GOVERNMENT & POLICE NEWS

AgFair Meetings Scheduled

The 41st Annual Agriculture and Food Fair of the USVI will be held from Feb. 18-20. The theme is “Youth…

Audio Galleries

V.I.P.D. Theme Song

The V.I. Police Department has a theme song, "Don't Run, Don't Hide," written by local musicians Fusion Band for use in the government television channel documentary, "V.I. Cops."

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Source Picks

Rwanda Project 2012: A Call for Support

Source publisher and Rwanda Project co-founder Shaun Pennington gets out the word on helping to support the project by buying a raffle ticket or making a tax-exempt contribution.

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2012-02-06 00:23:08
New Naturalized Citizens Contribute Needed Fees to V.I. Government

If you multiply the number of naturalizations in 2011 by the fees one pays (and the V.I. government receives) the total is $420,920.

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2012-02-05 23:00:16
Some Thoughts on Signatures Needed for Board of Elections Recalls

Mathematics are universal and I think it might be helpful to discuss the question of just how many signatures will be needed to put the proposed recall on the ballot.

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2012-02-03 00:02:07
Local government — St. Croix
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UVI, DPNR Seek Public’s Input on Virgin Islands’ Wetlands
By Source Staff — March 10, 2010

The University of the Virgin Islands and the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) want to know how the community uses the territory’s wetlands. A wetland is an area that is covered with water, or where the soil is saturated most of the time. Wetlands include impoundments, swamps, marshes and guts. In an effort to assess and ensure the best use of the territory’s wetlands, UVI, DPNR and Island Resources Foundation undertook a pilot project to characterize wetlands and associated watersheds. Eighteen priority watershed areas, of the territory’s 50, were assessed and characterized. Geographic Information System (GIS) technology was used to produce an inventory of wetlands and watersheds throughout the territory and produce maps and data.

Now the project has moved into Phase II – “Virgin Islands Wetlands and Watersheds Characterization Phase II: Inventory, Monitoring, Assessment, Management and Education in the U.S. Virgin Islands.” The goal is to complete the preparation of GIS map visuals showing all wetlands in the USVI, complete the assessment by compiling associated data, develop a wetlands management framework and share the results with the public. Public input is very important to the project.
“Wetlands are culturally and economically important,” said Lloyd Gardner, leader of the wetlands project. “The quality of life in the territory and the strength of the V.I. economy depend heavily on maintaining and restoring the health of the near-shore coastal environment,” said Gardner, president of Environmental Support Services LLC.
Stevie Henry, UVI’s principal investigator of the project’s phase II, looks forward to receiving input from the public. “We need to know what wetlands are considered a priority, how they are being used and how the public would like to see them protected,” he said. He gave an example that some wetlands may be used to catching juvenile fish for use as bait, while others may be used for educating the public about ecosystems.
In addition to providing information about the territory’s wetlands and their uses, the public is also asked to provide materials such as photographs and maps. One of the major outputs of the project will be an educational “Resource Management Guide to the Wetlands and Watersheds of the Virgin Islands.”
To provide input on the territory’s wetlands or for more information, call Stevie Henry at 693-1033 or send e-mail to shenry@uvi.edu. 
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