin Islands National Park (VINP) are deteriorating [Rogers, 2000]. A wide variety of human and natural impacts have greatly affected the USVI marine resources, including point and non-point source pollution, over-fishing, hurricanes, and coral diseases. Certain marine species that were once abundant in the USVI are no longer in existence, or have become rare, such as the Nassau Grouper, Mutton Snapper, Red Hind, and Queen Conch. Efforts to collect current information on the status of marine resources in the U.S. Virgin Islands included: • Review of historical and recent studies published and/or collected by IRF; • Contacts with local scientists, government agencies, and other organizations involved in the collection of data related to USVI marine resources; and, • Contacts with local fisherman and recreational users of US VI marine resources. Resource Description Report Page vi Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Special emphasis was placed on 41 areas identified as priorities by one or more of the previous coastal or marine protected area surveys discussed in Chapter 2, including bays and reefs and the coastal waters of the three main islands, as well as waters surrounding offshore cays and reefs. F or these areas, based on the information currently available, and the criteria developed in Chapter 4, the ecological significance of each of these areas was assessed. The evaluation of ecological significance focused on the existence of certain key species or habitats, including sea turtles, groupers and lobster and mangrove stands, seagrass beds and coral reefs. For these areas, based on the information currently available, and the criteria developed in Chapter 4, the ecological significance of each of these areas was assessed. This assessment is limited, however, as other factors such as size and connectivity of areas should be considered before designing a system of marine protected areas. The criteria developed to evaluate a marine area's ecological significance in the context of this report include the following: • Important species and species diversity in the area. Important species includes locally endangered and threatened species, as well as keystone species for certain ecosystems (such as elkhorn coral); • Important habitat and ecosystems, including consideration of: • Biological services provided, including feeding, spawning, and nursery areas, as well as areas home to rare and endangered speCIes • Physical services provided, such as shoreline buffering by reefs (hard coasts) and mangroves and beaches (soft coasts); • Adjacency to and connectivity with other high priority natural resource protected areas and ecosystems; and, • The health of the habitat( s) and the water quality within an area. Based on this analysis, several areas are suggested as high priorities for incorporation into a system of marine protected areas, including: • East End Area, (Great Pond Bay, Jack Bay, Isaac Bay, East Point, Point Udall, Coakley Bay) St. Croix • Salt River Area, St. Croix • Botany Bay Area, St. Thomas (Botany Bay, Sandy Bay, Little St. Thomas) • Jersey Bay Area & Surrounding Cays St. Thomas (Mangrove Lagoon, Benner Bay, Cow & Calf Rocks, Great & Little St. James, Dog Islands) Resource Description Report Page vii Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report • East End of St. John, including: • Hurricane Hole & Round Bay, St. John 14 August 2002 • Johns Folly Area (Johns Folly Bay & Le Duck Island), St. John • Northeast Coast of St. John, including Newfound and Haulover Bays It must be noted, however, that designation of high ecological significance is by itself insufficient criteria for designating areas as marine protected areas. Additional factors, which are influenced by management and implementation considerations beyond the scope of this report, must be taken into account. Some of these important management considerations include: • A statement of the strategic intent for the overall marine protection system in the USVI Territorial Sea, with special reference to key species or habitats to be sustainably managed, totally protected, or restored from currently unsustainable (or detectable) levels; • The total size of the areas which would be under protection, in relation to areas required for sustainable development or restoration of the resource; • The network of connections among protected areas and the communication needs of key species and ecosystems; • Science gaps reflecting on some of these management considerations (gaps reflecting on knowledge of resource conditions are discussed in Chapter 3); • Operational issues such as budgets, boundary delineations, sustainability options, seasonal factors, etc., etc. Resource Description Report Page viii Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1.0 Project Background This report is presented as part of the VI Marine Park Project. The project is an initiative of the Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands, implemented under the National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs. The VI Marine Park Project is being coordinated by the University of the Virgin Islands on behalf of the Division of Coastal Zone Management, Department of Planning and Natural Resources. The U.S. National Action Plan to Conserve Coral Reefs was developed to guide the sustainable use of coral reef ecosystems within the jurisdiction of the United States, including its Territories and Commonwealths. Sustainable use simply means that coral reef ecosystems should be used and managed in a manner to ensure the security of the economic, cultural, social, and environmental values and benefits of such ecosystems in perpetuity . The overall goal of the VI Marine Park Project is to establish the objectives, policies, and procedures for management of marine resources within the territorial sea of the U. S. Virgin Islands (USVI) over which the Government of the United States Virgin Islands has jurisdiction, through the development of marine protected areas. The VI Marine Park Project involves four main components: • this "Resource Description Report," prepared by Island Resources F oundation~ • "Socio-economic Assessment," prepared by Hinds, Unlimited~ • "Management Framework for a System of Marine Protected Areas," prepared by Lloyd Gardner of Environmental Support Services, LLC~ • "Management Plan: East End of St. Croix Marine Park," prepared by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) 1.1 Report Introduction Island Resources Foundation has been engaged to prepare a report describing the current state of the marine environment and resources of the US VI. This Resource Description report provides some of the necessary background information for efforts to create marine protected areas within the Virgin Islands. The report contains a summary of past and existing initiatives to protect marine resources in the USVI as well as an overview of the marine environment in the USVI. The primary purpose of this report is to provide a summary of the most up to date information available regarding the current status of the marine environment, with special emphasis on important ecosystems and species. Resource Description Report Page 1 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Few other areas in the Caribbean have the benefit of so much information on marine resources. Thanks to the National Park Service (NPS), US Geological Service, especially the Biological Resources Division with offices on St. John (USGSIBRD) that have been conducting research for the past 25 years, the Division of Fish and Wildlife of the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNRJDFW), and more recently, the University of the Virgin Islands and the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we have some of the longest and most comprehensive data sets on marine resources in the Caribbean. In addition to summarizing available information for the USVI marine resources, special focus is placed on specific areas considered to have the most potential as marine protected areas. Criteria for ecological significance are defined and applied to these selected areas to provide a ranking of areas that could be considered potential marine protected areas based on natural resource conditions. For the purposes of this resource description report, priority marine areas are chosen primarily based on ecological significance, with little consideration given to factors such as economic, recreational and restoration values. In addition, for purposes of this resource description report, feasibility of implementing a marine protected area at any given area was not considered [see Terms of Reference, Appendix F). The report makes no a priori assumptions about the nature of the management systems that might be applied to an MP A, other than to assume that all management options are available, including extensive "no take" zones. All of these considerations will ultimately be essential in planning for a successful system of marine protected areas and will need to be considered in the next steps of creating such a system. One additional caveat needs to be identified for this report: It is a report on the marine conditions of the Territorial Sea, and it does not address some important species and habitat issues of the terrestrial conditions of some cays and coasts that have often been considered in other marine characterizations. It should be noted especially that many of the offshore cays of the Virgin Islands provide critical habitat for threatened or endangered sea birds and some migratory species. Other cays and coastal features provide special landscape values that deserve conservation-these are also not considered in this report. Resource Description Report Page 2 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 CHAPTER 2: HISTORY OF MARINE PROTECTION EFFORTS IN THE USVI 2.0 Historical Background F or the USVI, the second half of the twentieth century was witness to a steady growth of mostly failed but increasingly more focused, occasionally collaborative and certainly professional landscape, seascape and ecosystem conservation planning and management efforts. These sprang up principally in response to the socio-economic development process that affects all small islands and their natural resource systems. As in other areas of the insular Caribbean over the same period, protected area initiatives in the USVI were triggered more by escalating, public-spirited conservation philanthropy than from any visible change in local public policy or commitment of public funds for protecting the "commons"-whether wet or dry, natural or physical, terrestrial or marine. Local conservation leadership has been a lonely and generally unrewarding task during much of the five decades since 1950. Virtually every high-priority area currently identified for immediate action carried a similar ranking in similar environmental surveys for the past thirty to forty years. IWhile the studies have continued, • buffer zones have shriveled, • pristine sites and critical habitat for threatened species have been lost, • biodiversity has been reduced, • invasive species have prospered, and • land acquisition costs have risen geometrically. Certainly the task of protecting the unique natural resources of the Virgin Islands is much harder now than when initially proposed. In retrospect, there have been a number of encouraging starts, often launched or sponsored by Federal officials-especially from the Department of the Interior-who sought to jump-start a Virgin Islands Territorial Park System. In almost every case, local leadership and local institutions have not been engaged in the process and have not followed through. Plan after plan has fallen victim to legislative disinterest and a lack of vision about the multiple advantages of environmental conservation. Since World War Two, the USVI has been living out its own special development success story that has often obscured its parallel "tragedy of the commons.". I In Section 2.1,below, each of these wide ranging environmental assessments is labeled as "[Survey #lJ," "[Survey #2J," etc. Resource Description Report Page 3 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Nevertheless, acknowledging that even failed attempts can be instructive, what can we learn from this haU:century of experience? The following chronology and narrative are designed to help answer that question. 2.1 Summary: Chronology of USVI Protected Area Initiatives [The details of this chronology are found in Appendix C. This summary concentrates on the ten previous surveys in the Virgin Islands, which have addressed Virgin-Islands-wide marine protection issues. J 1960: [SUTVtry #1]. In late 1959, at the suggestion of Laurance S. Rockefeller, the Department of the Interior joined forces with Virgin Islands Governor John D. Merwin and the St. Thomas and St. Croix Chambers of Commerce to sponsor a survey of recreational needs, sites and services in the USVI. Such sites were seen as possible St. Thomas and st. Croix supplements to the new National Park on St. John, then being assembled through a land acquisition program. The needs survey was carried out by a licensed landscape architect, Kenneth B. Simmons, on contract to the National Park Service, following the protocol of the Congressionally authorized "Recreational Area Study Act" of 1936 [49 Stat. 1894]. This study was done specifically to encourage the Territorial Government to develop a territorial park system (similar to state park systems in the continental United States). In retrospect, this 1960 Department of the Interior inventory was remarkable in its foresight, scope and ranking priorities. For example, four of the St. Croix sites that were highlighted some forty years ago--East End, Great Pond, Cramer Park and Salt River-have been consistently featured on virtually all subsequent survey efforts and have precedence to this day. 1968: [SUTVtry #2] Under sponsorship of the U.S. Department of the Interior, the Department of Landscape Architecture at the University of Massachusetts carried out a study of selected resources in the U. S. Virgin Islands and their relationship to recreation, tourism and open space. A subsequent report, entitled The Islands, was prepared by Dr. Irvin Zube. It included an extraordinarily detailed set of eleven maps and excellent reviews of shoreline zones, corals, offshore cays and resource concentrations. This report was not widely circtuated as it openly favored the Jersey Bay/Mangrove Lagoon site on St. Thomas as a protected area, exactly where (at the time) the Virgin Islands Government proposed to construct a new airport. 1970: [SUTV~ #3] In July, the Department of the Interior sent a senior marine specialist, William Beller, to the Virgin Islands to head a citizens-based study team charged with looking at the Territory's marine resources from a development and Resource Description Report Page 4 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 conservation perspective. After 100 volunteer "specialists" were recruited and dozens of public meetings held over a 90-day period, this ad hoc group produced a 170-page report filled with practical recommendations on "The Virgin Islands and the Sea ". 1973 [Surv~ #4] A three-island conservation inventory was undertaken by the Virgin Islands (federally funded) Soil Conservation Service. A professionally assembled report was published including a new inventory of public recreation sites (actual and proposed) with maps. An agenda for maintaining coastal water quality was included. The recreational sites were picked up under the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), published every 5 years since. 1975 [Surv~ #5].The National Park Service commissioned a team from the West Indies Lab of Fairleigh Dickinson University, led by John Adams and John Ogden to highlight high priority conservation sites, including marine, offshore cays, and other landscape factors for conservation: Potential National Natural Landmarks: US Virgin Islands. Priority sites included several coastal and marine areas. [Adams, 1975] 1976 [Surv~ #6].Virdin Brown, was appointed Commissioner of Conservation under the new administration of Cyril E. King. Commissioner Brown, assisted by two of his assistants-Bob Mathes, who headed Planning and Development, and Tim Still, a park planner-prepared and circulated a work plan for implementing the long-awaited Territorial Park System. 1977: [Surv~ #7] The first draft of the U.S. Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program was developed under sponsorship of the U.S. Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. The process of assessing Areas of Particular Concern (APCs) and Significant Natural Areas (SNAs), each of which required site studies and ranking, began at this time. The Virgin Islands Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs (DCCA) developed a list and map of SNAs, and the Planning Office prepared a selected list of APCs. 1977 [Surv~ #8] Under contract with the Virgin Islands Planning Office, Island Resources Foundation assembled a study team of scientists, geographers and planners with the aim of developing a planner's handbook characterizing the component parts and functional elements of the Virgin Islands insular ecosystem (marine, terrestrial and benthic). This document, which was entitled Marine Environments of the Virgin Islands: Technical Supplement # 1 [Towle, 1977J and published in 1977, included an inventory of natural resources, an analysis of biophysical relationships, coastal zone planning guidelines and scoping infonnation for resource management, including APC and SNA coverage and ranking. 1978-79 [Surv~ #9J During this period a team of lawyers from Chelsea International in Washington, DC was employed by the Office of the Secretary of Resource Description Report Page 5 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 the U.S. Department of Commerce under the framework of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Program. The team was charged with conducting a survey of four possible Marine Sanctuary sites in the Virgin Islands and identifying a preferred site to develop under the aegis of an emerging Virgin Islands Territorial Park System. A public hearing was held on the preferred site in 1978 while DCCA was reformulating the marine component of its stalled territorial park plan. Other sites on St. Thomas were later surveyed, and DCCA developed a Marine Sanctuary Advisory Board to help with site selection and planning. 1990 [Survey #10] Three-and-a-half months after Hurricane Hugo, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) requested funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to undertake a field-level coastal damage assessment of the Territory. In June of 1990 the Government of the Virgin Islands entered into a professional services contract with Island Resources Foundation to manage an interdisciplinary post-Hugo Damage Assessment and Environmental Recovery Planning Strategy. An additional task was included in the project, somewhat afield from hurricane disaster recovery-namely, "to manage a Feasibility Study for Development of a Virgin Island Territorial Park System". The exercise was launched with a community-based open charette, led by Governor Alexander Farrelly and Onaje Jackson from DPNR. By this method, 35 reportedly damaged sites were nominated and ranked. An open voting arrangement was employed, using the Delphi strategy for ranking. The broad listing (which excluded Federal property and sites) included 11 Areas of Particular Concern sites, 26 Significant Natural Area sites, and 17 Coastal Barrier sites. Project activity was carried out by several interdisciplinary teams who generated a tlow of up-to-date damage assessments, vegetation and risk mapping, intervention options, remedial action plans, and triage-like data sorting, all leading to site profiles and a detailed 35-site data base. A comprehensive nine-page matrix was designed and populated, including aerial, underwater and land-based photography, documentation, and water quality station index numbers. Damages were mapped with key word indexing and narrative summaries. The matrix also tracked the source and dates of prior site nominations for protected area status by type and ranking. The final reporting incorporated surveys of available and/or desirable aq,jacent land, mapped by parcel and showing parcel numbers and appraised costs for park acquisition. Resource Description Report Page 6 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 2.2 Marine Protected Areas in the US Virgin Islands As illustrated in the maps included as Attachments 1 and 2 in Appendix E , there are a variety of marine protected areas already in existence throughout the US Virgin Islands. These areas are briefly summarized below .... Buck Island Reef National Monument Often lumped together in conventional discussion with the St. John VI National Park, the Buck Island Reef National Monument is both administratively distinct, and separately authorized. This small park comprises 175 acres (71 hectares) on Buck Island and 699.3 acres (285 hectares or about 1.1 square mile) of seabed adjacent to and surrounding (in an irregular ellipsoid) Buck Island off the north coast of St. Croix. The monument was proclaimed on December 28, 1961. It has a shoreline of four kilometers. The Government of the Virgin Islands has concurrent jurisdiction over the waters of the Monument, but Federal rights are "proprietary" over the land area. By virtue of systematic monitoring by the National Park Service and the Biological Resources Division of the US Geological Service, NOAA, and detailed studies by graduate students and the West Indies Lab of Fairleigh Dickinson University, this area is one of the most intensively monitored and studied reef systems in the Caribbean. St. John: VI National Park The marine component of the VI National Park on St. John was added to the 3550 hectares of the original park in 1962. The marine component of the VI National Park includes approximately 2287 hectares [less than 9 square miles], all within the VI Territorial Sea at the time of designation. Most of the original marine areas of the Park are located north and south of the island of st. John. It is notable that after 40 years of National Park management of a substantial portion of the sea areas around St. John it appears that local fish stocks on some of the major reefs have declined and are continuing to decline. [Beets and Rogers, in press] Park waters have not, until now, been maintained as no-take zones, but there has been an attempt to limit fishing to traditional users with traditional gear. Apparently these limitations have not been sufficiently rigorous to prevent continued over-fishing. St. Croix: Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve This is a 948 acre (384 hectares or approximately 1.5 square miles) federal park and reserve established in February, 1992. The federal property is adjacent to and managed jointly with a similar-sized territorial protected area. The area of the joint protected area Resource Description Report Page 7 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report t 4 August 2002 includes the Salt River Estuary and coastal waters of the USVL A management plan has been drafted. These areas are shown as areas '"K" and ""L" in Figure 3, below. Southeast St~ Thomas Marine Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries In 1993 the Virgin Islands Legislature established a complex of four Territorial Marine Reserves and Wildlife Sanctuaries in the Mangrove Lagoon/Jersey Bay area. These four areas are identified in the sketch chart distributed by the DPNR Division of Fish and Wildlife, as displayed below in Figure 1. FJGURE1; SOUTHEAST ST. THOMAS MARINE RESERVES AND WiLDLIFE SANCTUARIES SOUTlfEAST ST. THOMAS MARlNE RESERVES AND WILDLIFE SANCl'UARIES Fisheries Reserve Areas A - Cempass Point Pend Marine Reserve and Wildlife SancI1laf)l 8 - Cas CaylMaDgrove Lagoon M~RIlserve and Wildlife SaDcnwy C • Sf. JIQDe5 Marine Reserve and Wildlife SBIICtIlarY D.1nner Mangrove Lagoon (special reslrictiOll8) There are three areas in the USVI where the Caribbean Fishery Management Council [CFMC, 1999} has closed fishing for part of the year because of seasonal fish spawning activity. The red hind closure south of S1. Thomas is closed permanently year round whereas the red hind and mutton spawning sites around S1. Croix are closed permanently Resource Description Report Page 8 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 on a seasonal basis [Dr. Richard Nemeth, personal communication, 22 July 2002}. As indicated below, only one of these, the St. Croix Mutton Snapper Spawning Aggregation Area, is within the Territorial Sea, but aU three areas should influence MP A selection, based on the knowledge of these spawning areas. Red Hind. The Red Hind Spawning Aggregation Area is labeled as area "G" on the MP A map of St. Croix in Appendix E-3. which is excerpted in Figure 2. beLow. [Note that this map also shows the disputed extended area of the Buck Island Reef National Monument as area "N. "} The Division ofFish and Wildlife describes the Red Hind Spawning Aggregation Area in the following fashion: Red Hind Closure, St. Croix, U.S. V. 1. The Red Hind Spawning area is closed December 1 - February 28, as stated in the Final Regulations of Amendment One of the Caribbean Fishery Management Council Shallow Water reef fishery management plan.. .. Anyone caught fishing in this area will be considered in violation a/the closed area and may be given a Federalfine up to $100,000 and one year in jail. Resource Description Report Page 9 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Mutton Snapper. The Mutton Snapper Closure area is shown as area "c" on the MPA map of St. Croix in Appendix E-3, and is shown in the excerpt below. FIGURE 2: RED HIND CLOSURE AREA, ST. CROIX st. Croix Coastal and Marine Protected Areas Description for St. Salldy I'<>int Salldy Point San.lIlalY Mntton snapper ~wning aggregatio.n area Suu-t.hshol'e. Indw.