Ishida, K., Brown, J., Feltmate, M.

St. Croix East End Marine Park interpretive guide

2009

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This is a guide for the St. Croix East End Marine Park. The St. Croix East End Marine Park (STXEEMP or Park) was established in January 2003 with financial and logistical support from the Department of the Interior and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and support from local government agencies, non-government agencies, and stakeholders. This was a historically significant event in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as this Marine Protected Area was envisioned over 40 years ago. In the 1960s, the east end of St. Croix was recognized for its unique marine resources as a nature preserve. In the 1970s, four areas of particular concern were designated and are now incorporated within the STXEEMP. Finally, in 1998, President Clinton established the US Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) which mandated the protection of coral reef ecosystems and catalyzed the establishment of the STXEEMP (Executive Order 13089). The Park is now managed by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources Division of Coastal Zone Management. The Park receives continued support from the CRTF and NOAA as well as stakeholders such as the Virgin Islands Resource Conservation and Development Council, the STXEEMP Advisory Committee, the University of the Virgin Islands, local dive operators, local commercial fishermen, and The Nature Conservancy.

FY2005 CRCP Project ID 1413; Project Title: General Coral Conservation Grants; Principal Investigator: Andy Bruckner