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Help! My husband and I are renting a home near Divi on the beach. Last year, we noticed quite a few turtle tracks and a few "digs" for nesting, but the beach is very overgrown with lots of root activity. (Roots, garbage, rotting coconuts, etc.) Much to our dismay, eggs were never laid. During nesting season, a pregnant female turtle was found beached, which we reported.
We are also teachers and tried to include our students in a project to see if we could get the turtles to come back again this year and perhaps lay eggs. Together, we have painstakingly cleaned the beach, pulled weeds and made it more "turtle friendly".
Recently, we have one particular group of fishermen that have been driving on our beach, kicking sand all over, etc. I have spoken with them very nicely, and told them about our project and asked if they could NOT drive on the beach that my students have worked so hard to clear. He very rudely let me know that all beaches are public (which I am aware of), and that I he can do whatever he wants to my beach.
So, my questions are as follows:
Are vehicles allowed to drive on the beaches?
During turtle nesting season, how do we go about making sure that nobody is driving on the beach?
What are our rights as far as him accessing the beach?
I have e-mailed DPNR and will contact them on Monday, but I wanted to know if anyone has other information that may be helpful. I don't want to get into a fight with these fishermen. Everyone else that we've spoken to has been respectful and excited that our local youth are trying to make a difference.
Thanks for your time and any advice you may be able to offer.
Posted : March 23, 2013 8:59 pm
Look in Phone Book to see if there are any emergency contact numbers for DPNR.
You could possibly call the police to inquire as well.
If the location is a turtle nesting ground then the chances are very likely they cannot drive and vehicles on the beach.
You might also want to try to contact the National Park there in STX to see if they have enforcement officers that can help as by Monday,
the damage might already be done. Good Luck.
Posted : March 23, 2013 9:16 pm
Topic starter
We're not at peak turtle nesting season yet, but we'll be back on the beach again tomorrow morning, trying to fix the damage that they did. It's just very frustrating. (I guess I'm venting a bit.) My students have an all day field trip on Tuesday and they are spending the day at my house, cleaning the beach, and trying to make sure everything is ready for the upcoming turtle season. I would hate for them to show up and see all of the tire tracks and holes that have been dug by the couple of fishermen that can't show enough respect to the next generation.
(OK, I'm still venting...sorry)
Posted : March 23, 2013 9:25 pm
there is a beach near coakley bay that you drive up to the camp site. not sure if i know of any other beaches that you can drive up onto
Posted : March 23, 2013 9:38 pm
Maybe stxem can do something. Send her a PM
Posted : March 23, 2013 9:49 pm
At Columbus landing in Salt River people drive right onto the beach. That area supposedly has old artifacts on it. Park service does not say anything to them. I'm sure it is nesting ground for turtles also.
Posted : March 24, 2013 1:05 pm
Recently, we have one particular group of fishermen that have been driving on our beach, kicking sand all over, etc. I have spoken with them very nicely, and told them about our project and asked if they could NOT drive on the beach that my students have worked so hard to clear. He very rudely let me know that all beaches are public (which I am aware of), and that I he can do whatever he wants to my beach.
Sometimes it depends on not what you say, but the way in which you said it that will determine the response you get.
And yes, I saw that you said spoke nicely, but I also highlight the part which you said "driving on OUR beach".
I'm just saying....
Posted : March 24, 2013 3:34 pm
We're not at peak turtle nesting season yet, but we'll be back on the beach again tomorrow morning, trying to fix the damage that they did. It's just very frustrating. (I guess I'm venting a bit.) My students have an all day field trip on Tuesday and they are spending the day at my house, cleaning the beach, and trying to make sure everything is ready for the upcoming turtle season. I would hate for them to show up and see all of the tire tracks and holes that have been dug by the couple of fishermen that can't show enough respect to the next generation.
(OK, I'm still venting...sorry)
personally i think you have "THE MOST PERFECT LESSON PLAN" your intent to persevere the island's beautiful creatures....but the reality of how it can be difficult and interrupted by man. i would venture to say the fishermen near the divi, and i have seen them there for years, are probably unintentionally disrupting nature to "survive" themselves...god i can see a million different hands on research projects and lesson plans dancing in my head! hope all works out well and please don't misinterpret my comments. i totally applaud your efforts.
