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| Great Blue Herons are known to visit St John's Frank Bay |
Friday, September 13 proved to be a lucky day for the wildlife, birds, and all those who will visit the new Wildlife Sanctuary at St John's Frank Bay. Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. and members of the Audubon Society of the Virgin Islands gathered at The Battery on St. John to execute a Memorandum of Agreement for Frank Bay Pier.
When completed, the wooden walkway and pier will create a special vantage point from which to observe and appreciate the diverse and spectacular birds that inhabit the sanctuary. It will allow observers for the first time to view the full pond without disturbing its avian inhabitants doing the important work of breeding and nourishing themselves. The project will also add new signs offering information to visitors about Frank Bay and its wildlife.
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| The Spotted Sandpipers call Frank Bay 'home' |
“The great ornithologist and naturalist John James Audubon said a true conservationist knows that the world is not given by his fathers, but borrowed from his children. The native and migratory birds that populate our islands are a part of our children’s inheritance,” the governor said.
“Those birds—the Great Blue Herons, Black-necked Stilts, Spotted Sandpipers and so many other magnificent species—need refuges on these islands for rest and sustenance; the health of their population depends on sanctuaries like Frank Bay that are safe from predatory animals and unspoiled by human development.”
The governor noted the new infrastructure at the Frank Bay sanctuary will enhance public awareness and understanding of a unique wildlife environment and the local and migratory birds that populate it by allowing visitors to view them in their natural habitat.
“This, above all else, I consider a gift to our children, who in their backyard will find a world-class outdoor classroom that no amount of technology could replace,” he said.