\l'ia.tAl:~ a. E Great Fond Ie Great Fond Day F Easl End G Red hiud.:>pawmgaggreg.a.tion ue.a. H lluok "la"'{ National ",!",{ - Ch.""Y »"y J Ch.isliu!rtod W • .Iomont K Salt Riv.r Hl.-tiles Buffer As indicated by this map excerpt, the St. Croix Mutton Snapper Fish Aggregation area is the only one of the three CFMC spawning reserves which is within the Territorial Sea. Red Hind Bank Marine Conservation Area. This is identified as area "l" on the MP A map of St. Thomas in Appendix E-4. As indicated by the map excerpt below, this area is Resource DescriptiQ\n Report Page 11 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 outside of the Territorial Sea, but decisions about MPA status for nearby areas of the Territorial Sea should be influenced by the knowledge that this is an important spawning area. Closed since 1989, on suggestion ofCFMC, the closed season extends from December to March. Resource Description Report Page 12 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report FIGURE 4: RED HIND BANK MARINE CONSERVATION AREA, ST. THOMAS. lo1 2S.BS 40.7S 18 Areas of Particular Concern 14 August 2002 The Areas of Particular Concern were approved by the Legislature of the US Virgin Islands in 1993. The list of the approved APC sites include: Resource Description Report Page 13 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report • Botany Bay, S1. Thomas, VI • Chocolate Hole/Great Cruz Bay, S1. John, VI • Christiansted Waterfront, St. Croix, VI • Coral Bay, S1. John, VI • Cruz BaylEnighed Pond, St. John, VI • East End, St. Croix, VI • Fredericksted Waterfront, S1.Croix, VI • Great Pond Bay, St.Croix, VI • Mangrove Lagoon/Benner Bay, S1. Thomas, VI • Magens Bay and Watershed, , S1. Thomas, VI 14 August 2002 • Mandahl Bay Lagoon Restoration Area, , St. Thomas, VI • Salt River Bay, St. Croix, VI • Sandy Point, St.Croi~ VI • Southgate PondiChenay Bay, St.Croix, VI • Southshore Industrial Area, St. Croix, VI • St. Croix Reef System Reserve, S1.Croix, VI • S1. Thomas Harbor and Waterfront, , St. Thomas, VI • Vessup BaylRed Hook Area, , St. Thomas, VI Note that not all of the 18 APCs were nominated because of the quality of their natural resources-to the contrary, areas such as S1. Thomas Harbor and Christiansted Harbor are APCs because of the need to mitigate or remedy damages already inflicted on the natural environment of these areas. New Coral Reef and Marine National Monument Designations Both the Buck Island national monument expansion and the S1. John Monument designations were made in an end-of-administration gesture by the Clinton Administration in November, 2001. Both designations have been protested by the Government of the US Virgin Islands. The Expansion of the Buck Island Reef National Monument is shown in Appendix E-3, and in Figure 2, above. Resource Description Report Page 14 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report FIGURE 5: BOUNDARIES OF ST. JOHN CORAL REEF NATIONAL MONUMENT. 14 August 2002 Fueled in large part by the apparent continued decline of the fish populations in the protected waters of st. John and adjacent waters to Buck Island in st. Croix, these new monument areas are designed to provide substantially increased areas under protection. The actual designations of the two expansions to the national monuments are smaller than a much larger sea area proposed in late 1999, as the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Park: Resource Description Report Page 15 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 FIGURE 6: PROPOSED BoUNDARIES VI CORAL REEF NATIONAL PARK. Pink shaded allla illustrates IIle proposed parle. P_d IlIplenlohment areaa in orange. Present park bounds"" outlined in green. AI park units axtand _111 to 12nm or the International boundary and induda abyasal deplha and oceanic pelagic habllals. [from Garrison, 1999] 2.3 Marine Management Policy Implications of Historical Initiatives As demonstrated in the chronology above, the concept of a Virgin Islands territorial system of parks and protected areas is not a new one. On the other hand, there is no evidence that a territorial park system has been a popular notion amongst the resident citizenry. Perhaps this arises as a cultural residual from the colonial system of estate land ownership where historically very little land was in public hands. This made it more difficult to convert unique natural landscape features and wildlife habitat into protected areas of one kind or another. Furthermore, most land is privately owned, and many land- owning Virgin Islanders (including traditional resource users with presumed proprietary rights) are uniformly skeptical about any proposed constraint on private development that might diminish appreciating land values or restrict free access. Resource Description Report Page 16 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Other residents, especially on the larger islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix, have in recent decades remained passively neutral, while a minority of local citizens have become outspoken about their concern over the cumulative impacts of accelerating development on the environment. For this latter group, in the best tradition of sound land- use planning, the continuing need to select, set aside and protect the very best from among special natural or scenic areas and historic sites seems obvious. Of particular concern have been those coastal areas with unique or remarkable aesthetic, educational and recreational value. Over the past forty years, there have been at least ten serious attempts in the Territory to identify, list, publicize and gain public approval for setting aside "valuable," ecologically important or otherwise remarkable landscape and seascape and even submerged land features as high priority candidates for inclusion in a territorial system of parks, recreational areas or reserves of one kind or another. Most have more or less failed to get much beyond the listing state. The few exceptions are described in the preceding section. Part of the problem arises from the real or perceived anti-development stance taken by many advocates of protected areas. Their concerns about the adverse impacts of rapid growth and their hostility towards many hastily designed and environmentally risky development projects have been seen as unrealistic. Anti-development environmentalism has often been perceived as obstructionist, elitist and insensitive to the real interests of Virgin Islanders, landowners, and the needs of the poor and marginalized in the community. Working people with memories of unemployment or underemployment, often accompanied by genuine difficult livelihoods, are not likely to embrace the arguments of those who appear to favor no growth or who might impose a host of new regulations closing off traditional access to de facto "common property" resources. It is noteworthy that the first two protected areas of significance in the Virgin Islands were conceived and created by wealthy outsiders who first purchased the properties in question and then donated them to government (both federal and territorial). They were, first, Arthur Fairchild's gift of Magens Bay in 1947 and, a decade later, Laurance Rockefeller's gift of the land that created the Virgin Islands National Park in 1956. Both areas were to include marine features. But, in retrospect, it should be noted that these philanthropic precedents, especially that of Laurance Rockefeller's purchase of over half the land area of st. John in the early 1950s, actually had an unanticipated negative effect within the Territory. The size of the area and the scale of the gift provided an excuse to those in and out of government who thereafter saw little need for setting aside any additional "park" land. Worse still, Rockefeller's windfall generosity gave false encouragement to those who were hesitant about investing public funds in land protection schemes, preferring to wait for other private sector, philanthropic donors to appear, checkbook in hand. Over the years a few donors did, in fact, come along to donate land to the Virgin Islands Government that was to be maintained as open space or used for the public good. The Resource Description Report Page 17 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 community is indebted to Fairleigh Dickensen for the large parcel north of Isaac Bay on St. Croix's East End and to David Vialet for his gift of Cass Cay at the False Entrance to the St. Thomas Mangrove Lagoon. There were a few others like Henry Reichold, who twice gave land for educational use, and Warren Corning at Botany Bay, who cared about sea bird nesting sites. On St. Thomas, the Paiewonsky family donated most of Hassel Island for inclusion in the Virgin Islands National Park. But such special-purpose, private-sector gifts have only emerged on a very ad hoc basis and mostly in bits and pieces. They seldom addressed what was comprehensively needed for the protection of unique natural systems or the provision of adequate recreational space. Finally, some observers have noted that there might have been many more donations if the Virgin Islands Government had put even the semblance of a formal park management system in place. Resource Description Report Page 18 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 CHAPTER 3: DESCRIPTION OF MARINE RESOURCES IN THE TERRITORIAL SEA 3.0. The Virgin Islands Marine Environment This chapter provides an overview of the environment and resources found in the USVI Territorial Sea. The marine environment within USVI territorial waters contains a complex and diverse resource. The Government of the US Virgin Islands has jurisdiction over all non-U.S. Government waters and submerged lands from the shoreline to 3 nautical miles [5.556 lan] from the shoreline of each of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The total land area of the Virgin Islands is approximately 133 square miles (345 square kilometers); and the area of the Territorial Sea is estimated at 579 square miles (1500 square kilometers). This section also provides general information on the geography, area, physical characteristics, important habitats and important species in the Virgin Islands marine environment. Detailed maps illustrating the benthic habitat in the waters surrounding the USVI have been prepared by the Biogeography Program of the National Ocean Service of NOAA, and the Conservation Data Center at the University of the Virgin Islands. These maps are included in this Report as Attachments 1,2, and 3, in Appendix E. 3.0.1. Geography and Area of the Territorial Sea The northern Virgin Islands, St. Thomas and st. John, lie on a shallow geological shelf together with the British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico [Dammann 1969]. This shelf, the Puerto Rican Plateau, is generally less than 200 feet deep and is surrounded by deep water. To the north of the shelf, the Puerto Rican Trench reaches depths up to 27,500 feet while the Virgin Islands Basin, located between S1. Thomas and S1. Croix, reaches 13,500 feet. The map below, provided by Dr. Richard Nemeth of the University of the Virgin Islands Center for Marine and Environmental Studies, provides an interesting overview of the Virgin Islands which provides insight into the intimate linkages between the US and British Virgin Islands. The numbers in this map represent monitoring sites used by UVI in the Virgin Islands submission to the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment [Nemeth, 2002J, which represents a helpful resource for seeing [USJ Virgin Islands marine resources within the context of the wider geographic setting. In a similar vein, the Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC) conducted a series of 13 Resource Description Report Page 19 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 baseline studies on coral reef systems in the British Virgin Islands which can provide both geographic and temporal context for MP A planning activities. FIGURE 7: MAP OF VIRGIN ISLANDS The Puerto Rican Plateau extends 5-8 miles north and 12-15 miles south of S1. Thomas and St. John [VanEepoel et aI, 1971J. The islands themselves lie on an inner shelf terrace that is only 60 feet deep_ This terrace reaches 0.8 miles to the south and 0.3 miles to the north ofthe islands [Garrison et aI, 1971]. St. Croix lies on a submerged ridge, separated from the northern Virgin Islands by the Virgin Islands Basin. Within 0.5-3 miles to the south and 10 miles to the east ofSt. Croix the water is only 36 feet deep, while to the north and west of the island water depths drop quickly to several hundred feet. Resource Description Report Page 20 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 The Territorial Sea of the US Virgin Islands for the purposes of this Resource Description is the waters within the three (nautical) mile limit, not under the jurisdiction of the Federal government. 3.0.2. Physical Conditions of the Marine Environment The physical characteristics of seawater have a strong influence on the marine life it supports. Tropical offshore seawater is generally nutrient poor and supports a low density of marine life. The abundance of marine life around the Virgin Islands is dependent on land-based nutrient input, the nutrients generated by light-dependent growth on the bottom of the island shelves, and some mixing of deepwater upwellings at the edges of the island platforms. According to DPNR, coastal water quality in the US Virgin Island is generally good but declining. Nine sites of 59 water quality monitoring sites are listed as "impaired" waters based the 1998 Water Quality Assessment (305b) Report by DPNR. These waters were considered impaired mainly because they did not meet dissolved oxygen or turbidity standards [DPNR, 2000}. Average monthly water temperatures of the offshore waters around the Virgin Islands ranges from 24°C in the winter to 28°C in the summer [Dammann, 1969). During the summer coastal waters can reach temperatures as high as 31°C. Stresses from these higher sea surface temperatures are believed to contribute to coral bleaching events and possibly to increased susceptibility to diseases. Global climate change is likely to increase these stresses in the Virgin Islands, leading to greater risk for reef related ecosystems DPNR has identified point source and non-point source pollution such as uncontrolled runoff and vessel waste discharges as additional stresses affecting the quality and chemistry of USVI waters [DPNR, 2000]. The North Atlantic Equatorial and Caribbean currents dominate the current pattern around the Virgin Islands. Surface waters tend to flow out of the east in winter and out of the southeast in summer at speeds of up to 0.7 knots [Dammann, 19691 This aquatic "engine" influences or controls the dispersion of organisms and pollutants throughout the Territorial Sea and will influence the selection of protected areas, with less impacted marine areas generally found "up-current," to the east. Strong waves and swens from winter storms in the northern North Atlantic (caned ground seas by local fishermen) can create coastal waves 4 meters [12 feet} high. Such waves and attendant currents on the sea floor can create significant submarine damage to ecosystems (and foul or destroy fishing equipment). Similarly, waves and swells in the summer associated with hurricanes damage reefs and coastal systems. These episodic disasters increase the need for protected areas which can provide sources of material to regenerate devastated natural systems. Resource Description Report Page 21 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Coastal erosion and occasional sediment injections into the coastal waters of the Virgin Islands are a natural condition of island life. Excessive erosion and sediment deposition on coastal marine ecosystems is an effect of the development and over-development of coastal areas which has become commonplace in the insular Caribbean and especially the Virgin Islands. The strong tropical showers typical of the region (and predicted to increase in some Global Climate Change forecasts) can temporarily greatly increase the sediment-related stresses in bays and adjacent waters that are catchment basins for large watersheds. These changes can stress marine organisms attached to the bottom. Salt ponds, lagoons, mangroves, and fringing coral reefs all playa role in helping to stabilize and mitigate the effects of such episodes on nearshore waters. 3.0.3. Important Habitats The marine environment in the Virgin Islands consists of several distinct habitat types. These habitats are limited to shallow water and coastlines, where nutrients and oxygen are more abundant. Each habitat is defined by one or more dominant species. While some organisms, such as algae, sponges and fishes can survive in several different habitats; others are exclusively found in one specific habitat. Three habitats in the Virgin Islands Territorial Sea, coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangroves, are areas of high-energy production and species richness. Other habitats, such as rocky shores, beaches and salt ponds, require specific adaptations. 3.0.3.1. Coral reefs Coral reefs are diverse marine habitats based on the compacted and cemented skeletons of reef-building coral. There are over forty different types of reef building corals in the Virgin Islands [Rogers and Beets, 2001]. Interspersed with these coral are many other marine organisms which form a complex ecological network. This network can include other types of coral, algae, sponges, starfish and sea urchins, snails and clams, crabs lobster, and many different species of fish. Coral reefs consist of diverse communities, each with its own physical characteristics and living organisms. Hard corals are also the source of much sand produced as by-product of the grazing of several herbivorous species offish, such as parrot fish (Scaridae family), on live corals. Corals reef are an important resource for the Virgin Islands. Most of the marine species, including lobster, caught locally for food are dependent on coral reefs. Diving and snorkeling over reefs are popular activities for locals and tourists. Over the past twenty years, corals stress by hurricanes, coral bleaching, diseases, and human impact has been documented in the Virgin Islands [Rogers and Beets, 2001]. While most of these stresses exist constantly, severe outbreaks and combinations of stresses have led to a decline in the health of the Virgin Islands coral reefs [Nemeth, 2001]. Little is known about the causes of and recovery from coral diseases. Resource Description Report Page 22 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Reef destruction from human recreational activities is easily detectable in popular dive and snorkel sites throughout the Territorial Sea. Boat groundings and anchoring damages have also affected several Virgin Islands reefs [Rogers and Garrison, 2001]. Runoff from development on the islands is considered one of the biggest threats to near shore coral reefs. Pollution of ground- and surface waters can impact coral reefs directly through the effects of toxic substances, or fertilizers in such runoff can promote the growth of algae that compete with the corals for light and space on the reef. 3.0.3.2. Algal plains and ridges Algal plains and ridges consist of areas of mounds of encrusting calcareous algae commonly covered by fleshy algae. They can tolerate periodic desiccation, high wave action and high sunlight intensity. They are commonly found in association with coral reefs. Algal plains are also found in deeper areas around all of the Virgin Islands. 3.0.3.3. Seagrass beds Seagrass beds are highly productive habitats, producing a significant amount of oxygen in inshore waters [Towle, 1977) and forage for many herbivorous species. Three different types of seagrass are commonly found in Virgin Islands bays. Scattered among the grasses are sand-building calcareous algae (predominantly Halimeda ssp. and Penicillus ssp.), which are the source of many beaches [Rogers and Teytaud, 1988]. These plants form a dense network, which can stabilize coastal sand deposits. Seagrasses provide food directly to grazing fish, turtles, conch, and sea urchins. Seagrass beds are nurseries for many species of fish by providing shelter for juveniles and plant detritus as food source. Many commercially important fishes, such as snappers and grunts, feed on the animals living on the seagrass beds. Seagrass beds are dependent on clear water that allows the sunlight to penetrate to the grasses near the bottom. Seagrass beds show significant sensitivity to physical destruction. It takes many years, sometimes decades, for patches of grass removed by dredging, anchoring or hurricanes to recover. Historical accounts state that seagrass beds were widely distributed in the bays of the Virgin Islands but these days large, dense seagrass beds are found in few bays. 3.0.3.4. Rocky shores Rocky shores are cliffs, rock faces or large boulders extending directly into the sea. Only a limited number of marine organisms can survive the rough conditions of this habitat. Several types of algae and coral can anchor themselves to the rocks and provide a food source for snails, sea urchins and mollusks. The edible whelk, also known as West Indian top snail, lives in this habitat and is culturally significant in local diets. Resource Description Report Page 23 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 3.0.3.5. Beaches 14 August 2002 Beaches are parts of the shore that are covered with sand, gravel or coral rubble. Sand can be made up of small pieces of rock and ground up fragments of coral, limestone algae, and shells. Sand beaches are constantly changing and provide little shelter for marine organisms. A number of crabs, mollusks and worms live in the intertidal zone, while other crabs, including the edible land crab, live above the high tide mark. All four endangered or threatened sea turtles use sand beaches as nesting sites in the Virgin Islands. Many beaches in the Virgin Islands are heavily used for recreational purposes. Indeed, several artificial beaches have been created, with variable results. In 1950s and '60s it was common to use beach sand as building material, with sand mining and near shore dredging occurring at rates far beyond the ability of the natural systems to replenish beach reserves. Overexploitation of beach sand resources has been responsible for the loss or diminished size of many beaches in the Virgin Islands, including Brewers Bay, Lindbergh Bay and Chocolate Hole. 3.0.3.6. Mangroves Mangroves are complex shallow-water habitats. There are three different types of mangrove trees in the Virgin Islands. Black and white mangroves are found in salty, marshy regions close to shore. Red mangroves are the most distinct, standing on prop roots in seawater. Mangrove root systems provide habitats for a diverse community of marine organisms, including algae, sponges, corals and oysters. This also creates sheltered nurseries for many species of juvenile fish and lobsters. Mangrove roots trap sediments from the water. Over time, this process can lead to seaward extension ofIand. The removal of sediment helps to protect near-shore reefs. Most mangrove stands in the Virgin Islands have been filled for development, leaving Salt River, St. Croix and the Mangrove Lagoon, St. Thomas, as the only remaining large mangrove stands. Fringing mangroves are still found along several bays, including Hurricane Hole St. John. 3.0.3.7. Salt ponds Most salt ponds are formed when mangroves or fringing reefs isolate former bays. The salt pond habitat requires special adaptation. Evaporation of seawater and flooding with seawater and fresh water can cause salinity levels to fluctuate widely. Several crab and algae species are commonly found in salt ponds and some salt ponds support the growth of brine shrimp. Resource Description Report Page 24 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 The greatest threat to salt ponds has been filling for development. Salt ponds are found throughout the coastal areas of the USVI. There are 68 remaining major saIt ponds throughout the USVI [Boulon and Griffin, 1999). 