Posted : March 25, 2013 3:45 am
I would hate for them to show up and see all of the tire tracks and holes that have been dug by the couple of fishermen that can't show enough respect to the next generation.
I must be thinking about this the wrong way.. you're not talking about sand beaches are you? the kind with a big ocean on one side & strong winds that move the sand around all the time?
your talking about up in the trees right? somewhere that a hole would actually stay for a while? like the holes the turtles dig down at sandy point?
Posted : March 25, 2013 3:49 pm
Topic starter
Yes - in the area of the trees - more specifically, under the trees - When the fishermen I am speaking of back up the truck, they back into the tree line, spin their tires around until they get out and put ruts in the tree area. If eggs were laid there, they would most certainly be crushed!
Posted : March 25, 2013 3:54 pm
The issue of driving on the beach is a contentious one. Please do not approach folks who you believe to be in violation of Virgin Islands Code, please call 911 on weekends and after hours (5PM) DPNR 773-1082. St. Croix East End Marine Park 718-3367; DPNR Division of Environmental Enforcement 773-5774; DPNR Division of Fish and Wildlife 773-1082. According to VIC Title 32 ;Chapter 2; Section 26; Subsection (b), (VIC 32 § 21 (b) & 26(b))
§ 21. Division of Parks; duties of Division
(b) It shall be the duty of the Division of Parks to supervise, administer, manage, regulate and control the use and operation of all public parks, lands for public recreation, marine parks, and such others as may be designated by regulations by the Commissioner, including but not limited to beaches within the coastal zone as defined in Title 12, chapter 21 of this Code, that either are owned by or which may be acquired by the Government of the Virgin Islands, or to the operation, development, preservation or maintenance of which the Government may have made or may make contribution or appropriation of public funds.
§ 26. Horses and motor vehicles prohibited from recreational areas
(a) For purposes of this section, "recreational areas" means areas, under section 21(b) of this title, that are supervised, administered, managed, regulated and controlled by the Division of Parks.
(b) A person who causes a horse or a motor vehicle to go into any highly used beach or recreational area not designated for parking or driving purposes shall be fined not more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) and/or imprisoned for not more than one hundred eighty (180) days.
The Law is vague as it relates to the definition of a highly used beach. However the Fedral overlap is turtle nesting beaches. Driving on the beach on a turtle nesting beach is prohibited due to the threat to the nest. However, please call DPNR Environmental Enforcement or St. Croix East End Marine Park M-F 8A-5P should you witness a violation occurring. Please do not approach or engage anyone please leave it to the authorities..
Posted : March 26, 2013 1:47 pm
Topic starter
Ranger-Thanks for the information.
I just wanted to celebrate today because the students of Ricardo Richards Elementary School spent all morning cleaning up the beach by Divi Casino. The students picked up more trash than I could make in one trip to the dumpster!!!! The most disgusting part of our beach clean up was the human feces and used toilet paper near the main access road. Seriously!
But, I just wanted to praise our youth for their hard work today. They didn't do it for the newspaper or any personal recognition - just to keep the beaches beautiful and make them "turtle friendly". Once we finished on the beach, the students snorkeled along the beach area and continued to pick up plastic and other garbage from the ocean.
(Can you tell that I'm proud of my students!??)
Posted : March 26, 2013 8:16 pm
It's so sad to see so much trash in the water. I pulled out an entire dive bag worth of trash from brewers my first week here. And continue to pull it put when I find it. Horrible, thanks for cleaning up, It totally makes a difference!
Hate to say it but has anyone noticed hull bay has been really littered lately too? More this week than I've seen before and we've been there every week since we moved. Picked up a bunch while doing a tour today but sad to see it so much down there.... Well anywhere really.
Posted : March 27, 2013 1:37 am
The increased garbage you're seeing on Hull Bay beach is likely the result of the heavy swells and surf of the last week or so. Debris can travel for hundreds of miles when we have these sorts of conditions and you'd be amazed what can show up!
Posted : March 27, 2013 1:53 am
Why should students put their health at risk cleaning up beaches that filthy Crucians have littered.
