Sen. Shawn-Michael Malone will celebrate his birthday Saturday with a "Dive-In" at Lindbergh Bay, what he called a "community adventure" from 9 a.m. until noon. Malone is asking all divers, snorkelers and swimmers or anyone interested in the environment to join him.
"The reason I want to do this," Malone said Tuesday, "is to see what’s in the ‘bowl’ 100 yards from shore. Anyone in the community who cares enough about our natural environment will want to see what’s going on with this area." He is asking people to bring video or still underwater cameras.
The offshore "bowl" is the area proposed depositing Charlotte Amalie harbor dredging spoils proposed by the West Indian Co. and the V.I. Port Authority.
Malone, chairman of the Senate Planning and Environmental Protection committee, said he wants to see "the regeneration of life in this area, what is going on with the beach’s natural habitat."
He said, "The issue with the turtle nesting is what really interests me. It begs the question of why are they laying eggs at Lindbergh Bay. There must be something happening at Lindbergh and Brewers Bays for the turtles to have the confidence to lay their eggs at these beaches. That’s what intrigues me more than anything else. What’s in these bays that the turtles will eat."
Malone stressed that this isn’t a political event. "I spoke at the rally for Lindbergh Bay a couple weeks ago," he said. "This is for people to come out and explore for themselves to see how the environment has rebounded on its own."
Malone said, "I want to take the politics out of it for this day. We’ve had to rely on reports and pictures other people have taken. I want to gather photographic evidence of flourishing sea life in the area, and I will post them on my website."
For more information, contact John Williams at Malone’s office, 693-3614.