3.0.4. Endangered, Threatened or Candidate Species Of the 11 species of animals listed as endangered or threatened by the Virgin Islands, [Appendix DJ most are marine organisms. Two of the endangered species, the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis) and the West Indian manatee, are so rare that they can be considered extinct in the Virgin Islands. Two types of endangered whales, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), pass through the Virgin Islands with their calves in late winter and early spring. Sea Turtles. Sea turtles are a principal group of endangered animals that must be considered in the context of habitat protection. Two of the four turtle species found in Virgin Islands waters, the leatherback sea turtle and the hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) sea turtle, have been listed as endangered for more than 30 years. Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) have been listed as endangered for less time and the green turtle (Chelonia mydas) is threatened, not endangered. [NMFS, Appendix D] The Leatherback turtle is the largest living turtle and can weigh up to 1,300 pounds with a shell length of up to six feet [ O'Keefe, 1995]. Leatherback turtles prefer to nest on steeply graded beaches with deep-water approaches. These conditions are rarely found, and Sandy Point, St. Croix is one of only 13 significant nesting sites worldwide. Leatherback turtles are deep ocean inhabitants and feed almost exclusively on jellyfish. Leatherback turtles have never been extensively hunted and the key to their survival seems to be the protection of their nesting areas. Hawksbill turtles are medium-sized with an average shell length under three feet and average adult weight of 110 pounds. Sub-adults and adults are commonly found associated with coral reefs, where they feed on sponges. Hawksbi1l turtles can also be found in mangrove-fringed bays where seagrass and small animals are their main diet. These turtles often stay in the same area their whole life [Boulon and Griffin, 1999J Green sea turtles are bigger than hawksbill turtles, weighing an average of 350 pounds with a shell size of 3-4 feet. Juvenile Green sea turtles are often found in shallow bays around the Virgin Islands. Adult Green sea turtles seek shelter under coral ledges in shallow water [Boulon and Griffin, 1999]. Endangered Corals. Two coral species found in the Virgin Islands, staghorn coral and elkhorn coraI,(Acropora palmata) have been added to the NMFS candidate species list. Both species are branching corals that prefer shallow water. Elkhorn and staghom coral are widely distributed, yet their abundance has recently decreased by 50%-95%. Most of the permanent damage to these corals is due to White Band Disease, which was first identified in St. Croix in 1977 [Gladfelter, 1977J. Other coral diseases, storms, bleaching Resource Description Report Page 25 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 and land-derived pollutants, sewage and sediment have also contributed to the decline of elkhorn and staghorn coral. Recovery of elkhorn corals has been reported in several areas in the Virgin Islands. Groupers. Two grouper species, Goliath Grouper (formerly named .Tewfish- Epinphelus itajara) and Nassau grouper (Epinephelus striatus), are on the candidate list for endangered species. Groupers are slow-growing, long-lived reef fish. Goliath groupers can attain lengths of over 6 feet, weigh over 500 pounds, and are suspected to live over 50 years. Groupers are top-level predators and as adults feed mainly on fish. Goliath and Nassau groupers spawn in aggregations. Spawning aggregations of a few individuals to up to several thousand individuals occur at specific areas at specific times of the year, generally during full-moon cycles. Juvenile groupers settle into a variety of habitats in shallow coastal waters. Spawning aggregations have been specifically targeted by fishermen. Due to overfishing, Nassau grouper populations in the Virgin Islands crashed in the 1970s [Olsen and LaPlace, 1978] and all harvesting of these Nassau and Goliath Grouper species has been prohibited in federal Caribbean waters since 1993. 3.0.5. Commercially Important Species Fishermen in the Virgin Islands harvest about 180 species of reef fish, in addition to queen conch (Strombus gigas) and spiny lobster [CFMC 1985, Tobias 2001]. Traditionally, groupers and snappers have been the dominant commercial fish species in the Virgin Islands. Following the decrease in landings of the large grouper species, the smaller grouper species such as Red Hind became a favorite catch. In recent years, Red Hind populations have dropped substantially, leading to the establishment of seasonal and permanent no-take zones at spawning areas. Recent data suggests that Red Hind populations are starting to recover [Nemeth, 200 I J The decline of traditional species resulted in a change in species composition of catches, with smaller plant-eating fishes making up a higher proportion [Beets and Rogers, in press]. Other predator fish, including jacks, tuna, kingfish and dolphin are also caught more frequently. Caribbean spiny lobster populations in the Virgin Islands have declined, as indicated by a decrease in the average size caught and the density of individuals found in some scientific studies [Olsen, 1975, Garrison, 2001} and supported by fisher accounts of decreasing size and increasing unit efforts in the lobster fishery [Downs, 1998]. Spiny lobsters require different habitats at different stages of their lives. Spiny lobster larvae are pelagic, while juveniles are most commonly found in nearshore mangrove, seagrass and macroalgal habitats. In the Virgin Islands, larger juveniles and adults are commonly found in hardbottom and coral reef habitats, but they are mobile and have been shown to move several miles offshore [Olsen, 1971, Barre, 1971]. Mature female lobsters migrate to the shelf edge to release fertilized eggs [Garrison, 2001}. In order to protect lobster populations, diverse habitats extending from mangroves to the shelf edge must be Resource Description Report Page 26 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 protected. Lobster catch is already restricted to specific harvest methods and sizes and sexes throughout the Virgin Islands. Queen conch and whelk (West Indian topsnail) were once abundant around the Virgin Islands. In recent years, whelk and conch populations have stabilized or increased, after years of reported declines from overfishing. Seasonal and spatial harvest restrictions, as well as size restrictions, have been helpful in stabilizing populations. A second 5-year closure on the harvest of these species is currently being considered. The harvest of these species is no longer economically significant. See Chapter 2.3 for a discussion of the three fish aggregation reserve areas set aside by the Caribbean Fishery Management Council for commercially important grouper species. Anecdotal reports suggest that the continuing presence of ciguatera fish poisoning cases from catch in Virgin Islands waters serves to depress demand for local species. If international research efforts are successful, there may be an increase in local fisheries demand and prices for local fish. 3.1. Overview of Potential Sites to be Included in Marine Protected Areas This section provides a short summary of individual areas within the Virgin Islands marine environment, focusing on areas that are relevant as potential marine protected areas. Appendix A presents the 150 marine and coastal sites that we identified as significant features for the VI Territorial Sea and other areas inside the 3 nautical mile limit of the Territorial Sea. Significance was determined by the Federal Geographic Names Infonnation System (GNIS), features labeled in other maps, and local customary name use. The areas in Appendix A (and in Table #2, below) are listed by island, in geographical sequence starting at the southwestern corner of each island and continuing in a counter-clockwise fashion. To avoid confusion from similar names, each feature is given a code consisting of the unique island initial (C, J, T), and a number identifYing each site. Specific areas have been identified as significant natural areas through various reports conducted by and for the Government of the US Virgin Islands and the Federal Government, as discussed in Chapter 2. This section provides an overview of important areas, based on data currently available. Marine areas within the Virgin Islands National Park boundary are not addressed in this report. Data on the current status of the marine environment has been collected and reviewed by Island Resources Foundation. A summary of the data available for each of the bays, cays, and offshore marine areas in the Territorial Sea is included in Appendix A. Appendix B provides a more detailed summary of available information for the 40 priority areas in the USVI marine environment. Gaps in this data are discussed in section 3.2. Resource Description Report Page 27 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report TABLE 1: POTENTIAL AREAS FOR VIRGIN ISLANDS MPAs 14 August 2002 ST. THOMAS T5 VITPS4 T7 X X T8 T26 APe X T27 APe X T28 X T31 Islands MS T34 APe T36 x T39 VITPS X T45 Hans LolIick, Little Hans LolIick, Pelican VITPS X T46 APe T48 APe T54 X X T61 Botany Bay, Sandy Bay, Little 5t. Thomas APe T62 Salt ST. JOHN 2 See Appendix A and B for lists of references for each site. 3 An "x" in this column means that in the course of the several public meetings and consultations with stakeholders and members of the three island communities that there were specific comments offered in support of some level of protection for the marine areas associated with this site. 4 Towle, E., et al., 1991. Hugo's Coastal Impacts: damage, recovery, and revival of the Territorial Park System. Prepared under contract by Island Resources Foundation for the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Four volumes plus Executive Summary. St. Thomas, VI. The sub-title of this report notwithstanding, the Virgin Islands did not in 1991 have a Territorial Park System with a marine component. Resource Description Report Page 28 X X X X X X X X J5 J6 J8 J19 J20 J24 J25 J27 J29 J30 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report Great Cruz Chocolate Hole Fish LeDuck Island Coral FI Haulover ST. CROIX C1 C7 Ci0 C14 C15 C24 C26 C29 C23 C32 C33 C34 C39 Rainbow Beach C40 Fredericksted Harbor Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 APC APC X X APC X APC APC APC VITPS X VITPS X X X X APC VITPS APC X APC X X APC X X APC X APC APC X APC SNA X SNA X X APC X Page 29 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 3.1.1. St. Thomas 14 August 2002 This section summarizes 16 areas around st. Thomas. The location of each area, and its benthic characteristics are shown on the Benthic Characteristics map in Appendix E. Also, detailed information regarding each area is included in Appendix B. Perseverance Bay Perseverance Bay is located on the southwest coast of st. Thomas. It contains several marine habitats in good condition. The land around Perseverance Bay is a privately owned. The beach is undeveloped. Difficult beach access and the low residential density limit human impact The water in the bay partially satisfies the standard for Class Buses [DPNR,200l]. Brewers Bay Brewers Bay, located on the southwest coast of St. Thomas, is partly privately owned and partly owned by the University of the Virgin Islands. It is a popular recreational beach. UVI students study the seagrass bed for research projects and UVI maintains a floating dock for its dive boats on the eastern end of the bay. The water in the bay partially satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001}. Saba, Flat and Turtledove Cays Saba, Flat and Turtledove Cays are located off the southwestern coast of St Thomas. They are owned by the territorial government and are designated Wildlife Sanctuaries. There is a seagrass bed southwest of Saba and a coral reef around Flat Cay. The cays receive little human impact other than occasional poaching of sea bird eggs and scavenging for whelks. Mangrove lagoon St. Thomas' only remaining mangrove lagoon is located on the southeastern coast of the island in a bay encompassing Benner Bay and 3 cays. The land surrounding the bay is largely owned by the territorial government and some sections are in private hands. The area has been a designated a Territorial Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary since 1992 [Chapter 2.2]. This area serves as a nursery for many fish species and lobster. The bay is threatened by groundwater injections from the Turpentine Run Superfund cleanup site and the presence of the island's largely unlined landfill, as well as the presence of the island's only abattoir, the race track and horse stables, and many misfunctioning septic and package sewage treatment plants in the periphery of the Lagoon. Constant flushing washes out much of the polluted water. After heavy rains, however, sediment-laden water Resource Description Report Page 30 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 and sewage outflow spills into the lagoon. Water quality testing shows plentiful bacterial contamination which spikes after heavy rains [DPNR,2001}.. Benner Bay, Jersey Bay Benner Bay and Jersey Bay, located on the southeastern side of St. Thomas, are often referred to as the outer Mangrove Lagoon area. The bays include extensive mangrove stands and seagrass beds. They are a heavily used boating area, with docks, live-aboards and marine repair facilities. Dense housing lines the edge of Benner Bay. The water satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR,200 I}. Cow and Calf Rocks This popular dive site is located off of Nazareth Bay on the southeast comer of St. Thomas and within the boundaries of the Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary. The rocks rise out of 70 feet deep water and support colorful species of coral and an abundant sponge community. Rock crevices and caves house many species of fish, lobsters and reef invertebrates. Great St. James, Little St. James, Dog Islands The St. James Islands located off of the southeast end of St. Thomas are privately owned and the site of a luxury residence. The surrounding waters are part of the Marine Reserve and Wildlife sanctuary [Chapter 2.2}. Several reefs adjacent to the islands are popular dive sites and turtles nest on the beach. Vessup Bay Located on the East End of St. Thomas, Vessup Bay is a mangrove-fringed bay heavily impacted by the Red Hook urban center and the marine industry. The water quality in the bay is low; in part because the bay has a low flushing rate, and in part because of raw sewage from septic systems and the periodic breakdown of the public package sewage treatment plant which discharges into the head of the bay. The water in the bay exceeds the limits of bacterial contamination and turbidity for Class Buses, [DPNR,2001l Thatch - Congo Cays This series of five cays is located off of the northeastern corner of st. Thomas. The water to the north of the islands is deep and humpback whales are seen there in winter: To the south of the cays lie coral reefs and sea grass beds, which are preferred dive sites. Several residences are located on Lovango Cay. Grass Cay and Congo Cay are owned by the VI Government and are designated Wildlife Sanctuaries. Resource Description Report Page 31 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report Smith Bay (Undqvist Beach) 14 August 2002 Smith Bay is located on the northeastern coast of St. Thomas, across from Thatch Cay. The land is privately owned but undeveloped. The bay contains diverse marine habitats including a heavily used recreational beach. The water in the bay supports Class Buses, [DPNR,200 1]. Hans Lollick, Little Hans LoUick, Pelican Cay Hans Lollick is the largest uninhabited cay near St. Thomas located off of the Northside and is surrounded by coral reef Little Hans Lollick and Pelican Cay lie just north of Hans Lollick. The cays are privately owned and the beaches are used for picnicking and camping. Hawksbill turtles nest on the beaches. Mandahl Bay Mandahl Bay is located on St. Thomas' Northside, south of Hans Lollick Island. The land around it is owned by the territorial government but leased to a development corporation. In the 1960s, the corporation dredged the salt pond and opened it to the sea, creating a lagoon. The bay, which has recovered well, is subject to limited human impact, including mooring, fishing and a few residences on the hills above the bay. The water quality satisfies the requirements for Class Buses, [DPNR,200 1]. Magens Bay, Lerkenlund Bay Magens Bay on the Northside of St. Thomas contains one of the most popular beaches on the island. The area surrounding the beach is publicly owned, while the eastern and western shores are privately owned. Patches of coral reef and seagrass beds are found on the eastern shore, while a stressed fringing coral reef is located on the Lerkenlund side. Turtle nesting has been observed at Magens Bay beach. The water quality is generally sufficient for Class Buses [DPNR, 200l}, however, bacterial counts and turbidity levels are high following heavy rainfall. Caret Bay Caret Bay is located on the northwestern side of St. Thomas. It contains part of a large coral reef While some areas of the reef have been stressed by sediment-laden run-off, others show a highly diverse, healthy coral reef habitat. The water satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR,2001}. Resource Description Report Page 32 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report Botany Bay, Sandy Bay, Little St. Thomas 14 August 2002 Located on the West end of St Thomas, the land around Botany Bay and Sandy Bay is privately owned and receives only minimal human impact5. The bays contain diverse, pristine habitats and the beach at Sandy Bay is a turtle-nesting area. However, a 60-acre area adjacent to Sandy Bay was recently rezoned for hotel development. The Nature Conservancy owns little S1. Thomas. The water quality in the area generally satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR,200 II. Salt Cay, West Cay The two adjacent cays are located just off the West end of S1. Thomas. They are owned by the VI government and are designated Wildlife Sanctuaries. Both cays are also listed on the National Registry of Natural Landmarks. The marine environment around the cays is diverse and pristine. Human impact is limited to fishing and occasional camping. 3.1.2. St. John This section summarizes ten areas around S1. John. The location of each area, and its benthic characteristics are shown in the attached map of St.John in Appendix E. Also, detailed information regarding each area is included in Appendix B. A large portion of the marine environment around S1. John is currently managed as a National Park. While fishing and other activities are restricted within the National Park, except for an area around the snorkeling trail at Trunk Bay, none of the waters in the National Park are no-take zones. The map below, excerpted from the MPA map of St. Thomas and St John produced by the UVI Conservation Data Center [Appendix E} shows the boundaries of the S1. John National Park. 5 Botany Bay has recently been re-zoned by the Virgin Islands Legislature, pursuant to announced plans to develop it as a major vacation resort and condominium home site. Resource Descrlption Report Page 33 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report FIGURES: MARINE PORTION OF VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK ON ST. joHN UNITED KINGDOM 14 August 2002 In 2000, the Federal Government announced creation of the S1. John Coral Reef National Monument, including areas within the Territorial Sea in the area marked "C" above, and extending to the South of S1. John, to the edge of the Territorial Sea, an area of approximately 18,000 acres, or almost 30 square miles-about 1.5 times the land area of S1. John. The S1. John Coral Reef National Monument is not shown on the map above, but is displayed in Figure 5 in Chapter 2. Great Cruz Bay Great Cruz Bay is located on the west end of st. John. It contains a variety of marine habitats. A hotel is located on the northern shore of the bay and the watershed is a low- density residential area. The bay is still stressed by high levels of turbidity caused by dredging 15 to 30 years ago and by increasing numbers of anchored and moored boats, including live-aboards. The water in the bay partially satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 200 I}. Chocolate Hole Chocolate Hole, on the west end of st. John, is a high energy bay with several types of healthy marine habitats. While it serves many different uses, the use intensity does not Resource Description Report Page 34 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 seem to negatively affect the environment. The recent reactivation of a hotel development abandoned in the 1980s may, however, change the status of the habitats. The water quality in the bay is sufficient for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001].. Fish Bay Fish Bay is located on the southwestern coast of st. John, just east of the National Park. The land around the bay is mostly privately owned except for the southwestern comer which is a part of the Virgin Islands National Park. The watershed is being developed as a low-density residential area. The bay contains a mangrove area and a coral reef which are being affected by sediment-laden run-off. Fish Bay is currently a watershed demonstration area, where DPNR CZM is working with community groups such as the Fish Bay Homeowners' Association to implement measures to control erosion in the watershed. The water in the bay satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001]. Johns Folly Bay This bay is located the north side of Ram's Head peninsula, on the southeastern-most tip of st. John, adjacent to National Park waters. The land surrounding the bay is in private ownership. A rocky beach lines the coast and a coral reef is located off of the beach. This bay is included in the Coral Bay area APC draft management plan. LeDuck Island LeDuck Island, located off the southeastern coast of St. John, is owned by the VI government and is designated a Wildlife Sanctuary. It contains several different marine habitats in good condition. Human impact is limited to recreational fishing. Coral Bay Coral Bay is the population and marine center on the east end of St. John. Development in the area is threatening the marine environment. Land around the bay is mostly in private hands. The major habitats are mangroves and seagrass beds. The bay is affected by sediment-laden run-off from throughout the watershed. The water quality in the bay satisfies the requirements for class Buses. Hurricane Hole, Round Bay Located on the eastern coast of St. John, Hurricane Hole and Round Bay are surrounded by privately owned land on the north and National Park land to the east and west. Parts of the waters in the area are included in the Virgin Island Coral Reef National Monument. Resource Description Report Page 35 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Hurricane Hole contains the largest mangrove stand in S1. John. The area is an important nursery for marine life. Flanagan Island Flanaghan Island is the eastern-most point of st. John. It is owned by the territorial Government and designated a Wildlife Sanctuary. A coral reef is located near the island and the waters around the island are used for artisan fishing. Newfound Bay Newfound Bay is located off the northeastern shore of St. John. The land around the bay is privately owned but undeveloped. The fringing coral reef found in the bay has been impacted by damage from storms and from coral disease and bleaching. The bay provides an example of classic fringing reef elaboration and the dynamics of coastal land formation. The reef, predominantly elkhorn corals, appears to be recovering from previous damages and disease. The bay provides extreme wave protection to the interior of the bay [Rogers, Miller and Waara, 200 I]. "Exceptionally good examples of fringing coral reef and saltpond formation. . . clearly surpass in quality and development similar features already represented with the VI National Park on St. John." [Adams, 1975] Haulover Bay Haulover Bay is located in the northeastern corner of S1. John. The east side of the bay is abutted by private land; the west side is in the Virgin Islands National Park. The bay contains several different marine habitats. Run-off carrying sediment from road construction has been shown to enter