My daughter was at a CDS Mini Gusto event last week at Salt River and was directed to clean up used condoms and other human filth from the beach where all manner of disgusting acts likely have and continue to take place.
Who asks kids to do this kind of work?
Posted : March 27, 2013 11:35 am
Then as a responsible adult, you should so your kids won't have to.
Praise to those who do such a nasty job and let's face it, it needs to be done.
Posted : March 27, 2013 11:37 am
Posted : March 27, 2013 3:42 pm
"filthy Crucians"? How do you know who littered that beach?
Posted : March 27, 2013 5:27 pm
Why should students put their health at risk cleaning up beaches that filthy Crucians have littered.
Kind of prejudice there eh?
how about "filthy people" that's a much more applicable target & probably more accurate.
Posted : March 27, 2013 5:34 pm
i'm trying to be as polite as possible,BUT IT IS DIFFICULT!! ....."fithy crucians" that is one of the most narrowminded,racist,stomach turning comments i have ever read on this forum.if that is how you feel,i can just imagine what you are teaching your children. why on earth would you live amonst us "fithy crucains"???
Posted : March 28, 2013 2:17 am
oops. i answered my own question. sunshinefun stated on a previous post "i live here because as a business man i can make a substantial profit in nice weather" but as soon as i retire i will leave as soon as i can! need i say more?
Posted : March 28, 2013 2:26 am
I'm sure that the "filthy Crucians" do their fair share. But I am just as sure if not more so the filthy tourists are as much if not more to blame. If tourists are anything like we get in ski season that is.
Posted : March 28, 2013 2:32 am
We are all "Crucians"...Continuing to LABEL people as "locals" "natives" "continentals", etc...is quite simply a subtle form of segregation!
We are ALL "Crucians!"...whether we were born here...or chose to move here...we live here because we love St Croix.
meowruff...THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...for caring about St Croix...our children...and our island and the creatures that inhabit our shores and sea. DPNR has a dedicated staff that will help...We are ALL CRUCIANS...and we ALL benefit when our island is protected.
sunshinefun...sorry your daughter had to see the ugly results of people who don't care if they throw their trash on our beaches, roadsides, etc...i trust that your daughter was under the supervision of adults who were trying simply to teach the lesson that we all have to do our part in keeping st croix clean...it is an important lesson that must be learned at a VERY YOUNG AGE!
Alana33...you are absolutely correct! Adults should set the example...and dispose of trash properly. AND also lead by example...and take on the CiVIC RESPONSIBILITY of picking up trash EVEN WHEN IT'S "NOT MY TRASH"
VT2VI...really? tourists might be "more to blame?"...maybe, but more likely than not those tourists who pay alot of money to come here are not going to dump their trash on our beautiful beaches and roadsides...and i would venture to say that tourists are not throwing used tires in ditches. the occasional beer bottles or soda cans that miss the garbage can? sure...but the rest of the trash? hmmmm...
liquidflouride and lily1025...why not offer suggestions that will help solve this serious problem that affects EVERYONE...instead of cynicism
i spend most of my snorkel time on west end beaches. i see many of the same people each week...enjoying a swim, snorkeling, savoring an afternoon with friends or family...and most everyone picks up trash...their own and usually something left behind by others. BUT i also see some people who won't take the time to collect their own trash...and too many times i have found used diapers on the beach or in water...that is the worst. yuck 🙁
it's simply the truth...our roadside/ditches are full of trash thrown out by people that are too lazy to take their garbage to drop off/transfer stations...and then there are the many tires dumped along the roadside!!! ridiculous...
respect for our island...is required of our citizens, tourists AND our fishermen...and St Croix's children must be taught CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY...even something as simple as teaching children to pick up a few pieces of trash every day...makes a real difference in how they AND their friends, parents and neighbors will consider what it truly means to love the island where we live...and what it means to be "Crucian"...
the only thing that truly makes a person "Crucian" is loving St Croix enough to take care of St Croix...and keeping it clean!
Posted : March 28, 2013 6:05 am
I should have used the sarcastic smiley. I know the household junk isn't tourists.
Posted : March 28, 2013 9:33 am
