Advocacy

As Friends of Fairchild at Magens Bay (aka Friends of Magens, aka Friends), we want to make sure Magens Bay remains a natural and public park, as Fairchild envisioned it, and that it does not become just another commercial beach with profit-generating activities & contracts aimed at tourists & cruise lines. Maintaining Magens Bay as an environmentally sustainable beach for the Virgin Islands community requires deliberate intent. Further, doing so is not necessarily in conflict with tourism interest, as tourists may also appreciate a beach with a thriving ecosystem and community-oriented feel. We are concerned about activities that may overextend and harm our natural resources, as well as actions that drive locals away from the beach.

Magens Bay should be accessible to and regularly used by the local community and considered as a prized resource and source of local pride. While enjoyed by millions of tourists, there are still many St Thomians who have never been to Magens. We would like to ensure that all St Thomas school children visit Magens, making use of the beach park – including the arboretum & nature trails –  as an environment for enhancing science education, swimming & water safety skills, and VI history. At the other end of the spectrum, we would like to host more community interest events for adults, especially seniors. MBA has been investing in increasing ADA compliance of the facilities, but many Virgin Islanders remain unaware of the available resources, and there are limited transportation options to Magens from many of the areas where locals live.

A portion of the beach is now densely filled with beach chairs for rent, and excursions such as snorkeling, kayaking, and sandcastle building dot the length of the beach. It’s easy to see the impact on people (regulars complain that this makes it hard for them to do their routine long exercise walks and that tourists are being prioritized over locals), but we have less of an idea what the exact impact of human activities is on the wildlife. What might Magens look like in another decade or two if the trend of commercialization continues and Magens accommodates more and more visitors? Will we even know when we reach a tipping point where the activity on the beach is unsustainable? (Are we already past it?) What is the long-term vision for Magens, and how will we assess environmental impact and ensure future decisions align with the vision? Will we need to consider measures like limiting the number of daily visitors or dedicating a portion of the beach as explicitly lower density to avoid destroying the environment in an endless quest for more money?

The Magens Bay ecosystem is at risk not only from the high volume of beachgoers, but also from specific actions, such as boat activity, runoff from nearby properties, and littering. Magens Bay’s seagrass beds are the preferred home for sea turtles, and Magens is one of the best places in St Thomas to spot them. Magens is home to black tip shark pups in the spring, many fishes and rays, and is regularly visited by dolphins. The beach, including mangroves, also host numerous species of birds. We need to preserve the bay for them.

DPNR has designated Magens Bay as an Area of Particular Concern (APC), and as such, it is eligible for legislated restrictions to protect this wildlife, yet we are not aware of any special protections currently in place. For example, although jet skis are prohibited within and near the swim area, MBA does not have the authority to regulate the rest of the bay where they are still allowed, and DPNR is rarely on site. Anchoring is currently allowed in the bay, even though it is well-known that boats and anchors can injure animals and damage life on the ocean floor. A proposal to install moorings and designate Magens Bay as a no-anchor zone could mitigate this risk. However, moorings may attract more boating activity, increasing the likelihood of animals (especially those that surface to breathe) being struck by boats and the likelihood of illegal dumping polluting the bay, as well as increasing light & noise pollution. Therefore, Friends of Magens recommend not installing moorings and instead excluding boats & watercraft from the bay entirely (with an exemption for legacy fishing boats). Should moorings be installed, Friends would like all precautions to be taken to reduce the impact of boats: e.g., a very limited number of moorings, placed well beyond the swim area, and active DPNR & MBA enforcement of pollution and boat traffic, including dinghy traffic which is also a hazard to swimmers.

Development of nearby properties and pollution & runoff from land uphill in the Magens watershed is another concern. Compare a photo of the surrounding hillsides from ~1970 with one from today. It is no wonder that the water clarity is not what it once was. Friends advocates for strong CZM protections & enforcement of said protections. How can we best prevent neighbors from damaging the bay and preserve the remaining undeveloped land? Do we have independent studies to assess the impact of neighboring residential & commercial developments?

Litter is a prevalent problem in the VI, and Magens is no exception. Trash blows out of overflowing trash barrels overnight, and far too much beach trash never makes it into the barrels in the first place. The plastic straw ban and reef safe sunscreen laws are a good start to reducing ocean pollution territory-wide. Yet far too many people still use banned sunscreens (likely unknowingly). Education, enforcement, and tourism partnership is needed to keep these chemicals out of the ocean. The concession at Magens has a water bottle refilling station, but most people are unaware it is there. Recycling options on the island are sparse and expensive, but plastic & can recycling at Magens could go a long way to reducing waste.

More generally, Friends would like beachgoers to be more informed and engaged with beach operations, for Virgin Islanders to feel a sense of ownership of Magens as our beach, and to share the responsibility for preserving this unique treasure.