the bay at a spot where currents can carry plumes to both or either the west side of the bay (which is in the National Park) or Newfound Bay. [Rogers et aI, 2001} 3.1.3. St. Croix This section summarizes 14 areas on S1. Croix. The benthic characteristics of coastal st. Croix, to an approximate depth of 20 meters or 60 feet are shown in the attached map in Appendix E .. Also, detailed information regarding each area is included in Appendix B. Several of the areas described here are included in the East End area of st. Croix for which the Nature Conservancy is preparing a marine protected area management plan. Sandy Point Sandy Point is a sand beach peninsula at the southwestern tip of St. Croix, adjacent to deep water. The beach is an important Leatherback turtle nesting area used also by Hawksbill and Green turtles. The beach has been identified as one of the fourteen major Resource Description Report Page 36 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Leatherback nesting beaches in the world. It has been designated a Critical Habitat by the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the surrounding waters have been designated a Critical Habitat by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Westend salt pond is a National Wildlife Refuge. The beach is used recreationally and is adjacent to a residential area. Manchinel Bay, Halfpenny Bay Manchinel Bay and HalfPenny Bay form a contiguous bay on the south shore of st. Croix, approximately 3 miles south of Christiansted. The land surrounding the bay is privately owned, and it includes a medium density residential area. The bay contains mangroves and a sand beach with a patch reef off the beach. The beach is a turtle nesting area. The water quality satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001}. Great Pond Bay Great Pond Bay, named after the large salt pond adjacent to the bay, lies on the southeast coast of St. Croix. The territorial government owns the salt pond, while most of the land surrounding the bay is in private hands. Multiple shore and marine habitats are represented in this bay. Several use restrictions have been placed on the salt pond to protect the Southern pink shrimp population. The bay is affected by agricultural run-off, camping and fishing. The water quality is sufficient for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001]. Jack Bay, Isaac's Bay Located on the southeastern shore ofSt. Croix just west of Point Udall, Jack and Isaac's Bays are protected by The Nature Conservancy, which owns all the property in the surrounding watershed. The water quality is high, due to a strong current and difficult access. The marine habitats, including coral reef, seagrass bed and algal ridge are in good condition. Turtles nest on the sand beaches. "The best example of a combined beach, shallow lagoon, and coral reef environment." [Adams, 1975] East End Bay, Point Udall Owned by the VI government, this area represents a pristine rocky shore habitat with little human impact. The coral reef outside the bay is in good condition. This area is impacted by fishing for reef fish and shellfish. Coakley Bay Coakley Bay is located on the northeastern shore of St. Croix. The land around the bay is privately owned and zoned for medium density residential development. Diverse habitats including a salt pond, mangroves, seagrass beds and a patch reef are represented in the Resource Description Report Page 37 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 bay. The water quality in the bay satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001]. Chenay Bay, Southgate Pond Located on the northeastern shore of St. Croix, approximately 3 miles east of Christiansted, Chenay Bay contains a variety of marine habitats including a large salt pond. While the eastern end of the salt pond is healthy , a marina affects the water quality of the western end of the salt pond. Shoy Beach (Altona Lagoon) Shoy Bay is located directly east of St. Croix, a major urban center with commercial and residential development. The sand beach is used recreationally, although pollution impacts the waters. The lagoon is a protected area for the Southern pink shrimp and several use restrictions apply. Commercial fishing and shrimping are not permitted. The water in the lagoon is of sufficient quality for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001 J. Long Reef Long Reef is a I-mile long reef to the east and north of Christiansted on the north side of St. Croix. The reef has been affected by the major urban center in close proximity and the eastern side of the reef shows a low percentage of live coral cover. The water in the area satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001]. Salt River Bay The Salt River Area is a major estuary on the northern coast of S1. Croix. It contains 3 smaller bays and an underwater canyon in the offshore sections, which are rich in marine biological diversity. The mangrove stand is the largest remaining mangrove habitat on St. Croix. Approximately 400 acres of land and 600 acres of water are protected as a federal National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve while another area is a territorial Wildlife Refuge and Marine Sanctuary. Most of the bay is managed jointly by federal and territorial agencies. Sections of the bay are used for boating, including a marina and live- aboards. The area is a popular dive site. The water quality generally satisfies. requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001]. "The submarine drop-off from Salt River Bay illustrates well deep water marine environment. Salt River is a classic example of an estuary with well developed mangrove zones." [Adams, 1975} Resource Description Report Page 38 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report Cane Bay, Davis Bay 14 August 2002 Cane Bay and Davis Bay on the north shore of st. Croix have recreational beaches and spectacular reefs offshore. Humpback whales pass through the deep waters outside the reef. Sediment loading and heavy recreational use by divers have stressed the reef. Davis Bay is the site of a hotel complex. The water satisfies the requirements for Class Buses [DPNR, 2001]. Annaly Bay Annaly Bay is located on the northwestern shore of St. Croix. It represents an unusual type of habitat, with strong waves and deep water off of a mangrove-fringed rocky shoreline. The coral rubble beach is difficult to access and the watershed is undeveloped, leaving the bay in very good condition. Humpback whales pass through the Territorial Sea north of the bay. Rainbow Beach Rainbow beach is located on the western side of st. Croix. Offshore, Rainbow Reef is a popular dive site with mountainous star coral. The waters are used for recreational and artisan fishing. The bay is exposed to high winter swells, which at times cause high levels of turbidity. Fredericksted Harbor Fredricksted is the residential center on the west coast of St. Croix. It is an active cruise ship port. While significant portions of the outlying reef have been destroyed by boating activities, the pier itself is a unique marine habitat with a variety of sponges, soft corals, lobsters, crabs, sea horses and other invertebrates. It is a popular dive site. The sand beach is used by Green sea turtle for nesting. Water quality measurements taken until 1996 showed that the water satisfied the requirements for Class C uses [DPNR, 2001]. 3.2. Information Gaps In reviewing the data available for understanding the current status of the marine environment in the USVI, several data deficiencies were noted. Data gaps and recommendations to fill those gaps include: • Monitoring data is limited and available data is not collected. maintained or analyzed to comnwn standards. Long term monitoring of coral reefs, fish assemblages, and water quality is being conducted by various agencies to varying degrees on each of the three U.S. Virgin Islands. (Rogers, 2000) While there have Resource Description Report Page 39 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 been some long term monitoring studies in the USVI, these are generally limited to St. John and st. Croix, and are focused on near-shore reef habitats. Recommendations: Additional studies/monitoring are needed in order to track changes in reef fish assemblages and habitat structures. This monitoring should encompass a wider variety of habitats and be conducted over appropriate temporal and spatial scales. • Mapping products are incomplete. Coral reef communities and benthic habitats in the Virgin Islands have only recently been mapped (see the NOAA National Ocean Service biogeography products at , and the mapping product does not cover the entire VI territorial sea. Recommendations: Additional work to complete mapping of the remaining sections ~l the USVI territorial sea would help local scientists and managers to better plan studies and management activities. • There is a lack of knowledge regarding illteractions and processes affecting the marine environment. The processes affecting recruitment and retention of larvae and juvenile coral reef organisms are not fully understood. Patterns of migration, key information for management of MP As, are not clearly understood. We have little information on the recent proliferation of coral diseases affecting territorial reefs. In addition, we do not understand how the deterioration of mangroves and seagrass beds contributes to the degradation of coral reefs. Information relating to human carrying capacity and its relationship to sustainable development and Iand- use is not known. [McManus, 2001 J Recommendations: Additional studies and reporting are needed to allow scientists and managers to better understand the processes afficting the marine resources in the Virgin Islands. Specifically, research on coral disease could be integrated with that ~f reef connectivity, recruitment and physical oceanographic modeling. [McManus, 2001] The U.S. Virgin Islands should develop more watershed-based indicators ~l water quality and marine impacts ~l human activities. The Virgin Islands should also maintain a reporting system for incidences of coral bleaching or disease-either locally developed, or extracted from emerging Federal/Caribbean regional systems. Resource Description Report Page 40 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 • There is a lack of user-friendly accurate and appropriate models for implementing integrated coastal zone management. The Virgin Islands does not have a current planning process that integrates marine and coastal issues. Recommendations: The current Un?fied Watershed Assessment and Restoration process should be further developed as a model to facilitate integrated coastal zone management. • There is a lack of compiled information about known, major human impacts on the marine environment. For example, the Virgin Islands has permitted scores of submarine cables, power lines, artificial reefs, and fish aggregation devices, but none of these have been mapped or otherwise tracked by permitting authorities. Recommendations: DPNR should review all previously permitted marine activities and provide one source where the Environmental Impact and Assessment information submitted with these permits can be consulted Resource Description Report Page 41 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 CHAPTER 4: CRITERIA FOR SELECTION OF MARINE PROTECTED AREAS 4.0 Methodology for Choosing Selection Criteria The criteria used for this report are designed to provide a process to demonstrate the comparative ecological significance of forty high priority areas. The criteria applied in Section 4.1 place a focus on: • • • The known presence of major species as discussed in Chapter 3 for some significant life stages or functions (breeding, feeding, nursery areas, etc.) Significant habitat, especially reefs, sea grass beds and algal plains, and mangroves judged to be superior quality by experts or local users Habitat which supply special services such as coastal buffering and amelioration of impacts on both land (e.g., reefs that act as breakwaters) and in coastal and nearshore waters (e.g., filtering effects of salt ponds and mangroves). The Terms of Reference [Appendix FJ for this Resource Description Report preclude the incorporation of MP A management considerations, such as strategic goals for protected areas, recreational and other non-consumptive uses, feasibiIity/sustainability considerations, or other non-resource-based consideration. The criteria presented in Section 4.1 are themselves insufficient to create a sufficient ranking of marine areas worthy of protection. Other factors that need to be included for a more complete and rounded ecological assessment are presented in Section 4.2. These factors will be directly influenced by management considerations for the areas under consideration and need to be evaluated at the stage of comparing high priority areas and designing an overall marine park systems plan for the Virgin Islands. This report is part of an effort to provide information for the US Virgin Islands Marine Park Project. The areas discussed here fall within territorial jurisdiction. Sites outside the 3-mile boundary and areas under federal jurisdiction, such as the Virgin Islands National Park, have not been addressed in this chapter, but these areas should be carefully considered in terms of overall impacts of a system of protected areas comprising both Territorial and Federal areas, and in consideration of complementary and cooperative use of program resources by managers of both systems. In short, it is incumbent on local managers, whether Territorial or Federal, to organize the effective protection of natural resources, since the fish cannot be expected to know on which side of a jurisdictional boundary they happen to feed or sleep. Resource Description Report Page 42 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 4.1 Defining Selection Criteria 4.1.1 Important Species Most areas of the near coastal waters of the US Virgin Islands have been systematically surveyed since the early days of human habitation to identify the presence of important species. Over time the relative abundance of various species and local fashion will change the definition of "important species" (within living memory, Caribbean lobster was considered a trash fish), but this selection criteria concentrates on those species highlighted in Chapter 3. 4.1.2 Key Habitat Coral reefs-especially highly diversified or varied reef habitats such as that presented by elkhorn coral forests which are reported to be under threat in the Virgin Islands-sea grass beds, mangroves and linking areas are all known to be important. Many of the historic surveys of potential marine park or protected areas discussed in Chapter 2 or Appendix C focused on these basic habitats, and newer research studies and characterizations usually include habitat monitoring and assessment to standard protocols. The source of these assessments are identified in Appendix B. 4.1.3 Habitat Providing Special Services Biological services are essential for the survival of marine organisms. These services are, on one hand, providing for the survival of adult organisms and on the other hand, providing for reproduction and survival of the offspring. The details of which habitat provides which service for how many species are, at this time, poorly understood. In this section, an attempt is made to assign a value to each area based on two types of biological services, Adult Habitat and Reproduction Habitat. Sites are evaluated taking into account generic data for individual habitats, scientific studies and knowledge gained from users of the areas. The evaluation of each area for these habitats is based on the following. • Functional Adult Habitats need to provide food and, for many species, shelter. Most adult marine organisms find food in high productivity areas, such as coral reefs, seagrass beds and algal flats. Coral reefs are the primary source of shelter for adult organisms in the Virgin Islands marine environment. Areas of greater species diversity are considered more important than areas with limited diversity. • Reproduction Habitats include mating and spawning areas (including spawning aggregation areas) and nursery habitats. The best-known nursery habitats are mangrove stands and seagrass beds. Recent studies have identified other areas in the Virgin Islands marine environment as important nursery resources for the Resource Description Report Page 43 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 juveniles of commercially important fish species [A. Adams, Thesis~ NPS report by Ivan Mateo]. Brewers Bay in St. Thomas, a bay with an average mixed seagrass habitat, has been shown to contain more juvenile fish than an adjacent rich seagrass bed and the major mangrove habitat on the island [Nemeth, 2000]. What little is known about the spawning areas of pelagic fish does not directly apply to this report. For example, the known spawning areas for the Red Hind grouper, which are currently under protection by the CFMC, fall outside the boundary of the Territorial Sea. Another criteria under the category of biological services is the existence of certain species in a particular area at a certain stage in their life cycle. For the purposes of this report, an area considered important to the protection of certain species of marine organisms will be given higher value. In order to evaluate whether an area was important to one of the endangered or commercially important species (discussed earlier in section 3.0.4), we considered the following. • For endangered species, special emphasis is placed on areas which provide nesting and browsing areas for endangered sea turtle species • For commercially important species, those areas which are known resources of commercially important fish species and lobster. Fish resource areas were identified in part by interviews with local fishermen and in part by a review of the NOAA mapping of critical coastal resources in the Oil Spill Sensitivity Mapping [NOAA, 2000}. 4.1.4 Physical Services The extent to which areas provide physical services is the second set of criteria used for selection of potential marine protected areas for the purposes of this report. In the last twenty years, tropical storms and hurricanes have had major affects on the marine environment in the Virgin Islands. Stands ofElkhom coral have been completely wiped out and seagrass bed sections have been blown out, destroying valuable habitats which are slow to recover. The criteria of physical services is defmed as the existence of near- shore protection of habitats, and is evaluated based on the following. • The existence of fringing and barrier coral reefs ("hard coast'') that provide protection for important near-shore habitats. These reefs provide a critical function for the protection of diversity after an inevitable and uncontrollable catastrophe. This criteria is assessed in part based on the Report on Coastal Barriers for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands [IRF, 1981J, • The existence of mangroves, salt ponds, beaches, and, seagrass beds ('"Soft Coast'') that provide near-shore habitat protection services. Soft coast areas are Resource Description Report Page 44 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 4.1.5 often settlement areas for sediment that could otherwise threaten near-shore coral reefs. The sediments collected in mangrove lagoons have also been shown to trap specific pollutants. These habitats protect near-shore water quality and moderate the physical effect of waves. Additional Criteria In addition to biological and physical services provided by the marine resources of an area, two other important criteria are assessed. To evaluate areas for selection of marine protected areas the following factors affecting areas' ecological significance must be considered as well. • Adjacency or proximity to other marine protected areas. Location of an area in close proximity to an existing protected area leads to a higher rating of the area's ecological significance. This assessment is based on recent studies indicating that marine protected areas with insufficient buffer zones (VI National Park) are not effective in protecting fish stocks (Rogers and Beets). On the other hand, marine protected areas with buffer zones have been successful [Mascia, 2001]. • The health of the habitat(s) and the water quality within an area are also evaluated as criteria for selection as a potential marine protected area. It is assumed that pristine areas are the most ecologically valuable, while partially degraded areas, which may otherwise seem valuable, will not provide the same level of diversity and resilience. 4.2 Assessment of Criteria for Ecological Significance The criteria described in the previous section have been evaluated for the priority areas that are considered relevant as potential marine protected areas, discussed in Chapter 3 and sketched in Appendix B. The results of this evaluation are presented in the table below. F or each area included in our review, the table below attempts to rate its ecological significance based on the criteria defmed above. As discussed later, these criteria are insufficient to create a ranking of marine areas worthy of protection. Other factors influenced by management considerations should be evaluated before priorities for protection are established. The legend for the following table follows a familiar four point scale, plus an acknowledgement that information is not sufficient to make a recommendation: xx x o Very important factor Above average factor Average factor Resource Description Report Below average factor (x) Need to Check information Page 45 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 TABLE 2: ASSESSMENT OF CRITERIA FOR ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE T8 I Saba Island, Flat & x x: xx Med x xx x: x: Resource Description Report Page 46 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report Resource Description Report 14 ~LlQl:'st 2002 Page 47 Marine Protected Areas Resource De_s~ription ~EleCl~t___ Legend: xx Very important factor x Above average factor o Average factor Below average factor Resource Description Report 14 AugLlst 2002 Page 48 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 4.3 Additional Input Needed to Define Selection Criteria The previous pages describe a framework of criteria for the assessment of ecological significance of marine areas. It results in rating areas for very high, high, medium and low ecological significance. It does not, however, complete the ecological assessment needed to select and design marine protected areas. In the course of establishing a marine protected areas plan several other considerations must be taken into account. Each area must be evaluated in the context of the portfolio of all potential areas and priorities assigned by the plan. The implementation strategy of an overall concept of protection goals will need to consider the ecological value of existing areas of protection and aim to complement these areas with a set of new areas of protection. The size of the area to be protected will depend on the goal to be achieved. A protected area preserving the nesting area of an endangered turtle requires different parameters than one aimed at increasing the population of an overfished grouper species. Several studies provide guidelines for size considerations for marine protected areas [Mascia, 2001, Roberts, 1997, Halpern, 2001, Salm, 2002]. Planning for marine protected areas should also take into consideration the connectivity among individual habitats. The ecosystem of a protected coral reef, which is cut off from seagrass and mangrove habitats to which it was previously connected, will suffer dramatically. It is important to protect not only ecologically significant habitats, but also the water, current-driven, and benthic pathways that connect these habitats. This can mean insuring protection of seemingly low value coral rubble hardbottom areas which juvenile grunts travel daily between their nighttime reef foraging area and the daytime lagoonal seagrass hide-away. Finally, it is important to protect replicates of habitats in different areas in order to ensure survival in the event of a natural or manmade disaster. In this context, S1. Thomas/S1. John and St. Croix, should be considered as independent ecosystems since it is not very likely that surviving individuals in the Northern Virgin Islands will replenish habitats in St. Croix and vice versa. The principle of redundancy suggests, for example, that the mangrove lagoon areas in St. Thomas and S1. John should both be protected. Resource DescrtpUon Report Page 49 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 CHAPTER 5: PRIORITIES FOR PROTECTION 5.0 Summary of Priorities for Protection The goals of this report are to describe the status of the marine environment of the Virgin Islands and to pinpoint marine protected area