Jan. 30, 2004 – Barry Devine, chief scientist at the University of the Virgin Islands Conservation Data Center, will discuss his study "Sediment Deposition in Coral Bay" at the Feb. 9 meeting of the Coral Bay Community Council. The meeting runs from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the Johns Folly Learning Institute.
Kent Irish, who serves as chairman of the council's watershed and roads committee, said the sediment problem in Coral Harbor continues to worsen.
"In the last eight years the harbor has changed its consistency," Irish said, attributing this problem to development and cutting of roads on the hillsides that drain into Coral Harbor. He said that 3,000 acres on the hillsides affect the 450-acre harbor.
"A tremendous amount of soil comes down," Irish said.
Divine graduated from Cornell University School of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He has a master's degree in plant ecology as well as a doctorate in landscape ecology. At UVI, he is responsible for developing, maintaining and updating data on all plant and animal communities and species in the Virgin Islands.
UVI's Conservation Date Center compiles, analyzes and disseminates natural resources data. That data is linked to a Geographic Information System. Its products are available to anyone making development conservation decisions. The Conservation Data Center helps identify and evaluate threats to natural areas and provides tools for decisions makers addressing those threats.
Addressing environmental threats to Coral Harbor, as well as dealing with other environmental issues in the Coral Bay area, fall within the goals of the Coral Bay Community Council. For more information on the council, call president Sharon Coldren at 513-4298.
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