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Description:
Project Manager:
Lisa Vandiver
Project Years:
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
Project Summary:
The coral reef ecosystems of Culebra are some of the more pristine habitats within the northeastern Caribbean marine biodiversity (Hernández-Delgado et al., 2000). However, long-term monitoring has shown an alarming 5-11% annual decline in coral cover in Culebra since 1997 (Delgado and Sabat, 2015). Research suggests that the decline in coral cover may be associated with increased sedimentation resulting from recent coastal development (Ramos-Scharrón et al., 2012). Furthermore, unpaved roads have been identified as a principal source of erosion and sediment loads within the 2014 Culebra Watershed Management Plan (WMP).Because of the relatively small size of the island and the quality of the surrounding coral reef habitats, it is anticipated that LBSP threats can be effectively managed on Culebra to provide significant coral reef benefits. In addition, Culebra has been a focus for NOAA investments and a priority for Puerto Rico (i.e., CRCP priority area for Puerto Rico, Caribbean Habitat Focus Area, Culebra WMP). Through these efforts, NOAA and its partners have established relationships with key community stakeholders (e.g., mayor of Culebra, ACDEC, local non-profits, DNER, USFWS, USDA, and EPA) which provides the foundation for leveraging resources resulting in a cost-savings to NOAA. This project will provide technical assistance and financial support to implement priority management actions identified in the Culebra Watershed Management Plan. At the culmination of this project, all identified NOAA LBSP priorities will be implemented which will be coupled with partnership development, on-site training, and workforce development to strengthen local capacity to ensure long-term sustainability of NOAA’s investments. The scale of LBSP management investment in Culebra, relative to the LBSP threat, also provides a great opportunity to evaluate the performance of the LBSP management actions. NOAA’s RC and CRCP are combining a ridge-to-reef monitoring program to evaluate the success of LBSP management in reducing LBSP stressors, exposures, and habitat response. This information will be evaluated alongside restoration practitioners to inform the need for corrective actions and provide NOAA best practices on managing LBSP threats regionally.
Expected Outcome:
The majority of identified LBSP management priorities and a suite of ridge-to-reef monitoring efforts are projected for completion by Fall 2024. As data is collected we are beginning to identify corrective actions needed to ensure long-term sustainability of the projects. These actions include paving of steep sloped roads, coordination with homeowners to close sections of redundant roads, etc. This project will continue to support base level monitoring to ensure feedback mechanisms needed to continue to identify adaptive management needs. In addition, funding will be requested to implement the corrective actions identified. Lessons learned will be used to update the unpaved roads standards manual and provide recommendations on a cost-effective long-term monitoring framework to evaluate change in LBSP stressor, exposures, and habitat response.
Project Locations:
Jursdiction Priority Sites:
Project Category:
Land-based Sources of Pollution (LBSP)
Project Type:
Ongoing
Project Status:
Ongoing
Associated Products:
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