candidates. Chapter 3 presented an overall picture of the marine environment and provided specific information for individual habitats, species and areas. In Chapter 4, individual areas were compared using a set of criteria aimed at evaluating the ecological significance of each area. Each area was assigned a relative value of low, medium or high significance. As described in Section 4.2, a designation of high ecological significance is by itself insufficient criteria for designating areas as a candidate marine protected area. Additional considerations, which are influenced by management and implementation considerations, must be taken into consideration. Chapter 5 creates a priority ranking for marine protected area candidates based solely on ecological considerations. The evaluation of ecological significance in Chapter 4 focused on the priority species of sea turtles, groupers and lobster. Mangrove stands, seagrass beds and coral reefs, which provide high levels of productivity and diversity were the priority habitats. For the purposes of this report, the conservation goal of protecting multi-habitat areas, which can support a diversity of species and habitats is assumed. To achieve this goal, individual areas were assessed within the framework of existing marine protected areas under territorial, federal or foreign jurisdiction. The areas were also evaluated based on a theoretical network of protection using the high ecological significance areas identified in Chapter 4. This approach led to a grouping of several areas that were within close proximity and which complemented each other towards creation of areas with a high diversity of habitats. These groupings themselves do not represent a careful analysis of the optimal boundaries of the candidate areas. This optimization must be carried out in a later step in the overall planning process. The results of this analysis are summarized in the table below. Areas of high priority ranking were determined for each island in order to allow for the application of the principle of redundancy discussed in Section 4.2. Candidate areas include some areas that are currently under some level of protection by the territory. Resource Description Report Page 50 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report TABLE 3: PRIORITIES FOR PROTECTION-SELECTED AREAS ST. THOMAS BOTANY T61 Botany Bay, Sandy High BAY AREA, Bay, Little St. SIT Thomas T62 Salt JERSEY T26, Mangrove Lagoon, Medium BAY T27 Benner Bay, Jersey MANGROVE . LAGOON T28, and Calf High AREA & T31 Great & CAYS, STT St. James, MANDAHL T45 High & HANS LOLLICK AREA, STT T46 Low SMITH BAY T36 Congo High & CAYS, SIT T39 Low T5 Medium T7 Low T8 Saba Island, Flat & Medium Turtledove Cays ST.JOHN JOHNS J19 FOLLY J20 LeDuck Island High AREA, STJ SOUTHEAST J25 Hurricane Hole, High BAYS, STJ Round Bay J29 Newfound J30 Haulover Bay High CORAL BAY J24 Coral Bay Low AREA, STJ FISH BAY J8 Fish Bay High AREA, STJ Jl Steven Cay Medium Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 APC HIGH APC Marine HIGH Reserve, Marine Reserve MEDIUM APC (APC) MEDIUM MED HIGH APC APC,NM HIGH HIGH (NPS) APC MEDIUM MEDIUM APC LOW Page 51 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report EAST END CIO AREA, STX C14 CI5 C24 SALT C32 Salt River Bay RIVER AREA, STX CHENAY C26 . Chenay BAY AREA, Southgate Pond STX LONG C23 Long Reef REEF, STX SANDY Cl Sandy Point POINT AREA, STX MANCHENI C7 MancheniI L BAY Halfpenny Bay AREA, STX 14 August 2002 ST. CROIX mGH APe APC APC High APC, NMFS- HIGH Critical Area Bay, High APe MEDIUM Med APe MED High APC,Marine MED Reserve, National Ecological Preserve Bay, High MED The areas in st. Croix that were designated high priority areas are already protected. The East End Area represents healthy nearshore habitats which are likely to interact with Lang Bank, part of the most extensive coral reef system on the Puerto-Rican/Virgin Islands shelf The Salt River Area represents the only significant mangrove stand on St. Croix. Protection of the sections under territorial jurisdiction can complement the function of the sections under federal protection. Resource Description Report Page 52 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report The sketch map below shows the general areas rated highly for St. Croix FIGURE 9: ST. CROIX: HIGH PRIORITIES FOR MARINE PROTECTION 14 August 2002 LEGEND N Uh"-k""",",,, st. Croix Coastal and Marine Protected Are ... 1\/ r~11;M.Idfull1doop.dlllan.oUbllul1'ilICtI1U)' ~ltI.~."''''''~pIiM''_ :fntfJk:rlln'll'.bldwridA.rAA. :;~r:'""r. .... v.I1>o"a.y jl,:o$hbld.JSI~'!fbI&l&ln'lwioDlo!l~ .... d'fflmol:lr;s.~M'.oI_~ SOIlIllp.! .. d·d.o""W~ ~a:W."'lbIIm ~lIIrn!iI.<~""iludn~"9=tl,,",lHr~ ,mtlnrkY"w.unh!!!i IN&o.un..\w ............ t 1::QI&...w1k~1~_\ 1.U' P'O)~~,,".II3U'" H(UCI)IDollOl lat>lt.nMltl .. I!:>III'Jl\Ik.Qol .. S"""'., I>bop..,' JlO:J.!lI.u:I D St,Jamo.Mujn.ltu ...... ...,dWildJil'.' .... IJo.'Y c ~.Loos<>""-....,.,..D'"I'.".olf.rt.tulo:Tc.. ....... D ....,....,.ky·"'"W_t4~c..u .... It ~~.lJu.onll:til:.ulcCo1lC$D- , ~~_w~,,"!..n...luCNl._ ~ IIoWlyI..,.",uo11uti.nlaHll'"Ot:m If !tIll._~".am\'tzh .. tAr .. .rI'.r\kllttl',z""" .... t Wm:...t$lIlt.!l!cauoCoIII_a .. DUtrJio( For the purposes of this report, emphasis has been placed on ecological significance. The priority areas ranking discussed here does not take into account several important factors including: o Goals for management of marine protected areas in the Virgin Islands o Recreational and other non-consumptive uses of the areas • Feasibility of Implementation o Availability of Funding o Community Support As information regarding these factors is determined, actual prioritization of areas to be considered for protection may be significantly different. Resource Description Report Page 54 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 The priority ranking established here is only a snapshot of a dynamic and poorly understood system. It is a best approximation using the data currently available. As more information becomes available for individual areas, species or habitats or as the parameters of overall connectivity and the effects of marine protected areas, become more clearly defined, this study must be updated. Furthermore, changes in habitat or water quality will influence the ecological significance of an area and may lead to a change in overall ranking of an area. Any changes in the status of endangered or commercially significant species should lead to an update of this report. Last not least, any implementation of marine protected areas should have a noticeable effect on the marine environment and will require updating of this report. Resource Description Report Page 55 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 REFERENCES Adams, A. and W. Tobias, 1993. Red mangrove prop-root habitat as a finfish nursery area: a case study of Salt River Bay, St. Croix, VI. Proceedings of the 46th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute Adams, A., 2001. The Importance of Lagoon Habitats of Bank-Barrier Reefs as Nurseries for Coral Reef Fishes. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA. Adams, John B., Lee Gerhard, John Ogden, and Jan Bowman, 1975. 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"Promoting Sustainable Development in the Virgin Islands: Possible Park Sites," Sun2. Grayson Publishing, Volume I, Number 2,28 Feb. 1992, St. Thomas, VI. Sobel, J., 1996. "Marine reserves: necessary tools for biodiversity conservation?" Canadian Museum of Nature, 1996: 8-18. The British Virgin Islands National Parks Trust and Eastern Caribbean Natural Area Management Program (1986) A Parks and Protected Areas Plan for the British Virgin Islands The Nature ConselVancy, 2000. The Five-S Framework for Site Conservation Tilmant, J., G. Schmahl and D. Morrison, 1979. An ecological assessment of Biscayne National Monument's coral reefs in relation to recreational use. Presented at Second Conference on Scientific Research in the National Parks, San Francisco, November 1979_ Tobias, 1995. The detennination of mangrove habitat for nursery ground of recreational fisheries in St. Croix, Final Report,1991-1995. US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife SelVice. Tobias, 1998. Mangrove habitats for nursery grounds of recreational fisheries of St. Croix, 1995-1997.US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife SeIVice. Tobias, W. 1993. Mangrove habitat as Nursery Grounds for Recreationally Important Fish Species - Great Pond, st. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Resource Description Report Page 67 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 Tobias, W., Telemaque, E. and M. Davis, 1988. Buck Island Fish And Shellfish Populations.Biosphere Reserve Research Report #26. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Towle, E. and Jones, 1., 1989. Eastern Caribbean parks and protected areas Bibliography. Biosphere Reserve research report no. 31. Prepared under contract by Island Resources Foundation for the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. St. Thomas, VI. Towle, E., 1975. National parks in the Caribbean area. Publicaciones Biologicas, Instituto de Investigaciones Cientificas, Vol. 1, No.7. U.AN.L., Mexico City. Towle, E., D. Grigg, W. Rainey, et at, 1977. Marine environments of the Virgin Islands. Technical supplement no. 1. Prepared under contract by Island Resources Foundation for the Virgin Islands Planning Office, Coastal Zone Management Program. St. Thomas, VI. Towle, E., et at, 1991. Hugo's Coastal Impacts: damage, recovery, and revival of the Territorial Park System. Prepared under contract by Island Resources Foundation for the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Four volumes plus Executive Summary. St Thomas, VI. Tyson, G. 1987. Historic Land Use In The Reef Bay, Fish Bay, And Hawksnest Bay Watersheds, S1. John, US Virgin Islands, 1718-1950. ReserveBiosphere Research Report #19. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. University ofMassachusetts~ Department of Landscape Architecture, 1968. The islands: selected resources of the United States Virgin Islands and their relationship to recreation, tourism and open space. Prepared for the Department of the Interior. University of Newcastle, 2000. "Ecological and social impacts in planning Caribbean marine reserves." Natural Resources Systems Programme: final technical report. Prepared for UK Department for International Development, Strategy for Research on Renewable Natural Resources. DFlD Project Number R6783.London US Department of Commerce, 1981. The St. Thomas National Marine Sanctuary and draft environmental impact statement. US Department of Commerce, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, Office of Coastal Zone Management Washington, DC. US Department of the Interior, 1960. The Virgin Islands: a report on the recreation resources. Report prepared by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Government ofllie Virgin Islands. US Department of the Interior, 2001. Threatened and Endangered Species List. US Department ofthe Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Resource Description Report Page 68 Marine Protected Areas Resource Description Report 14 August 2002 US Fish and Wildlife Service (200 1) Threatened and Endangered Species List US Virgin Islands Government, 1973. Project plan: Virgin Islands of the United States Resource Conservation and Development Project U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. San Juan, PR US Virgin Islands Government, Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs, 1979. Issue paper on a proposed S1. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Marine Sanctuary. Prepared by DCCA in conjunction with the St Thomas Marine Sanctuary Advisory Board and the Sanctuary Programs Office of NOAA's Office of Coastal Zone Management. Vauthrin, C., 1993. Legacy to treasure: Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve, Clipper Press, St. Croix, VI Virgin Islands Marine Advisors, 1986. Environmental assessment of proposed dredging in Christiansted Harbor S1. Croix, USVI. Prepared for: The Virgin Islands Port Authority and the Office of Coastal Zone Management. St. Croix, VI. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC), 1988. Abstracts of Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve research reports nos. 2-28. Biosphere Reserve report no.!. Prepared under contract by Island Resources Foundation for the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. St. Thomas, VI. Volson, B., 2001. Final Report: Recreational Fisheries Habitat Assessment Project, St. Thomas/St. John, F-7, 1996-2000. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Interior. Wilder, R., Tegner, M., Dayton, P. (1999) "Saving Marine Biodiversity," Issues in Science and Technology, Spring 1999 Williams, S., 1988. Assessment Of Anchor Damage And Carrying Capacity Of Sea grass Beds In Francis And Maho Bays For Green Sea Turtles. Biosphere Reserve Research Report #25. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Wolff, N., Graber-Dunsmore, R, Rogers, C., and Beets, J. (1999) "Management implications of fish trap effectiveness in adjacent coral reef and gorgonian habitats," Environmental Biology of Fishes 55:81-90 World Conservation Union (IUCN), 2000. The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Zube, E. and M. Busch, 1990. Park-people relationships: an international review. Landscape and Urban Planning, 19(1990):117-131. Resource Description Report Page 69 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability . APPENDIX A: SUMMARY OF 150 VI MARINE SITES AND DATA AVAILABILITY ST. THOMAS T1 Sail Rock x T2 Savanna Island x T3 Kalkun Cay T 4 Fortuna Bay xx T5 I~_e I I I I I I I I I :: ::.:: I I II I I 1~2001 I N_~WOO , : ~ IS . ~ I,/~ I I I I I I I_~l T8 Flat & Adams 1975 Nemeth,2002 j x Turtledove Cays .. ' T9 Lindbergh Bay xx Resource Description Report Page A- 1 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability Ti0 KrumBay I I I I x I I I I xx Ti1 Water Island x Nemeth, 2002 I xx Ti2 Hassel Island x xx Ti3 Crown Bay I I I I x I I I I xx T14 St. Thomas x xx Harbor. Ti5 Pacquereau Bay TiS Morningstar Bay I xx Ti7 Buck Island, Capella Island Nemeth, 2001 Ti8 Frenchman Bay xx Ti9 Green Cay T20 Little Colucus Ba T21 Bolongo Bay T22 I Bolongo Bay xx T23 Bovoni Bay xx Resource Description Report Page A- 2 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability T24 Stalley Bay T25 Frenchcap I Mangrove xx Voison, I xx Voison, T26 x x 2001 xx x Lagoon 2001 Adams, 1975 T27 Il!enner_ Bay, x x Voison, 2001 Voisort, 2001 I xx x T28 \.,-ow (lflU Calf xx Voison, xx Voison, Rocks x 2001 2001 x T29 Nazareth Bay x xx T30 CowpetBay I I I I I x I I I xx Great & Little T31 Sf. James, Dog I I I I I x I I Voison, 2001 I Voisort, 2001 I x Islands T32 Great Bay, I I I Voison, 2001 I Voison., 2001 I Cabrita Point x xx T33 I I I Muller Bay x T34 VessupBay I I I I x I I I x x xx x T35 Red Hook Bay I I I I x I I I x x xx T36 T...hatch - Congo I (x) x x Res'ource Description Report Page A- 3 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability T37 St. John Bay xx T38 Shark Island x x Smith Bay T39 (Lindqvist xx Beach) T40 Water Bay xx T41 Coki Bay xx T42 Spring Bay xx T43 Sunsi Bay xx T44 Tutu Bay Hans Lollick, T45 Little Hans Lollick, Pelican x x Ca T46 MandahlBay x x x xx x T47 Lovenlund Bay T48 I Magens Bay, x x x xx x T49 I Hull Bay xx Resource Description Report Page A- 4 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability T51 Dorothea Bay T52 Neltjeberg Bay T53 Mail Bay T54 Caret Bay T55 Hendrik Bay T56 Santa Maria Bay T57 Stumpy Bay T58 Bordeaux Bay T59 I Cockroach Cay, x T60 I Dutchcap Cay x Botany Bay, T61 Sandy Bay, Little St x thomas T62 Salt CaylWest x Resource Description Report (x) Nemeth, 2001 Nemeth & x x x xx xx x xx xx xx x x Page A- 5 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability ST.JOHN J1 Steven Cay x J2 Cruz Bay (x) x xx J3 Frank Bay x J4 Turner Bay x xx J5 Great Cruz Bay x x x xx x . J6 Chocolate Hole x x x xx x , J7 Rendezvous Bay Wolff et aI., Wolff et aI., I 1999 1999 xx I I XxNemeth J8 Fish Bay 2001 xx Rogers & Rogers & Beets 2001 xx x Beets 2001 J9 Cocoloba Cay x - --'._-- - ------' .... _------- -~ Resource Description Report Page A- 6 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability J10 Ba x J11 Europa Bay x J12 Little Lameshur Ba x J13 Southeast Coral x TI,eef J14 Great Lameshur x Bay J15 Grootpan Bay x J16 Kiddel Bay x J17 Saltpond Bay x J18 Booby Rock x J19 Drunk Bay x J20 Johns Folly Bay x J20A Lagoon Point x J21 LeDuck Island x J22 Friis Bay x xx xx Rogers Beets 2001 & I Rogers & Beets I 2001 xx Catanzaro 2001 Nemeth, 2001 I Rogers & Rogers & Beets, 2001 Rogers Beets, x XAdams,1975 x Rogers and xx xx xx x Resource Description Report Page A- 7 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability J23 Johnson Bay x J24 Sanders Bay x J25 Coral Bay x I x Ix I xx Ix J26 Hu"icane Hole, (x) x Ix I xx I (x) Round D -. J27 Privateer Bay J28 Flanagan Island I I x Ix J29 East End Bay xx Rogers & Rogers and J30 I Newfound Bay I I I I I I I Beets, 2001 Beets, 2001 I x Ix Rogers et aI, Rogers et aI, 2001 2001 I Haulover Bay I I I I I I I Rogers and Rogers and I x Ix J31 (x) Beets, 2001 Beets, 2001 I I I I I I I Rogers and Rogers and J32 I Mennebeck Bay x Beets, 2001 Beets, 2001 I I I I I I Rogers and Rogers and J33 Brown Bay x Beets, 2001 Beets, 2001 I 1 I 1 I 1 J34 Waterlemon Bay x J35 Waterlemon Cay I x Resource Description Report Page A- 8 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability J36 Leinster Bay x x J37 Mary Creek x J38 Mary Point x J39 Whistling Cay x J40 Francis Bay x Rogers and I Rogers and I xx Beets, 2001 Beets. 2001 J41 MahoBay x Rogers Ix Beets, 2001 Beets, ~~M J41 Cinnamon Bay x Wolff et al., Wolff et al., I xx 1999 1999 Trunk Bay, J43 Jumbie Bay, I x Penis Bay_ Rogers and Rogers and Beets, 2001 Beets, 2001 I xx J44 Hawksnest Bay x Rogers and Rogers and , xx J45 Turtle Bay x J46 DurloeCays x J47 CaneelBay x xx J48 Druif Bay x SalomonBa J49 Two Brothers x x Resource Description Report Page A- 9 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability ST. CROIX C1 Sandy]>oint x x .x x x C2 Long Point Bay xx C3 Manning Bay x x C4 Krause Lagoon x xx . C5 Ruth Cay x xx C6 Canegarden Bay x xx C7 Manchenil Bay, Halfpenny Bay x xx x C8 Spring Bay C9 Fareham Bay x Mateo, 2001 C10 Great Pond Bay x x Tobias, 1993 x x . Tobias 1998 Resource Description Report Page A~ 10 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability C11 Robin Bay x I Mateo,2001 I xx C12 Turner Hole x I Mateo,2001 I x C 13 Grapetree Bay x I xx C14 I Jack Bay, I I I 1:. 'B . x x Ix Ix saac s ay C15 East __ _ !oint, x x I x Mateo 2001 C16 I CottongardenMateo & ' B x Tobias 2001 Mateo & Tobias ~ WOI C17 I KnightBay x I I I Mateo. 2001 C 18 I Tague Bay x ~~~:s 2001 & Mateo' & Tobias I x 2001 Mateo, 2001 C19 I YellowcliffBay x I I 1~~~:2001 & Mateo & Tobias . 2001 I I I I . C20 Solitude Bay x C21 XxBythell et Buck Island x x aI., 2000 I I xx C22 Long Reef x XNemeth2001 I I xx I x C23 Coakley Bay x I I I x I I x Resource Description Report Page A~ 11 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability C24 I Prune Bay C25 Chenay Bay, I South tl,te Pond x Ix Ix Ix Ix C26 Green Cay x I xx C27 Punnett Bay C28 Altona Lagoon x x Tobias, 1995 I xx Ix (Shoy Beach) Christiansted C29 Harbor, Gallows x I xx Bay C30 Protestant Cay x Ix x Adams and C31 I Salt River Bay (x) x x (x) XNemeth 2001 Tobias, 1993 I xx Ix . Tobias. 1995 C32 Cane Bay, Davis (x) xx XNemeth I xx Ix Bav 2001 xx C33 AnnalyBay x I Ix C34 Maroon Hole C35 Hams Bay I I I I I I I I I xx C36 Butler Bay I I I I I I I I I xx Resource Description Report Page A~ 12 Appendix A: Summary of VI Marine Sites and Data Availability C37 I Sprat Hole I C38 Rainbow Beach I x C39 I 1!redriksted Harbor x Ix Legend: x ~ (Benthic/Fish data) Indicates General description information available (Water Quality) Indicates Monitoring Site Ix xx - (Benthic/Fish data) Indicates species specific, updated, detailed information available (Water Quality) Indicates data available since 1998 Names in bold Italics indicate areas identified as potential MPAs in Chapter 3. Notes: I xx I xx Ix I xx Ix OTHER PROTECTION SrATUS INCLUDES: SANDY POINT IS DESIGNATED AS A MARINE RESERVE; SAIL ROCK IS OWNED BY UVI. , , , Resource Description Report Page A~ 13 Appendix B: DetaHed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites APPENDIX B: DETAILED CHARACTERIZATIONS FOR FORTY PRIORITY MARINE SITES This Appendix includes a short site characterization summary for each area where enough data was available to make this a useful exercise. Efforts to collect current information on the status of marine resources in the US Virgin Islands included: • Review of historical and recent studies published and/or collected by Island Resources Foundation • Contacts with local scientists, government agencies, and other organizations involved in the collection of data related to USVI marine resources - (see list of contacts in Appendix D) • Contacts with local fisherman and recreational users of US VI marine resources Resource Description Report Page B-1 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Perseverance Bay T5 Land: Ownership: private Designation: VITPS, SNA SW side St. Thomas between Brewers and Fortuna Bay 1518 yards long, 570 yards wide = 843,000 square yards gyre, waves 350 acres, 0.63 square miles I Biological Description Habitat type/s small salt pond, small mangrove area, sand beach, coral rubble beach, seagrass bed, small patch reef Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status partially satisfies class B water quality Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact limited, trash washed up, site of artificial reef program destroyed by hurricane Hugo Recreational fishing Natural Impact Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et a1., 1990 2) SNA report Resource Description Report Page 8-2 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Brewers Bay T7 Land: Ownership: UVI, private Designation: VITPS, SNA SW side St. Thomas between Perseverance Bay and airport I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact sand beach, seagrass bed, medium size patch reef partially satisfies class B water quality popu1ar recreational beach, UVI dock, recreational fishing I Special Considerations Prior to 1982 affected by dredging, sand collection and building of airport runway I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et al., 1990 Resource Description Report Page 8-3 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Saba. Flat and Turtledove Cays T8 Land: Ownership: VI Designation: SNA, VI Wildlife Sanctuary OffofSW side St. Thomas by Brewers Bay and airport 30 acres (Saba), 3 acres (Flat), 4 acres (Turtledove) I Biological Description Habitat type/s salt pond, rocky shore, sand beach, seagrass bed (SW of Saba), coral reef(F1at Cay, Saba), hardbottom Benthic Species Fish Species Other ! Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact elkhorn coral recreational fishing, artisinal fishing Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et at, 1990 Resource Description Report Page 8-4 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Mangrove Lagoon T26 Legal Status Land: Ownership: VI (Long Pt., Bovoni, Particia Cays, Turpentine Rune Inlet), private I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Designation: VI Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary, APC, SNA, CBRS, VITPS SE side ofSt. Thomas, between Long Point and Jersey Bay approximately 75 acres, 1.2 miles long, 0.8 miles wide wind-driven, flushing S-N through lagoon Tutu-Turpentine Run basin 1,440 acres, Nulliberg basin I Biological Description mangroves, seagrass, fringing coral reef Habitat type/s Benthic Species turtle grass, calcareous algae (Halimeda, Penicillus) up to 70% of benthic cover, small area with finger coral, star coral Fish Species nursery for: snappers, grunts, butterfly fish, wrasses, damselfish, barracuda, rays, doctorfish Adults: snook, tarpon Other conch, whelk, lobster, shrimp, mangrove upside-down jellyfish I Conservation Status does not satisfy class B water quality, bacterial contamination Water Quality Human hnpact dredging (pre 1993), sewage outfall, sediment-laden run-off, boat refuge in storms, limited agriculture, kayaking, unlined landfill adjacent I Special Considerations 1) Protection since 1994 includes: possession of any living organism, anchoring, use ofintemal combustion engine 2) Large sewage treatment plant with offshore outfall is under construction 3) Dredging and channeling of Turpentine Run is planned by Anny Corps of Engineers I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Mangrove Lagoon - Benner Bay APC report 2) Title 12, Chapter 1 VIRR, 1994 3 ) Nellis, 1999 4) Vol son, 2001 5) Adams, 1975 Resource Description Report Page 8-5 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites [ GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Benner Bay, Jersey Bay T27 Land: Ownership: private Designation: VITPS, APC, SNA, CBRS Water: Designation: VI Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary Location Size Currents Watershed SE side ofSt. Thomas, between Mangrove Lagoon and Nazareth Bay approximately 240 acres low flushing in Benner Bay Bovorn Basin, Benner Basin 0.8 km2 I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status salt pond, mangroves, sand beach, rubble beach, seagrass bed blue tang turtles (feeding), whelk, jellyfish satisfies class B water quality Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact boating (docks, live-aboards, boat repair), residential and commercial area Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Mangrove Lagoon - Benner Bay APC report 2) Nellis, 1999 3) Vol son, 2001 4) Adams, 1975 Resource Description Report Page 8-6 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status Cow and Calf Rocks T28 Land: Ownership: VI Water: Designation: VI Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Off of SE side of St. Thomas, Nazareth Bay small negligible I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact rocky shore, coral reef lettuce coral, fire coral, elkhorn coral, finger coral, pillar coral blue tang, damselfish, snappers, coppery glassy sweepers (?) sponges, lobster, shrimp diving Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1 ) Nellis, 1999 2) Volson, 2001 Resource Description Report Page B-7 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status ! Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Great St. James Island, Little St. James Island, Dog Island T31 Land: Ownership: St. James: private, Dog Island: VI Designation: SNA, VITPS, Dog Island: VI Wildlife Sanctuary Water: Designation: VI Marine Reserve and Wildlife Sanctuary Off of East end ofSt. Thomas 156 acres (Great St. James) , 69 acres (Little St. James) I Biological Description Habitat type/s salt pond, rocky shore, gravel beach, seagrass bed, coral reef Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status manatee grass, turtle grass (30%-90% ground cover), algae wrasses, damselfish Hawksbill turtle nesting Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact recreational beach, diving, artisinal fishing, limited residential, anchoring (Christmas Cove, Great St. James) Natural Impact Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Dammann and Nellis, 1992 2) Vol son, 2001 Resource Description Report Page 8-8 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites t GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Vessup Bay T34 Land: Ownership: private Designation: APC, VITPS, SNA E end St. Thomas Bay: 34 acres partly enclosed embayment, (25+ days for complete flushing) Red Hook Bay: 542 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/ s Benthic Species Fish Species Other , Conservation Status mangrove, algae juvenile nursery (limited) Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact does not satifY class B water quality, bacterial contamination, high turbidity substantial: commercial and residential center, marinas, ferry and barge dock, live- aboard, sewage outfall Natural Impact Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1992. Vessup Bay - East End APC report Resource Description Report Page 8-9 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Thatch - Congo Cays T36 Land: Ownership: Grass Cay, Congo Cay: VI, other cays: private Designation: VI cays: VI Wildlife Sanctuary, Thatch Cay: VITPS OffofNE end ofSt. Thomas strong currents in cuts between cays Location Size Currents Watershed 237 acres (Thatch), 49 acres (Grass), 49 acres (Mingo), 118 acres (Lovango), 25 acres ( Congo) I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact rocky shore, coral reef, seagrass bed humpback whales seen to north of Congo in winter diving, artisinal fishing, Lovango Cay: low density residential Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Dammann and Nellis, 1992 Resource Description Report Page 8-10 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Smith Bay (Linquist Beach) T39 Legal Status Land: Ownership:private Designation: VITPS I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed NE of St. Thomas, between St. John Bay and Water Bay I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other salt pond, mangroves, sandy beach, seagrass bed, fore reef, hardbottom I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality satisfies class B water quality Human Impact recreational beach, artisinal fishing Natural Impact Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et al., 1990 Resource Description Report Page 8-11 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Hans Lollick, Little Hans Lollick. Pelican Cay T45 J"egal Status Land: Ownership: Hans Lollick: VI (private long term lease), others: private Designation: SNA, VITPS I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed OffofN side ofSt. Thomas, Mandahl Bay, Peterborg Hans Lollick: 490 acres, Little Hans Lollick: 100 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/ s Benthic Species Fish Species Other f Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact fringing coral reef, rocky seashore, sandy beach Hawksbill turtle nesting (H.L., Little H.L.) artisinal fishing, overnight camping, picnicking (H.L., Little H. L.) Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et al., 1990 2) Dammann and Nellis, 1993 Resource Description Report Page 8-12 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed MandahlBay T46 Land: Ownership: partially leased to development corp. Designation: APC, APR, CBRS, VITPS N side of St. Thomas, between Lovenlund and Tutu bays NW ground swells in winter, general high flushing capacity in bay 105 acres upland Mandahl basin ! Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species mangrove, sand/coral rubble beach, tidal pools, patch coral reef Elkhorn coral, fIre coral, brain coral Fish Species Jetties: coral, algae, anemones, zooxanthids, channel: turf algae, lagoon: algae bay: schooling fIsh: bonito, fry Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact jetties: grunts, snappers, puffer fIsh, moray eels, surgeonfIsh lagoon: fry, mullet, transient predators sea turtle nesting on beach satisfIes class B water quality recreational beach, hand-line fIshing, mooring, residential t Special Considerations 1) 70s: salt pond made into lagoon, marina development (abandoned) 2) late 90s: illegal cutting of section of red mangroves, mitigation in progress I References, Dates (for sources of information) I) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Mandahl Bay APC report Resource Descrtption Report Page B-13 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites t GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Magens Bay, Lerkenlund Bay T48 Land: Ownership: Magens Bay beach: VI, other: private, TNC Designation: APC, SNA, CBRS, VITPS N side of St. Thomas, between Peterborg and Tropeco (Hull) Point approximately 1000 acres occasional large winter swells 9 individual watersheds, total approximately 4000 acres I Biological Description Habitat typets rocky shore, sandy beach (Magens Bay), gravel beach (Lerkenlund beaches), mangroves, coral reef Benthic Species patch reefs: E: finger coral, soft coral, W: brain coral, star coral, small turtle grass patches Fish Species Other I Conservation Status reef fishes, schools of fry, sprat (herring), jacks, mackerel, sharks turtle nesting, crabs, turtle feeding Benthos Quality W reef (Lerkenlund) highly stressed Water Quality variable, high turbidity and fecal coliform count after heavy rainfall, generally satisfies class B water quality Human Impact recreational beach, artisinal fishing Natural Impact I Special Considerations Exceptional scenic value I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1992 Magens Bay APC report 2) site visit, 2001 Resource Description Report Page 8-14 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites t GENERAL Name Code Caret Bay T54 Legal Status Land: Ownership: private I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed NW side of St. Thomas, between Hendrick Bay and Mail Bay Heavy NW swells in winter I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact rocky shore, gravel beach, extensive coral reef satisfies class B water quality low and medium density residential Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) Resource Description Report Page B-15 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status [ Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Botany Bay, Sandy Bay, Little St. Thomas T61 Land: Ownership: private Designation: APC, VITPS Wend of St. Thomas strong N groundswells in winter, strong currents, high flushing rate app. 350 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/ s Benthic Species mangroves, sandy beach, rocky shore, seagrass bed, fore reef, barrier reef Elkhorn coral, brain coral, finger coral, star coral, starlet coral, soft coral, sponges, turtle grass Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact wide variety of reef fishes, including damselfish, parrotfish, etc. Hawksbill turtle nesting satisfies class B water quality limited residential I Special Considerations 1) 60-acre area adjacent to Sandy bay rezoned for dense hotel development (2001) I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et al., 1990 2) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Botany Bay APC report Resource Descrfption Report Page 8-16 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status [ Physical Description Salt Cay, West Cay T62 Land: Ownership: VI Designation: VI Wildlife Sanctuary, NNL, VITPS, SNA Location Off ofW end of St. Thomas Size Currents Watershed coastline and waters surrounding cays strong currents Salt Cay: 56 acres, West Cay: 40 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/ s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact coral reef, seagrass bed, rocky seashore, sandy beach, salt pond "rich" artisinal fishing Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Botany Bay APC report Resource Description Report Page 8-17 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Great Cruz Bay J5 Land: Ownership: private Designation: APC Location SW side ofSt. John Size Currents Watershed 447 acres, main gut: Guinea Gut ! Biological Description Habitat type/s some mangroves, sand beach, gravel beach, seagrass bed (outlying), rocky coral reef Benthic Species Seagrass bed: turtle grass, manatee grass Coral reef: elkhorn coral, staghorn coral, finger coral, starlet coral Fish Species Other turtle sightings I Conservation Status Benthos Quality stressed by high turbidity Water Quality partially satisfies class B water quality, high turbidity Human Impact recreational beach, anchorage, live-aboards, low-density residential, hotel Natural Impact I Special Considerations Dredged in 1968-71 and mid-1980s, causes on-going high turbidity, beach nourishment for hotel beach (1980s) I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Chocolate Hole - Great Cruz Bay APC report Resource Description Report Page 8-18 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Chocolate Hole J6 Land: Ownership: private, VI (salt pond, mangroves) Designation: APC, salt pond: SNA Location S W side of St. John Size Currents Watershed high wave energy I Biological Description Habitat type/ s salt pond, mangroves, sand beach, gravel beach, seagrass bed, coral reef Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality seagrass bed: turtle grass, calcareous algae Coral reef starlet coral, finger coral great species diversity (CR!, 1969) turtle nesting (1980s), turtle feeding satisfies class B water quality Human Impact recreational beach, anchorage, diving, low-density residential, sediment-laden run-off Natural Impact I Special Considerations 1) Salt pond opened to the sea in 1959 and several times since 2) Hotel development abandoned, currently in permitting process again I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Chocolate Hole - Great Cruz Bay APC report Resource Descriptfon Report Page 8-19 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Fish Bay J8 Land: Ownership; private Designation: SNA SW middle ofSt. John, between Rendezvous and Reef Bay 6.1 km2 I Biological Description Habitat type! s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact mangrove, gravel beach, rocky shore, seagrass bed, coral reef star coral, starlet coral, algae nursery in mangroves, parrotfish, surgeonfish (65% fish abundance) crabs, shrimp in mangroves somewhat stressed satisfies class B water quality residential, sedimentation coral bleaching, coral diseases I Special Considerations I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Nemeth and MacDonald, 2000 Resource Descriptton Report Page 8-20 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Johns Folly Bay J19 Land: Ownership: private Designation: APC East end of St. John I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact gravel beach, rocky shore, coral reef Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Lagoon Point - Coral Harbor APC report Resource Descr~pHon Report Page B-21 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed LeDuck Island J20 Land: Ownership: VI Designation: VI Wildlife Sanctuary, SNA, APC Off of E end of St. John 13 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact salt pond, gravel beach, rocky shore, extensive coral reef elkhorn coral artisinal fisheries I Special Considerations I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Lagoon Point - Coral Harbor APC report 2) Damman and Nellis, 1992 Resource DeSCftption Report Page 8-22 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Coral Bay Harbor J24 Land: Ownership: private, VI (small areas) Designation: AOPC, VITPS Location E end of St. John Size Currents Watershed low flushing 6% per day Coral Bay watershed, 95 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/ s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality mangroves, gravel beach, seagrass bed seagrass: turtle grass, manatee grass juvenile fish Hawksbill turtle nesting (small area), crabs, conch, lobster satisfies. class B water quality Human Impact Natural Impact residential, commercial (limited), marina (small), mooring, some live-aboard I Special Considerations I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Lagoon Point - Coral Harbor APCreport 2) SNA report Resource Descrtptton Report Page 8-23 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Hurricane Hole, Round Bay J25 Land: Ownership: US (NPS), private Designation: APC E end of St. John I Biological Description Habitat type/ s salt pond, extensive mangroves, gravel/sand beach, seagrass bed (nearshore), coral reef (Turner Hole, Round Bay), hardbottom Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact Seagrass: turtle grass, manatee grass nursery in mangroves Hawksbill turtle nesting (small area), crabs, whelk, lobster limited residential, storm shelter for boats Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) I) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Lagoon Point - Coral Harbor APC report Resource Descrtptton Report Page 8-24 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Flanagan Island J27 Land: Ownership: VI Designation: VI Wildlife Sanctuary, SNA 0.75 miles off ofNE end of St. John 22 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact rocky shore, coral reef artisinal fisheries, overnight camping Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Dammann and Nellis, 1992 Resource DeSCftption Report Page 8-25 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Newfound Bay J29 Land: Ownership: private Designation: SNA Location NE end of St. John Size Currents Watershed 60 acres in the bay 60 acres, includes saltpond rated highly by Adams. I Biological Description Habitat type! s mangroves, salt pond, sand/gravel beach, gravel beach, rocky shore, coral reef (fringing) Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Star coral Benthos Quality significant drop in coral cover, probably due to storms, bleaching and disease 1999- 2000 Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact very little coral diseases, bleaching (98), hurricanes (99) Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Lagoon Point - Coral Harbor APC report 2) Rogers et al., 2001 3) Adams et al, 1975. Resource Descrtption Report Page 8-26 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Haulover Bay 130 Land: Ownership: private, US (NPS) NE side ofSt. John, between I Biological Description Habitat type! s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Hwnan Impact Natural Impact gravel! sand beach, coral reef diving, sediment~laden run-off from sub-division roads Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Resource Description Report Page B-27 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status Sandy Point Cl Land: Ownership: VI, private, Westend salt pond: US Designation: SNA, Westend salt pond: National Wildlife Refuge, beach: I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed US F&W: Critical Habitat, NNL , APC, SNA Water: Designation: NMFS: Critical Habitat SW end ofSt. Croix 500 acres, land area of the peninsula complex, pulses W and S, rip current 50cmls I Biological Description Habitat typel s salt ponds (Westend salt pond, large), sandy beach, hardbottom (some at NE edge) Benthic Species Fish Species Other Critical leatherback turtle nesting site-one of Jour teen in the world. Hawksbill and green turtle nesting also I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact pristine recreational beach, residential, sewage outfall Downstream and downwind of one of the world's busiest oil ports. I Special Considerations Unique combination of globally significant Leatherback turtle nesting area and at risk from high volume of oil transit less than 10· miles upstream. I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et aI., 1990 2) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Sandy Point APC report Resource Description Report Page B-28 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites 'GENERAL Name Code Legal Status , Physical Description Manchenil Bay, Halfpenny Bay C7 Land: Ownership: private, Designation: SNA, VITPS Location Size Currents Watershed S side middle of St. Croix, between Canegarden and HalfPenny Bays , Biological Description Habitat type/ s mangroves (small area), sand beach, patch reef(Manchenil Bay), barrier reef (Halfpenny Bay) Benthic Species Fish Species Other , Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Hmnan Impact Natural Impact turtle nesting (3 species) satisfies class B water quality recreational beach, recreational fishing, diving , Special Considerations , References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. etal., 1990 Resource Description Report Page 8-29 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Great Pond Bay ClO Land: Ownership: private, VI (salt pond), Designation: SNA, VITPS, APe SE side of St. Croix, between Fareham and Robin Bays Bay: 2 km long, 1 km wide, Pond: 123 acres, 0.5 km2, 48 ha 10 cmls current at reef entrance 1900 acres (includes 1165 acres into pond) I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Lagoon! salt pond: Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact salt pond, mangroves, sand beach, gravel beach, extensive seagrass bed, patch and extensive barrier reef, algal ridge reef elkhorn coral, fire coral, starlet coral, brain coral, finger coral Backreef newly settled grunts, slippery dick, doctor fish, parrot fish, goat fish, yellowtail snapper, herring, schoolmaster snapper, slender mojarra nurserysnappers (schoolmaster and mutton), mojarras, jack, pennit, snook, bonefish Southern pink shrimp (in pond) satisfies class B water quality recreational beach, agriculture run-off, some residential, camping, recreational fishing I Special Considerations No motorized vessels allowed in Great Pond (1992) I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et at., 1990 2) Island Resources Fmmdation, 1992. Great Salt Pond Bay APC report 3} SNA report 4) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. St Croix Coral Reef System APC report 5) Mateo, 2001 6) Mateo 2001 b 7) Tobias, 1993 Resource Description Report Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Jack Bay, Isaac's Bay C14 Land: Ownership: private (TNC) Designation: APC, SNA SE side of St. Croix, next to East End strong rip current through reef I Biological Description Habitat type/ s mangroves (Jack Bay), rocky shore, sand beach, coral reef(fringing) rated highly by Adams, seagrass bed Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact (outside reef), algal ridges turtle nesting very good very good recreational beach, recreational fishing I Special Considerations I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et al., 1990 2) Island Resources Foundation, 1992. East End APC report 3) Adams, 1975 Resource Description Report Page 8-31 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed East End Bay, Pt. Udall CI5 Land: Ownership: VI Designation: VITPS, APC, SNA E end St. Croix complex 30 acres I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact rocky shore, gravel beach, barrier reef, algal ridges I Special Considerations I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et aI., 1990 2) Island Resources Foundation, 1992. East End APC report Resource Description Report Page- 8-3-2 Appendix 8: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Coakley Bay C24 Land: Ownership: private Designation: SNA, APC NE side of St. Croix, between Prune and Solitude Bays I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Hmnan Impact Natural Impact salt pond, mangroves, sand beach, seagrass bed (inside reef), patch reef, barrier reef satisfies class B water quality recreational beach Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et aI., 1990 Resource Description Report Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Chenay Bay, Southgate Pond C26 Land: Ownership: private, VI (salt pond) Designation: SNA, TIPS, APC NE side of St. Croix, between Prune and Punnet Bays Salt Pond: 40 acres w 0.2-0.5 1m 780 acres, 2 major guts I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status- Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact salt pond, mangroves, seagrass beds, sandy beach, fringing and patch reet: seagrass bed elkhorn coral, star coral, brain coral herring,snapper Pond: Tilapia, turtle nesting (3 species) Bay: ok, Marina sometimes less than class B recreational beach, marina, sewage outflow I Special Considerations 60s: pond divided by dyke, Wend developed as marina I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Southgate- Cheney Bay APC report 2) SNA report Resource Description Report Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Shoy Bay (Beauregard Bay), Altona Lagoon C29 Land: Ownership: private, VI (pond, beach) Designation: SNA (Altona Lagoon), VITPS N side of St. Croix, directly E of Christi-ansted- lagoon: 100 ha lagoon: poor flushing capacity Altona lagoon watershed 0,48 km2 I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact mangroves, sandy beach, estuary with seagrass bed, fringing reet: seagrass bed turtle nesting, Southern pink shrimp (in lagoon) Lagoon satisfies class B water quality recreational beach, major urban center, residential, sewage outfall, commercial and recreational fishing in lagoon and bay I Special Considerations 1) commercial fishing and shrimping prohibited 2) culvert connecting lag-oon to se installed after natural connection was closed by dredge- spiU 3) no motorized vessels allowed in lagoon (1992) I References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Towle, E. et al., 1990 2} Island Resources Foun-dati-on, 1993-. Christi-ansted Waterfront APC report Re-source- De-scription Re-port Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed Long Reef C23 Ownership: VI Designation: APC, SNA, VITPS NW of Christiansted St. Croix, , Green Cay I IDlle long I Biological Description Habitat type/s Benthic Species bank-barrier coral reef; seagrass bed Reef leaf coral, mustard coral Seagrass bed: manatee grass, turtle grass; calcareous algae Fish Species squirrel fishes, snappers, grunts, Butterfly fishes, damselfishes, wrasses, parrot fishes (1986) Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality eastern side stressed (6-23% live coral cover) (1986) Water Quality satisfies class B water quality Human Impact recreational fishing, major urban center (Christiansted) Natural Impact Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) I} Towle, E. etal, 1990 2) Island Resources Foundation, 1993.St. Croix Coral Reef System APC report 3) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Christiansted Waterfront APC report Resource- De-scription Re-port Paga 8-3-6- Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites 1 GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I· Physical Descriptiou Location Salt River, Sugar Bay, Triton Bay C32 Land: Ownership: private (some TNC), VI, US Designation: National Ecological Reserve (92), VITPS, NNL, APC Water: Designation: National Ecological Reserve N side middle ofSt. Croix, NW of Christians ted Size CUffents Watershed 0.7 mls outer bay, inner bay: partly enclosed- embayment, wme areas closed- 2880 acres, principal gut: Salt River 1 Biological Description mangroves, salt pond, estuary, coral reef, seagrass beds, algal plain rich, black coral; ATTACHMENT nursery, rich Habitat type/s Benthic Species Fish Species Other turtle (feeding), Humpback whales (seasonal), crustaceans, bivalves, shrimp, crabs, conch, whelk 1 Conservation Status satisfies class B water quality Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact marina, live-aboards, sewage outfall, residential, recreational beach, diving I Special Considerations 60s: dredging and filling for marina (not completed); 70s twiee- dredging for marma- (abandoned) 1 References, Dates (fur sou-rces- ()f information) 1) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. Salt River - Sugar Bay APC report Resource- De-scription Re-port Page- 8-3-1 Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I-GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed- Cane Bay, Davis Bay C33 Land: Ownership: private Offshore: Designation: APC, SNA, VITPS (Davis Bay reef) NW side of St. Croix I Biological Description Habitat type/ s Benthic Species Fish Species Other I Conservation Status Benthos Quality Water Quality Human Impact Natural Impact rocky shore, sand beach, sand/gravel beach, hardbottom, coral reef reef: plate coral, lettuce coral, star coral, brain coral, starlet coral, finger coral, sponges reef: black durgeon, blue chromis, creole wrasse, queen triggerfish, manta rays, sharks humpback whales (seasonal), sea turtles (feeding), dolphins reef stressed by sediinent loading (Davis Bay), heavy recreational use (Cane Bay) satisfies class B water quality hotel (Davis Bay). recreational beach, recreational fishing, boating. diving Special Considerations References, Dates (for sources of information) 1) Nellis, 1999, Coral Reef APe 2) Island Resources Foundation, 1993. St. Croix Coral reef System APC report Resource Description Report Appendix B: Detailed Characterizations for 40 Priority Marine Sites I GENERAL Name Code Legal Status I Physical Description Location Size Currents Watershed- AnnalyBay C34 Land: Ownership: private Designation: SNA, VITPS NW side of &1. Croix deepwater , Biological Des.cription Habitat type/ s Benthic Species Fish Species Other mangroves, rocky shore, coral rubble beach, seagrass be but this never fully evolved (despite Interior's encouragement and the investment of Fairleigh Dickinson University in the West Indies Lab on St. Croix). The TEKTITE project was successful but was summarily moved to Puerto Rico. In this particular case, as in the later Virgin L~land~ and the Sea initiative, good intentions by Interior came to naught because of an absence of local political support, despite the fact that the Lieutenant Governor had been appointed head of a new Virgin Islands Marine Resource Council, which also accomplished little and eventually faded away. It was a lost opportunity. Dr. John E. (Jack) Randall, famous for his studies of prototype artificial reef studies at Lameshure Bay, St. John, published a survey of global marine parks, entitled ""Conservation in the Sea." The booklet featured the Virgin Islands National Park's underwater park areas. [Oryx, Fauna Preservation Society I 1970: [SUTVtry #3} In July, the Department of the Interior sent a senior marine specialist, William BeHer, to the Virgin Islands to head a citizens-based study team charged with looking at the Territory's marine resources from a development and conservation perspective. After IOO volunteer "specialists" were recruited and dozens of public meetings held over a gO-day period, this ad hoc group produced a 170-page report filled with practical recommendations on "The Virgin Is/andy and the Sea ". The Lt. Governor's Office issued a preprint with limited circulation, but the Governor's Office declined to publish it and the venture never moved ahead to an implementation phase. Mr. Beller moved on to Puerto Rico and later to Hawaii, where he successfully developed similar "bdand and the Sea" community-based studies that were published and have, in recent years, been revisited with new updated editions. 1970-1974: The four-year period irom 1970 to 1974 saw the emergence of several seemingly promising initiatives dealing with natural resources in the Territory, some of which were subsequently undone by later events. Governor Ralph Paiewonsky had earlier taken a lead in searching for ways to obtain more lands for public use and open space. With the help of Stanley Cain (Department of the Interior), his administration had established the ingenious but short-lived and now- defunct Hess Oil Conservation Fund to purchase potential park land and open space areas. This was to be funded by a small royalty paid by Hess Oil on each barrel of crude oil imported by its refinery on St. Croix. Later the arrangement with Hess was abandoned and the fund dismantled. Although no significant parklands were ever purchased under its Resource DescripUon Report Page C-3 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts provisions and its appointed advisory board never met, there were expectations during the early 1970s that if appropriate conservation initiatives were launched, appropriations would be available to support them through the Hess Conservation Fund. Quite unexpectedly, in 1972, Senate Act No. 3190 was proposed, calling for establishment of a "Territorial Park System" for the Virgin Islands. The objectives of the Act, sponsored by then-Senator Virdin Brown, were "to preserve and enhance landscapes and seascapes typical of the Virgin Islands, the habitats of wildlife and sea life and historical and archaeological sites." Unfortunately, the Act also reorganized the relatively new Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs (predecessor to the current Department of Planning and Natural Resources), and the administration ofthen-Govemor Melvin Evans was not interested in the proposed administrative reorganization. Therefore, apart from some serious planning, nothing happened. It was, in retrospect, a good idea whose time had not yet come. During this period, submerged lands within the three-mile boundary limit were transferred by the Federal Government to the Territorial Government [Act No. 3667 entitled "Trustlands Occupancy and Alteration Control Act"). One objective of this act was to place inshore dredging activity under local monitoring and regulatory control. Federal oversight had proven insufficient. In 1972, Alan Robinson, the Virgin Islands National Park's resident scientist in S1. John, completed a detailed development study and plan for a marine protected area at Lagoon Point, Coral Bay, St. John. No follow-up action was taken except the site later became an Area of Particular Concern (APC) in the draft Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program. In 1973 [Survey #4}, a three-island conservation inventory was undertaken by the Virgin Islands (federally funded) Soil Conservation Service. A professionally assembled report was published including a new inventory· of public recreation sites (actual and proposed) with maps. An agenda for maintaining coastal water quality was included. The recreational sites were picked up under the State Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (SCORP), published every 5 years since. In 1974, DCCA's Director of Planning and Development, Robert Mathes, recommended establishing "marine reserves within the Territorial Park System" for the protection of natural and/or cultural-historic marine resources. He sought to restrict some areas as "controls" to monitor environmental change elsewhere in the Territory. There was no follow-up. In 1974, the Federal Coastal Zone Management Act was modified just prior to passage to include the Territory ofthe Virgin Islands. The Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Act was to be five years in the making [see below, 1979). 1975: The DCCA Director of Planning and Development, Robert Mathes, proposed specific new Territorial Marine Reserves as follows [Copy of typescript from Island Resources' files; File name: DCCAl75/TP.}: Resource Description Report Page C-4 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts ApPENDl-X C, TABLE 1: PROPOSED TERRITORIAL MARINE RESERVES, 1975 ST. THOMAS ST. CROIX ST.JOHN PRIORITY 1 PRIORITY 2 Coki Point Botany Bay/Sandy Bay Mandahl Bay and Salt Pond Jersey Bay/ Mangrove Lagoon (western (environmental restoration experiment portion) Eastern St. Croix Reef System Great Pond Bay Santa Monica Wreck Site Long Point Mangrove Lagoon Manning Bay Mangrove Lagoon Altona Lagoon Pond In 1975, Dr. Alan Robinson, formerly the Chief Natural Scientist in the VINP on St. John prepared an official survey of marine and coastal parks in the US. Of the 21 sites included, only the VINP and Florida park areas had the highest rankings of both prime significance and representative coverage in four classification categories. The paper was presented to the 1975 World Marine Parks Conference in Tokyo. 1976: The prospects of implementing Act No. 3190 to create a Territorial Park System (see above) improved when the bill's sponsor, Senator Virdin Brown, was appointed Commissioner of Conservation under the new administration of Cyril E. King. Commissioner Brown, assisted by two of his assistants-Bob Mathes, who headed Planning and Developmen~ and Tim Still a park planner-prepared and circulated a work plan for implementing the long-awaited Territorial Park System [Sunr~ #5J. The plan in outline form included a proposed budget of $199,000 of which $150,000 was designated for external consultants to support in-house staff). The work program anticipated: ... planning and developing the park system in an environment of scarce resources and a climate of cooperation. A first class, multi-faceted park system is the goal, comprehending conservationist, recreational, educational and managerial roles [Brown Memo, November 22, 1976}. Meanwhile, the 12,650 acre [5,1 IS-hectare} Virgin Islands National Park on St. John and significant adjacent marine waters were formally designated as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO (after it was so nominated by the U. S. Department of the Interior). It is classified within the mCN Uvardy System as a component of the Lesser Antillean biogeographic province. 1977: [Survty #6J The first draft of the U.S. Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program was developed under sponsorship of the U.S. Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. The process of assessing Areas of Particular Concern (APCs) Resource Description Report Page C-5 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts and Significant Natural Areas (SNAs), each of which required site studies and ranking, began at this time. DCCA developed a list and map of SNAs, and the Planning Office prepared a selected list of APCs. [See the VIICZM Program Plan, pp. 139 to 169 and/or the Impact Assessment Document, pp.84 to 107.) Sites identified included the following: St. Thomas: • Jersey Bay Mangrove Lagoon • Mandahl Bay Lagoon Restoration Area St. Croix: • S1. Croix Reef System Reserve • GreenCay • East End/Isaac Bay • Long Point Mangrove Lagoon • Manning Bay Mangrove Lagoon • Altona Lagoon • Southgate Pond • Salt River - Sugar Bay • Sandy Point • Great Pond Bay St. John: • Lagoon Point [Surv~ #7} Under contract with the Virgin Islands Planning Office, the Island Resources Foundation assembled a study team of scientists, geographers and planners with the aim of developing a planner's handbook characterizing the component parts and functional elements of the Virgin Islands insular ecosystem (marine, terrestrial and benthic). This document, which was entitled Marine Environments of the Virgin Islands: Technical Supplement # 1 [Towle, 19771 and published in 1977, included an inventory of natural resources, an analysis of biophysical relationships, coastal zone planning guidelines and scoping information for resource management, including APC and SNA coverage and ranking. 1978. Act No. 4163, authorized adding 121 acres, donated by Fairleigh Dickinson, Jr., to Cramer Park [St. Croix} as a territorial park, with a shore front easement for "studies in ecology, marine biology, oceanography, etc." This area was to be named the Fairleigh Dickinson Territorial Park. 1979: Act No. 4248 "Virgin Island Coastal Zone Management" was enacted by the V.I. Legislature. The actual Program Plan had been previously vetted by an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process carried out by the U.S. Department of Commerce. [SUTV~ #8} During this period (1978 and 1979) a team of lawyers from Chelsea International in Washington, DC was. employed by the Office of the Secretary of the U. S. Department of Commerce under the framework of the Marine Protection, Research and Resource Description Report Page C-6 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts Sanctuaries Program. The team was charged with conducting a survey of four possible Marine Sanctuary sites in the Virgin Islands and identifYing a preterred site to develop under the aegis of an emerging Virgin Islands Territorial Park System. A public hearing was held on the preferred site in 1978 while DCCA was reformulating the marine component of its stalled territorial park plan. Other sites on S1. Thomas were later surveyed, and DCCA developed a Marine Sanctuary Advisory Board to help with site selection and planning. In November 1979 NOAA (U.S. Department of Commerce) printed a Notice of Intent in The Federal Register to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed marine sanctuary in the Virgin Islands. Consultation began with other Federal agencies (Caribbean Fisheries Management Council, the Army Corps of Engineers, Department of the Interior), local NGOs and local fisheries cooperatives. The site selected, Jersey Bay, generated significant opposition from the Virgin Islands fishing community, and the planning process ultimately ended in a stalemate, with no marine sanctuary. [DCCA, 1979} By the end of the decade, DCCA had been unsuccessful in developing systemic elements for its proposed system of parks and protected areas. This was due in part to the untimely death of Governor King, under whose administration planning for the concept was first carried out. His successor as governor, Juan Luis, did not place equal emphasis on development of a territorial park system, and focus shifted almost entirely to implementing the relatively new, Federally sponsored and funded Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program. For those concerned that prospective marine park and protected area sites continued to be at risk, the CZM planning initiative appeared to oller some hope through potential implementation of improved management strategies for selected coastal "areas of particular concern" (APes) and "significant natural areas" (SNAs). That expectation went mostly unrealized, as APC/SNA program implementation has never been undertaken. Between 1978 and 1980, none of the draft APC and SNA management plans developed were completed. A decade would pass before the subject would again be approached. In the meanwhile, the Territory's fisheries, wetlands, beaches, historic sites, harbors and salt ponds would do without the policy guidance, management standards and protection tools normally associated with coastal resource management programs. Many of these are stilI not in place, even in draft or pilot form. 1980-1990: However, times and priorities do change. The collective impacts of continuing development, over-fishing, and sediment discharge from land- and marine- based pollution began to raise new management questions with respect to the marine environment. Among resource managers and some government leaders there was a new focus on the need to protect some aspects of the coastal and marine resource base so that the remainder might prosper. The decade of the 1980s saw the beginning of a change in perspective among some Virgin Islanders regarding the efficacy of natural area resource conservation. Some of the Resource Description Report Page C-7 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts high points that led to more routine mechanisms of protection-especially manne reserves-are listed below. 1981: Although no action had been taken on the 1972 Territorial Parks Act, a DCCA staff member, John Alexander, developed a preliminary policies and standards document for a Virgin Islands Park System. One noteworthy feature of this 9O-page plan was that the marine areas of proposed parks-such as Magens Bay, S1. Thomas's Mangrove Lagoon and Salt River-were clearly included within proposed "park" boundaries. However, this park systems plan draft was never circulated widely, nor was it ever completed. During this period, the Virgin Islands National Park came under m.ore frequent and often harsh criticism from S1. John's residents. S1. Johnians were disturbed by escalating land costs and by a seemingly pervasive number of National Park Service regulations limiting certain "traditional" natural resource uses (e.g., tying up private fishing craft to mangroves within the Park or using mangrove wood for fishpot construction and charcoal making). The VINP Superintendent, seeking opportunities to lessen the criticism, arranged in 1981 for the regional office of the NPS to contract with the Island Resources Foundation to undertake an economic impact assessment of the National Park on St. John. The EIA was designed to document the economic role played by the VINP, both in St. John and the in Virgin Islands Territory. This study [Posner, Towle, et al. "Economic Impact Analysis for the Virgin Islands National Park." Island Resources Foundation, St. Thomas. 95 pages, 1981.} was carried out by a team of economists and planners who concluded that the direct and indirect benefits of the Park were ten times greater than the costs. [The study was later featured in a 1990 book from Island Press by John Dixon on the Economics of Protected Areas, pp. 154-161.) It is noteworthy that the marine component of the VINP contributed significantly to the economic productivity and service support functions of the VI tourism industry, the Territory's major employment sector. t 983: DCCA circulated a much expanded and improved earlier draft of "Proposed Rules and Regulations for Territorial Marine Parks and Reserves." [Copy of typescript draft from Island Resources' files; File name: DCCA/83/TP.] They were tiled without action. Also in 1983, following UNESCO's earlier selection of the National Park on St. John as a Biosphere Reserve, the U.S. Department of the Interior moved to fulfill its obligation to carry out a detailed biophysical characterization of the Reserve (essentially the island of St. John) and its adjacent submerged lands, reefs and coastal waters. To accomplish this, $500,000 was provided for the VINP to undertake this comprehensive study using a 13- member institutional collaboration that was eventually named the Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). Coordinated by Island Resources Foundation, from 1983-1988,30 separate studies were completed, principally of S1. John's marine and coastal ecosystems. The coastal insoore seabed was mapped in its entirety, watershed/reef linkages were explored, long-term Resource DescripUon Report Page C-8 Appendix C: Chronology Qf Previous MPA Efforts monitoring sites were established, and management issues defined. A series of 30 separate VIRMC reports was published. They are still available [see the Chapter 6, References 1 and furnish a building block of information on the marine environment of the Virgin Islands. Furthermore, this five-year, haIf- million-dollar data assembly remains a model for interdisciplinary research and a reference point for any ongoing or proposed marine protected area research in the Territory. 1989: In September 1989 Hurricane Hugo inflicted severe damage on many coastal ecosystems and the Territory's fishing industry. The trauma of the storm had enormous impact and led to serious discussions about recovery and mitigation strategies as well as resource management options. Only two months after Hugo, the Division of Fish and Wildlife and the YI. Senate's Natural Resources Committee discussed major changes in fisheries legislation and simultaneous closure of 9 reef and 13 sea grass areas to accelerate recovery. These discussions were carried over to the new decade. 1990: In August, new Rules and Regulations for a Virgin Islands Marine Reserve System [Typescript draft from Island Resources' files; File name: DPNRlF&WLI1990.}: were circulated by the Territory's Division of Fish and Wildlife. The protected sites were mostly coastal inshore areas drawn only from S1. Thomas. In retrospect, the exclusion of the rest of the Virgin Islands in the proposed system was a tactical error. The recovery scheme and proposed reserve system were not approv~ and the idea was dropped. 1990 to Date: The shock effect of Hurricane Hugo (September 17-18, 1989) and sundry storms and hurricanes that followed during the decade of the 1990s (especially hurricane Marilyn in September 1995) has not yet dissipated among the survivors, the social order and the environments of the several Virgin Islands. The events of September, 2001, only add to the sense of impermanence. The subtleties of the impacts still lurk everywhere. Therefore~ planning t'Or any expansive coastal or marine protected area is fraught with risk and needs to be done both with caution and "an eye to windward," along with a mantra that is built upon the "cautionary principle" and grounded solidly in the historical record. t 990: Just three-and-a-half months after Hugo, a senior staffer from the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) requested funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to undertake a field-level coastal damage assessment of the Territory. Aerial surveys had already been done by FEMA, specifically of heavily populated areas, to assess housing and infrastructure losses. Approval by NOAA and the local contracting process required an elapsed time of five months. It was not until June of 1990 that the Government of the Virgin Islands entered into a professional services contract with Island Resources Foundation to manage an interdisciplinary post-Hugo Damage Assessment and Environmental Recovery Planning Strategy. Somewhat hidden within the language of the contract was an interesting additional task-namely, "to manage a Feasibility Study for Development of a Virgin Island Territorial Park System". Resource Descrjpti-on Report Page C-9 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts The project seemed like a grand case of serendipity. To utilize the recovery effort as a launching vehicle for a long-delayed territorial park system seemed to make good sense. But, in retrospect, there was an element of wishful, even naive thinking in this apparent stroke of good fortune, given the extent of Hugo damage to landscapes, seascapes, institutions and budgets. The exercise was launched with a community-based open charette, led by Governor Alexander Farrelly and Onaje Jackson from DPNR. By this method, 35 reportedly damaged sites were nominated and ranked. An open voting arrangement was employed, using the Delphi strategy for ranking. The broad listing (which excluded Federal property and sites) included 11 APC sites, 26 SNA sites, and 17 Coastal Barrier sites, which suggests the selection process was by no means frivolous or self serving for charette participants. Three months of somewhat frenetic on-site field work followed, carried out by several interdisciplinary teams who generated a flow of up-to-date damage assessments, vegetation and risk mapping, intervention options, remedial action plans, and triage-like data sorting, all leading to site profiles and a detailed 35-site data base [Surv~ #9].. A comprehensive nine-page matrix was designed and populated, including aerial, underwater and land-based photography, documentation, and water quality station index numbers. Damages were mapped with key word indexing and narrative summaries. The matrix also tracked the source and dates of prior site nominations for protected area status by type and ranking. The final reporting incorporated surveys of available andlor desirable adjacent land, mapped by parcel and showing parcel numbers and appraised costs for park acquisition. AU documentation and final reporting data were submitted to DPNR in 1990, but aU files, documents, and data sets was apparently lost when DPNR facilities were struck by Hurricane Marilyn in 1995. One complete and one partial set survive in Island Resources Foundation's document library, which is now housed at Coral World, St. Thomas. The recommendations for territorial park site selection and an implementation strategy, as contained within this extensive post-Hugo resource assessment, have essentially been ignored in the intervening decade. 