The Virgin Islands Resource Conservation & Development Council Inc. (V.I. RC&D) and the Coral Bay Community Council (CBCC) invite the public to participate in their ground-breaking event for NOAA Recovery Act-funded watershed restoration activities in Coral Bay. The Coral Bay Watershed Restoration ground-breaking will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 14,on the second floor of the V.I. Agricultural Station in Coral Bay. Governor John P. deJongh Jr. and Samuel Rauch, deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will be the principal speakers. Several commissioners and community leaders will also be present.
This event will highlight the significance of this project to the territory in providing dedicated funding to implement critical watershed conservation and restoration activities. These activities will help to restore degraded natural resources such as mangroves, coral reefs and fisheries as well as support building more resilient coasts in the face of climate change. It will also provide jobs and new skills in the territory.
Through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, over$2.7 million was awarded to V.I RC&D to implement the USVI Coastal Habitat Restoration through Watershed Stabilization Project. This event will kick-off storm-water management construction projects to be implemented in Coral Bay utilizing $1.5 million of the NOAA-administered Recovery Act funds. By installing targeted watershed restoration practices, project partners are seeking to mitigate sedimentation – the primary land-based threat to the territory’s coastal and marine habitats.
For additional information, contact the CBCC office at 776-2099 or the V.I. RC&D office at 692-6932, ext. 5 or visit the council’s Web site at www.usvircd.org or the CBCC project Web site at www.coralbaycommunitycouncil.org/Virc-and-D.htm.