0 Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES
The V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources has announced that the Division of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) has created a Round Bay User Management Plan to manage the increased use and maritime activity occurring in Round Bay, St. John.
According to the release, the plan comprises inputs from the residents in Round Bay, St. John, and local boating interests both commercial and recreational.
DPNR said Round Bay is home to the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM), a national historic wreck, healthy seagrass beds, and sand flats — all of which will greatly benefit from mooring installations and buoy signage that would regulate, protect, and mitigate the pressures and impacts of the increased boating and maritime activity.
The announcement follows consistent advocacy from some St. Johnians, chief among them Kathleen Vargo, who has called for the government to declare Round Bay a protected area. During testimony to the Committee on Government Operations and Consumer Protection at a February hearing, Ms. Vargo said that by proclaiming Round Bay a protected area, it would improve the bay’s natural, ecological or cultural values.
D.P.N.R. Commissioner Jean-Pierre Oriol informed the committee that 46 percent of St. John's waters are already protected, and during a meeting with the Bryan administration, it was told to participants that declaring Round Bay a marine protected area would not be one of the goals of the administration. He further told senators that protecting this specific bay could result in other citizens demanding that other bays become protected.
See the draft User Management Plan here.
Advertisements