1991-2001: One of the more promising aspects of the Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program has been the prospect that APC management plans would provide needed conservation guidelines and site protection strategies for valuable resource features within each of the 18 identified APCs, all sited within the coastal zone. Unfortunately, it has been a discouraging story of delay, delay, and more delay. Although part of the Virgin Islands CZM Program, APe planning was initially shunted aside (except for a half-dozen good-intentioned, rough-draft plans developed by Robert Teytaud, first under the direction of DCCA and later DPNR, in the 1980s). Nothing else was done until 1991 when Island Resources Foundation was contracted by DPNR to research and produce all 18 APC management plans in draft fonn in less than 24 months. Resource Descrlption Report Page C-10 Appendix C: Chronology of Previous MPA Efforts Each draft plan was reviewed in a series of public meetings. A disagreement over the scope of the documents foIIowed after all 18 APC plans had been accepted by DPNR), and the Island Resources-generated documents have since been redefined as background documents. Subsequent contractors, including the University of the Virgin Islands, have failed to complete the required "management plans" for a selected and limited number of APC sites. To date, no APC management plan has been approved by the Virgin Islands Legislature, a step required under CZM legislation prior to plan implementation. Thus far, the APC planning initiative has been a convoluted, generally disappointing planning exerCIse. 1992: In a short-lived newspaper called Sun2, editor-publisher Gary Schlueter reported that in St. Thomas there were 74 acres of public parldand, including 47 acres at Magens Bay; and 601 acres of public housing. [Schlueter, 19921 1992: The[US} Omnibus Territories Act of 1992 created the Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve and a Virgin Islands Territorial Park Commission with the mandate to "see that all park management, development and interpretation activities should be guided by a single management plan. The Act also provided training funds for the Territory. [Schlueter, 1992} The plan is not yet completed. 1997: Sponsored by the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council (CFMC) in San Juan, a Fisheries Reserve-prut of a Marine Conservation District-was proposed for the Territory as a fisheries management mechanism. The area identified for the Reserve was located off the southwesterly coast of st. John. Dr. Michael Downs, representing Impact Assessment, Inc., a California-based consulting firm, carried out a detailed socio-economic evaluation for the proposed District {a "no-take" zone)[Downs, 1997J. Opposition by local tishers and lack of Virgin Islands Government support resulted in the plan being a non-starter, and it was dropped by CFMC after a public hearing. 1999: The USGS Biological Resources Division studied alternatives for improved protection of local fISheries and coral reef resources in the US Virgin Islands. The result was a report and recommendation for a Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Park and Replenishment Areas [Garrison, 19991- [Since this article was submitted a column in the Virgin Islands Daily News by Olasee Davis called our attention to an extensive survey-the II th -of marine and coastal park recommendations that was produced in 1964, but which was never circulated widely in the US Virgin Islands.} Resource Description Report Page C-11 Appendix D: Endangered Species of the USVI- APPENDIX D: THREATENED AND ENDANGERED SPECIES OF THE US VIRGIN ISLANDS This Appendix contains copies of endangered and threatened species documentation for National Marine Fisheries Service and the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources. 0.1. Endangered and Threatened Species and- Critical Habitat Under the Jurisdiction of the National Marine Fisheries Service 0.1.1. U.S. Virgin Islands Listed Species. Marine. Mammals blue whale finback whale humpback whale sei whale spenn whale Caribbean monk seal Turtles green sea turtle hawksbill sea turtle leatherback sea turtle loggerhead sea turtle Scientific Name Baleaenoptera muculus Baleaenoptera physalus Megaptera novaeangliae Baleaenoptera borealis Physeter macrocephalus A40nachus tropicalis Chelonia mydas Eretmochelys imbricata Dermochelys coriacea Caretta caretta Status Endangered Endangered Endangered Endangered Endangered Endangered Threatened6 Endangered Endangered Threatened Date Listed 12/02170 12/02170 12/02170 12/02170 12/02170 0-3111167 07/28178 06/02170 06/02170 07/28178 6 Green turtles are listed as threatened, except for breeding populations of green turtles in FlDrida and on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, which are listed as endangered. Resource Descrlption Report Page D·1 Appendix D: Endangered Species of the USVI D.1.2. Species Proposed for listing None 0.1.3. Designated Critical Habitat Leatherback sea turtle: The waters. adjacent to Sandy Point. US Virgin Islands up to and inclusive of the waters from the hundred fathom curve shoreward to the level of mean high tide with boundaries at lr 42' 12" and 64 0 50' 00". 0.1.4. Proposed Critical Habitat None Candidate Species? Fish jewfish Nassau grouper Scientific Name Epinephelus itajara Epinephelus striatu8 7 Candidate sp(X.ies are not protected under the Endangered Species Act, but concerns about their status indicate that they may warrant listing in the future. FederaI- agencies and the public are encouraged to consider these species during project planning so that future listings may be avoided Resource Description Report Page D-2 Appendix 0: Endangered Species of the USVI D.2. ENDANGERED PLANTS AND ANIMALS OF THE U.S" VIRGIN ISLANDS [Compiled by the Division of Fish and Wildlife (DPNR), the UVl Extension Service, Eleanor Gibney (Caneel Bay), Gary Ray (U. of Wisconsin) and William McLean (UVI).} Scientific Name Common Name DistributionlRemarks Plants 0.2.1. Federal Plant List Buxaceae Buxus vahlii Rutaceae Zanthoxylium {homasianum Myrtaceae Calyptranthes thomasiana Vahl's boxwood Endangered, S1. X-May be extinct Prickly Ash Endangered, St. T., St. J. St. Thomas Lidflower Endangered, St. T., St. J. 0.2.2. Virgin Islands Plant List Agavaceae Agave eggers/ana Aizoanceae Cypse/ia humifusa AquifoUaceae flex urbanii 1. sideroxylloides Bromeliaceae Eggers agave Urban's hoIIy Central American oak: S1. X S1. T., S1. J. S1. 1, Tortola S1. 1. Tilllandsia Pinon Rare bromeliad, S1. 1, S1. T. Resource Description Report Page D-3 Appendix D: Endangered Species of the USVI Scientific Name Common Name lineatispica Cactaceae Mammilaria nivosa Wooly nipple Opuntia triacantha Celastraceae May tenus cymosa Convolvutaceae Operculina triquetra Euphorbiaceae Croton fishlockii Fabaceae Erythrina eggersii Egger's Cockspur Galaclia eggersii Egger's galactia Malpighiaceae Malpighia Cowage cherry woodburyana M inlestissima Stinging bush (=pallens) M linearis Malpighia sp. Byrsonima sp. Malvaceae Psidium amplexicaule Psidiumsp. Sida eggersii Myrtaceae Eugeniasp. Resource Description Report DistributionlRemarks St. X, st. J., St. T., Offshore cays Buck Is. (S1. X.), S1. T. S1. X, Sf. T. S1. X, S1. T., endemic Recent S1. 1. sightings S1. T., S1. J., S1.. X St. T., St. J. S1. T., S1. J., Offshore cays StX. All VI Similar to M coccigera, st. J. New species? S1. J. St. J. S1. J., new species? N. offshore cays Recent S1. J. sightings Page 0-4 Appendix D: Endangered Species of the USVI- Scientific Name Common Name DistributionlRemarks D.2.3. Virgin Islands list Mabuya mabouia Slipperyback skink Resident, breeding Otu.'} nudipes newtoni VI Screech owl Resident, breeding Chordeiles gundlachii West Indian nighthawk Resident, breeding? Anthracothorax Antillean mango Resident, breeding? dominicus Podiceps dominicus Least grebe Resident, breeding? Sterna antillarum Least tern Migrant, breeding Phaethon lepturus White-tailed tropicbird Resident, breeding Ardea herodius Great blue heron Resident, breeding Casmerodius alhu'iJ Great (common) egret Resident, breeding Egretta thula Snowy egret Resident, breeding Nycticorax nycticora:lf Black --cr. Night heron Resident, breeding lxohrychus exilis Least bittern Resident, breeding Anas bahamensis Bahama duck Resident, breeding Oxyura jamaicensis Ruddy duck Peripheral resident, Rallus longirosfris Clapper rail Resident, breeding Fulica caribea Caribbean coot Resident, breeding Charadrius Snowy plover Resident, breeding? alexandrinus Catoptrophorus Willet Resident, breeding semipalmatus PujJinus Iherminieri Audubon shearwater Migrant, breeding Aratingapertinax Brown-throated Resident, breeding parakeet Columba White-crowned pigeon Resident, breed-ing leucocephala Geotrygon mystacea Bridled Quail dove Resident, breeding Myriarchus stolid us Stolid flycatcher Resident, breeding Noctilio leporinus Fisherman bat Resident, breeding Stenoderma r~fum Red fruit bat Resident, breeding Brachyphylla Cave bat Resident, breeding cavernarum Order Antlpatharia Black coral Marine benthic, high demand Epinphelus ilajara Jewfish Marine The above tist represents plants and animals occurring in the US Virgin Islands which are protected bv either the US Endangered Species Act of 1973 or the VI Endangered and Indigenous Species Act of 1990 (Act No. 5665). This list is promulgated under Act 5665, Resource Descri-ption Report Page 0-5 Appendix D: Endangered Species of the USVI Section l04(g) mad may he revised as new information becomes available. (signed) Roy E. Adams, Commissioner DPNR 5 June 1991 Resource DescrlpUon Report Page D-6 AppenolX E: Mapping and Recommended Mapping for this Report APPENDIX E: MAPS AND RECOMMENDED MAPPING RESOURCES A list of sources and possible coverages, including the US Army Corps of Engineers imagery and mapping, more recent imagery, the NOAA biogeography mapping, the CDC mapping of vegetative communities, new soils maps, new USGSIUSDA Soil Conservation Service mapping of [14} Federal Hydrographic Units (HUCs), DPNR mapping (by Island Resources and CDC) of 49 "management watersheds" for Unified Watershed Assessment and Restoration process Available maps at the time of this publication are presented below. Five maps in Appendix E have been printed by the Conservation Data Center in Ilx17 format; three other maps, copied from the Hurricane Hugo maps of potential Territorial Park sites, are also presented in pages E-8 to E-1 I. Recommended Mapping All of the current maps and future possible maps, as highlighted below should be available to the staff and experts of the VI Marine Advisory Committee in both hard copy and digital GIS formats for desktop overlays, statistical analysis, and further development. Map of Marine Geographic Names. Current geographic names of the US Virgin Islands are insufficient to name and characterize the marine areas of the Territorial Sea. As part of the on-going consultation with the Virgin Islands public, DPNR should develop a more complete list of names and accurate locations for known marine features in the Territorial Sea and adjacent areas. Map of Marine Zones. The biogeography team of NOAA's National Ocean Service has shown maps of the bottom zones surrounding the major islands, based on the same data collection activities that developed the Benthic Characteristics maps. These "Zone" maps have different information from the Benthic Characteristics and should be used by planners. [presented at the NOAA Mapping and Monitoring Conference in STT, 15 January 2002.} DEM (Digital Elevation Model) Displays of Southern Virgin Banks. This was another tool presented as an early draft product by Rick Nemeth and the NOAA-ites. It could be important for supplementary information guidinng boundary determinations for areas offshore St. Thomas and St. John. It is uncertain whether this display is based on new bathymetric data If so, the Committee needs this possible new data, as it is available. Aerial photos collected by NOAA, 1999-2000. The NOAA biogeography web site has done an excellent job of presenting images from these extensive 1:48,000 scale overflights, hut these data are not Resource DescrlpUon Report Page E-1 Appendix E: Mapping and Recommended Mapping for this Report geo-referenced, and they lack the subtleties of coloration that would facilitate interpretation by non-professional users. The Marine Park Advisory Committee should seek both hard copies of the photos and a geo-referenced image format that they could use in a GIS. Authoritative Map of the Boundaries of the Territorial Sea. The authority for the current mapping of the limits of the Territorial Sea of the US Virgin Islands is unclear. These need to be better documented or based on legally certified sources. Map of Artificial Reefs, Fish Aggregation Devices and Submarine Cables. All of these human intrusions into the marine environment have received permits from DPNR, hence their locations should be known and mapped to aid in future planning. Territorial Sea and Protected Areas of the USVI and Marine Characteristics of the US Virgin Islands The five maps which follow are facsimiles of 11" x 17" maps which are being submitted with the final version of this report. Most of the information in the larger format maps can be seen in these facsimile maps. High resolution graphic images of these maps are available on the CD-ROMs of this report and related documents distributed on request from Island Resources Foundation . Resource Description Report Page E-2 ::D ~ G C ~ n C1I o CD til o ""I _. 'C .... o :s ::D CD 'C o ""I .... "U I\) CO CD m I w N N LEGEND Balhymelric Cotalpur • . . E2J ~lI;MariIIe~.u- ;. . /' \./ ExpIIlI!inibeon Center ~~~~- St. -. U.S.V.I. 00802 Tel. (340) 693-1030 Fa" (340) 69$01025 __ :h!tp:llcdC.uvf.edu Contou .. _: USAnnyCofllSofEnglnec$. U • PtOjoct Digital 0J1h-'>I0 Data, 199i MaI1neCOlnmlmllletSoun:e: __ 01 ....-RIcoonllllO U.s. \IIrgII\ _ NatIo 00NnIc ond ... moopherlc Admlnlstrallon I'I1nlad -6' -g a ~. rn s:: ~ Appendix E: Maps Resou-rce De-scription Report- Page E~6· Appendix E: Maps Page E-7 Appendix E: Maps ApPENDIX E: TABLE OF HURRICANE HUGO DAMAGED COASTAL SITES [IRF, FEBRUARY 1991] ST. CROIX C1 SALT RIVER C12 LANG BANK (SEE C21) C2 RUST OF TWIST C13 BUCK ISLANDS C3 LONG REEF C14 GREAT POND BAY C4 CANE BAY C15 HALFPENNY BAY C5 ANNALYBAY C16 OUTFALL/SEWAGE PLANT C6 HAM'S BAY C17 LONG POINT BAY C7 CHENAY BAY & SOUTHGATE POND C18 SANDY POINT C8 WEST END C19 DAVIS BAY C9 MANCHENIL BAY C20 COAKLEY BAy/SALT POND C10 TURNER HOLE C21' EAST END PARK (INCLUDES CRAMER PARK EAST TO POINT UDALL, SOUTHWEST TO JACK BAYS) C11 GRAPETREE BAY C22 SHOY BEACH & ALTONA LAGOON ST.JOHN J1 JOHNSON BAY (SEE J9) J8 WHISTLING BAY J2 CORAL BAY HARBOA (SEE J9) J9 CORAL BAY AREA J3 CORAL BAY WATERSHED (SEE J9) J10 SOUTHSIDE ST. JOHN (BovocAP PT. TO SALT POND, RENDEVOUS & FISH BAYS) J4 LEDuCK ISLAND J11 STEVENS CAY J5 EAGLE SHOAL J12 SAL T POND BAY J6 FLANAGAN ISLAND J13 LAMESHURE BAYS J7 EAST END (LAND EAST OF HAULOVER THRU NEWFOUND BAY) ST. THOMAS T1 LINDBERGH BAY T10 DOROTHEA & NELTJEBERG. BAYS T2 BREWER'S BAY T11 MANDAHL BAY & SALT POND T3 STUMPY BAY T12 HANS LOLLICK ISLANDS T4 BOPDEAUX BAY T13 VESSUP BAY & RED HOOK SALT POND T5 COWPETBAY T14 CABRITA POINT T6 FRENCHMAN BAY TO MUHLENFELS POINT T15 GREAT & LITTLE ST. JAMES ISLANDS T7 SABA, FLAT, TURTLEDOVE CAYS T16 SMITH BAY T8 PERSEVERENCE BAY & FLAMINGO SALT T17 MANGROVE LAGOON, BENNER BAY & POND CAYS T9 BOTANY BAY COMPLEX T18 COKI POINT BAY T19 THATCH CAY Resource Description Report Page E -8 ;u CD til o C ., n CD C CD til n ., "0 - o ::::s ;u CD "0 o ., - "U III (Q CD m I CD TERRITORIAL POST HURRICANE HUGO ENVIRONMENTAL RECOVERY STRATEGY PROJECT PROJECT SITE LOCATIONS * High Priority Sites • Second Priority Sites • Other Sites • C4 Cane Bay .C6 - C3 Long Reef • e22 Shoy Beach & Altona Lagoon • C7 Chenay Ba.y & d _ C13 Buck Island Southgate Pon / .C20 Coakley Bay & ~, Salt Pond ','" _ ....... __ _ I ...... ___ ~ ) ~ ---~--- I .... ,.\/~AflO tOO" ~ Lang! Bank - .C8 West End .. ".". >.. "'"""'-"'/''-'~~ of ~",:".,.~ ..... ..-'.:;';:'i;"·';;:;· ~Ji'J..,.~ .~ / R o x -.... ~ ---- \ - ........ " ~ \ I ,--~ , , I \ \ .\. -CIS Sandy Poine " . """' ........... _--------- -C17 ----co .~_"k .... / Bay,...", ... - ... - -.... - ---- _C16 Outfall/ Sewage Plant --- • Cll Grapetree Bay • CI0 Turner Hole o.,th ConlOUf ___ .... r IRF/TPS 1991 Kllom.ters .. t rr-r-1 r ~ J r~l""70 3: » ~ o ." "U o til -of ::t c: ;:0 ;:0 g z m ::t c: (j) o (J) c: ~ -< (J) ::::j m -6' "0 CD ::J a. x· m s: Q) "0 (J) ;;0 CD til o C ~ n CD C CD til n ~ "0 - o = ;;0 CD "0 o ~ - ." I» (Q CD m I .... o TERRITORIAL POST HURRICANE HUGO ENVIRONMENTAL RECOVERY STRATEGY PROJECT *H1gh P-r1ority Sites Ii Second Priority Sites - Other Sites .. ,.",...- ........ "'00 .......... ... ~~ ....... ~ ..... "..,..' ...... .,.," ----. ...... -'-c:!::J ...... -.. ...... ' ~~ ....... -_..... I ~-.-.-.-.-.- ..,. ..... >.... eJ8 Whistling Cay '> ~\ - ..... '"\ ~J9 Princess Bay " I I I i I I "",,' ,.,' .... ...,.' " .... I b !-._;oc*- ,\ lRF/TPS 1991 d l '2 1 MP A Project Coordinator 340/693-1209 340/693-1065 University of the Virgin Islands #2 John Brewers Bay St. VI 00802 Garrison, Ginger ginger ...,garrison@usgs.gov Marine Ecologist 727-803-8747, 727-803-2030 USGS x3061 600 Fourth St. S. St. FL 33701 Gloger, Kelly ecotech@islands.vi Senior Associate 340-778-4266 or 340-778-6689 Caribbean Infra-Tech, Inc. 340-778-4711 Sustainable Infrastructure and Facility Design P.O. Box 5370 Sunny Isle St. VI 00823 Ben UCSB Graduate Student Higgins, Sue DPNR/CCZP 340-774-3320 340-775-5706 2nd Resource Description Report Page G-1 Hodge, Janice janice.hodge@noaa.gove Hubbard, Dennis Hutchins, Aaron hutchinsdImr@hotmail.com Kojis, Barbara bkoiis@vitelcom.net Nemeth, Rick rnem eth(aJ,uvi. edu Pabon, Aitza aitza. pabon@noaa.gov Pierce, Judy Rogers, Caroline caroline Jogers@usgs.gov Rohring, Bill bill.rohring@noaa.gov Squiabro, Hector envprotj@viaccess.net Resource Description Report Floor St. VI 00802 Director, Coastal Zone Management DPNR-CZM CEK Airport Terminal Bldg. 2nd Floor Water Pollution Control Program DPNR , Division of Environmental Protection St. VI Director DPNR-DFW 6291 Estate Nazareth 101 St. VI 00802 Director UVI-CMES #2 John Brewers Bay DPNR-DFW 6291 Estate Nazareth 101 St. VI 00802 USGS P.O. Box 710 Coastal NPS Coordinator DPNR-CZM CEK Airport Tenninal Bldg. 2nd Floor St. DPNR Division of Environmental 340-774-3320, x5107 340-775-5706 440-774-5180 (h) 440-775-8038 440-775-8346 (w) 340-773-0565 340-773-9310 340-775-6762 340-775-3972 340-693-1389 340-693-1385 340-773-3450 340-775-6762 340-693-8950, 340-693-9500 x221 340-774-3320, 340-775-5706 x5107 340-774-3320 340-714-9528 Page G-2 Taylor, Marcia mtaylor@uvi.edu 340-692-4046 P.O. Box 10,000 Kingshill St. VI 00840 Tobias, Toby williamtobias@vitelcom.net 340-773-3450, x262 Ward, Dave seaward@viaccess.net (formerly worked with West 340-778-8579 Wear, Stephanie stegh wear@hotmail.com Marine Biologist 340-773-5575 The Nature Conservancy #52 Estate Little Princess P.O. Box 1066 VI 00821 Weary, Rob rweary@tnc.org Interim Director 340-773-5575 The Nature Conservancy #52 Estate Little Princess P.O. Box 1066 00821 Members of the Virgin Islands Marin Advisory Committee William Coles Olasee Davis Julita de Leon Virginia Garrison Zandy Hillis-Starr Aaron Hutchins Onaje Jackson Brendalee Phillips Dean Plaskett Bruce Potter Dr. Henry H. Smith Dr. Ed Towle Virdin Brown James 'C.C.' Kreglo Michelle Resource Description Report elsewhere 340-692-4047 340-778-8541 340-773-1613 340-773-1613 Page G-3 Appendix H: Copies of Key Documents APPENDIX H: COPIES OF KEY DOCUMENTS This is a list of the documents which we hope to be able to provide to the archives of the Marine Park: Advisory Committee together with the final version of this report. In addition, we will provide a CD-ROM with copies of this document, multiple formats and resolutions of graphics developed for and displayed in this report and all other available documents that we can secure in electronic format. Areas of Particular Concern: Background Studies Selected VIRMC Studies Characterizations of Recommended Territorial Marine Park Sites After Hurricane Hugo Specific Documents to be copied, printed ,or presented on CD- ROM with the finaJ version of this report: Adams, A. and W. Tobias, 1993. Red mangrove prop-root habitat as a finfish nursery area: a case study of Salt River Bay, St. Croix, USVI Proceedings of the 46th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute. Adams, A., 2001. The Importance of Lagoon Habitats of Bank-Barrier Reefs as Nurseries for Coral Reef Fishes. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA. Alexander, J, 1981. Virgin Islands Park System (Draft Report). VI Department of Conservation and Cultural Affairs, St Thomas, VI. Anderson, M., Ll.U1d, H., Gladfelter, E. and M. Davis, 1986. Ecological Comml.U1ity Type Maps And Biological Descriptions For Buck Island Reef National Monument (St. Croix) And Proposed Marine Park Sites in The British Virgin Islands. Biosphere Reserve Research Report #4. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Beets, 1. and C. Rogers, 2001. Changes in fishery resources and reef fish assemblages in a Marine Protected Area in the US Virgin Islands: the need for a no-take marine reserve. Proceedings of the rjll International Coral Reef Symposium .. Bali, Indonesia. Beets, J. andL. Lewand., 1986. Collection Of Common Organisms Within The Virgin Islands National ParkIBiosphere Reserve.Biosphere Reserve Research Report #3. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Resource Description Report Page K-1 Appendix H: Copies of Key Documents Beets, J., Lewand, L. and E. Zullo, 1986. Marine Community Descriptions And Maps Of Bays Within The Virgin Islands National ParklBiosphere Reserve.Biosphere Reserve Research Report #2. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Bouton, R. 1986. Fisheries Habitat Of The Virgin Islands Region Of Ecological Importance To The Fishery Resources Of The Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve.Biosphere Reserve Research Report #9. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Bouton, R. 1986. Long-term Monitoring Of Fisheries In The Virgin Islands Biosphere ReserveBiosphere Research Report #13. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). St. Thomas, VI. Boulon, R. and 1. Clavijo. 1986. Utilization Of The Virgin Isl-ands Biosphere Reserve By ArtisanaI Fishermen .Biosphere Reserve Research Report #11. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). S1. Thomas, VI. Boulon, R, 1986. Map Of Fishery Habitats Within The Virgin Islands Biosphere Reserve.Biosphere Reserve Research Report #8. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). S1. Thomas~ VI. Bouton, R., 1987. 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Island Resources Foundation, 1993b. Chocolate Hole/Great Cruz Bay (St John) Area of Particular Concern and Area of Preservation and Restoration: Draft Management Plan. Background studies prepared under contract for the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Coastal Zone Management. St. Thomas, VI. Island Resources Foundation, 1993c. Christiansted Waterfront (St. Croix) Area of Particular Concern: Draft Management Plan. Background studies prepared under contract for the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Coastal Zone Management. St. Thomas, VI. Island Resources Foundation, 1993d. Coral Bay (St. John) Area of Particular Concern and Area of Preservation and Restoration: Draft Management Plan. Backgrolmd studies prepared under contract for the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Division of Coastal Zone Management. St. Thomas, VI. Island Resources Foundation, I993e. 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Prepared under contract by Island Resources Foundation for the VI Department of Planning and Natural Resources. St. Thomas, VI. Tyson, G. 1987. Historic Land Use In The Reef Bay, Fish Bay, And Hawksnest Bay Watersheds, st. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 1718-1950. ReserveBiosphere Research Report #19. Virgin. Islan.ds Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). S1. Thomas, VI. Volsen, B., 2001. Final Report: Recreational Fisheries Habitat Assessment Project, St. Thomas/St. John, F-7, 1996-2000. US Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service. Wilder, R., Tegner, M. and P. Dayton, 1999. "Saving Marine Biodiversity," issues in Science and Technology, Spring 1999 Williams, S., 1988. Assessment Of Anchor Damage And Carrying Capacity Of Seagrass Beds In Francis And Maho Bays For Green Sea Turtles.Biosphere Reserve Research Report #25. Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative (VIRMC). S1. Thomas, VI. Resource OescripUon Report Page K-8