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HomeNewsArchivesCoalition to Save Lindbergh Bay Plans Two Events for ‘Lindy Day’

Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay Plans Two Events for ‘Lindy Day’

Two events are planned for Lindy Day, Sunday, July 11. A Fun Day for youth will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and the Connie Award Gala Dinner will be held from 6-10 p.m. at Lindbergh Bay Beach and at the Best Western Emerald Beach Resort. The scientific evidence points to the fact that Lindbergh Bay is a unique marine treasure in many ways. An independent study conducted in March and April 2009 found fish and coral in abundance. There are 22 colonies of elkhorn coral and re-emerging growth of elkhorn coral skeletons, green sea turtles and hawksbill turtles as well as extensive areas of closely cropped sea grass, indicating it to be the current food source of the green turtles. The sea grass found at Lindbergh was significant because many of the beds of sea grass around St. Thomas have been dying off at an alarming rate.

Within the depression itself, a marine biologist found West Indian fighting conch, queen conch, milk conch, Bahamian sea star, brittle star, sea cucumber, manatee grass, turtle grass and sea vine. There were also tiger lucine, sand dollars and micro green algae.
The bay is home to nearly 80 species of fish and many juveniles, including 12 juvenile Nassau groupers, a species thought to be extinct in these waters.
Aside from the Nassau groupers existing in Lindbergh Bay, which were previously thought to have disappeared, the area is a habitat for Staghorn coral and Elkhorn coral, which were placed on the U.S. Endangered Species List in 2006.
The second significant development is related to the nesting of a 600-lbs. leatherback turtle, dubbed “Lindy” by the public, at Lindbergh Beach on July 12, 2009.
Thereafter, the community has become more aware of the need to protect the fragile ecosystem of the bay and its environs.
Lindy Fun Day has two objectives. The first objective has the overt goal of providing about 200 youth between the ages of 7-17 with water sports and related activities. The water sports activities for the youth Fun Day will include snorkeling lessons, kayaking, painting lessons, an egg race, a sack race and a treasure hunt. A free lunch will be served, and youngsters will be entertained by Jammez Band. Chaperons, volunteers and lifeguards will ensure the safety of the youth.
The covert goal of Fun Day is to familiarize them with the need to protect the environment and preserve ecosystems such as that at Lindbergh Bay Beach.
The Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay Inc. is “to educate the public as to the importance of preserving the fragile underwater ecosystem as well as the endangered and threatened marine wildlife and coral species in and around Lindbergh Bay in the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
The Connie Award Gala Dinner will present an award for the first time that is intimately related to the protection of the environment. The Connie is an abbreviation for the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) Conservation Achievement Awards Program. For the event, NWF will provide one award in cooperation with V.I. Conservation Society.
The awards will be presented in 13 categories to capture the wide range of efforts that benefit wildlife and the cause of conservation. The board of the Coalition to Save Lindbergh Bay has chosen to award this year’s Connie to recognize the achievement in conservation of an individual who has made exemplary and distinguished accomplishments to conservation in the territory. The board has selected the following nominees: Mario A. Francis, Senator Neilly O”Reilly, Anna Francis, Senator Adlah Donastorg, Helen Gjessing and Senator Shawn-Michael Malone.
In accordance with a proposal from NWF, these names have been forwarded to the V.I. Conservation Society, which will have input into choosing the awardee. Young people will also make presentations of winning essays, and selected dance pairs will present the lindy hop. Music will be provided by the young jazz group “Sweet Life” under the leadership of Jerry, who will also be the main singer. The governor has been invited to make short remarks. There will also be a keynote address by Dr. Anne Hallum, professor at Stetson University, Florida.

For more information, e-mail: donoghue_37@yahoo.com; or call 774-1882.
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