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Description:
Project Manager:
Lisa Vandiver
Project Years:
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Project Summary:
The St. Croix East End Marine Park (STXEEMP) is over 60 square miles and contains a variety of important habitat types including linear and patch coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangroves. St. Croix reefs are dominated by elkhorn and staghorn corals, and various species of brain, lettuce, finger, star, and starlet corals. Since the early 1980s, scientists have documented a rapid decline of the hard coral populations, attributed partially to land-based sources of pollution (LBSP). In 2011, the St. Croix East End Watershed Management Plan ( WMP) identified local sources of pollution and developed a restoration plan for reducing LBSP. Since then, a handful of recommended actions and projects have been implemented, but there has been no comprehensive effort to evaluate implementation progress or success of the WMP. Additionally, the 2020 303(d) list includes more STXEEMP waterbodies that are impaired by turbidity now than it did in 2011. Since the development of the WMP, the east end of St. Croix has seen many changes. In particular, Hurricane’s Irma and Maria resulted in drastic changes to the watershed conditions including, damaged mangrove habitats, additional shoreline erosion, altered drainage patterns, and deterioration of infrastructure. Fortunately, the USVI has utilized FEMA's investments in disaster recovery to support many watershed restoration priorities including additional watershed assessments, emergency stabilization of ghut systems, and stormwater drainage improvement projects. However, in the implementation of these projects, engineers may not be improving the resilience of infrastructure to climate change and contractors often fail to stabilize erodible lands, which - in the next rain event - become significant sources of sediment threatening adjacent coral reef habitats. To effectively support LBSP management for STXEEMP there is a need to: 1) re-evaluate LBSP threats and management opportunities; 2) develop a strategic plan for leveraging partnership contributions to reduce LBSP threats; 3) implement demonstration projects to reduce priority LBSP threats; and 4) provide erosion prevention and sediment control training for local contractors to prevent the creation of LBSP threats through the implementation of disaster recovery projects. This project will provide technical assistance to re-evaluate LBSP threats and identify opportunities to manage these threats. This information will result in the development of a strategic plan for leveraging partnership contributions to reduce LBSP threats to STXEEMP over the course of 5+ years. This strategic LBSP management plan for STXEEMP will establish the priorities for implementing LBSP management projects to reduce LBSP threats in the area. These projects will be selected based on their ability to provide significant reductions in LBSP threats with targeted benefits to coral reef habitats in STXEEMP. These projects will also be used as demonstrations and training opportunities to build capacity for LBSP management throughout the region. In particular, we will provide trainings to contractors funded through FEMA disaster recovery efforts to assure that the projects that are being implemented in the region do not become sources of LBSP in the future. The ultimate key to our success will be the partnerships that we bring to the project including: USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources, Horsley Witten Group, Saint Croix Environmental Association, Friends of Saint Croix East End Marine Park, Geographic Consulting, and the University of the Virgin Islands. Most, if not all, of our partners, are actively engaged in watershed assessments and restoration throughout St. Croix to support disaster recovery efforts and beyond. We will rely on these partners to provide local information including potential obstacles, resources, and/or opportunities, which will ultimately define the success of this project.
Expected Outcome:
Project Locations:
Jursdiction Priority Sites:
- St. Croix East End Marine Park
Project Category:
Land-based Sources of Pollution (LBSP)
Project Type:
Ongoing
Project Status:
Ongoing
Associated Products:
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