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Local News

Virgin Islands photog swims with the fishes

Simonsen_turtle The Virgin Island's Steve Simonsen has made an international reputation for himself specializing in marine photography. 

The St. John resident's underwater images of divers, coral reefs, and fish have been published in magazines including Caribbean Travel & Life, Scuba Diving and Sport Diver.  His work is also on display in his book, Living Art.

Recently, Simonsen's been drawn to video projects, one of which will be shown in rough cut at the Marketplace Thursday night.  He will talk about the experience of making the film "Leatherbacks of St. Croix."

Livingartt The documentary focuses on the conservation of Leatherback sea turtles at Sandy Point Wildlife Refuge on St Croix. Working alongside members of the Fish and Wildlife Service and The West Indies Marine Animal Research and Conservation Service, Steve hopes the film will help raise awareness of the endangered creatures to help protect, recover and sustain the threatened and endangered marine animals of the West Indies.

Leatherbacks is one of two projects being shown at St. John Film Society's Free Movie Night Thursday.  The other chronicles diminishing 'spawning schools' in the VI's. Fishermen are struggling to preserve their livelihoods, and scientists from the University of the Virgin Islands are racing to understand how to restore and maintain fish populations across the Caribbean.

New VI park for Coral Bay

Pr37carolina Ernest Marsh once owned all of Estate Carolina, i.e. most of Coral Bay.

The National Park Service explains, "Established in 1717, Estate Carolina was the first and wealthiest sugar estate on St. John Island." A Bay Rum factory in the plantation is pictured here.

On his death, Marsh's five children inherited the land.  The family Trust has now proposed the Virgin Islands turn 170 acres of it, near the water, into a Territorial park, according to a story in the St. John Source.

Word of the offer came at this week's groundbreaking for a watershed project in Coral Bay.

Sen. Craig Barshinger said the Legislature will be asked to contribute 25 percent of the cost of designing the park and acquiring the land.  The balance of the money, hopefully, will be raised through private contributions made to the Conservation Fund, the Source reported. (Read the Source!  Excellent source of info about all three islands.)

The proposed park is near where the Marsh family heirs plan a mixed residential/commercial development.

The Inquiring Iguana did a bit of rooting around on Google and found a link to a story about an Ernest Marsh, a painter of St. John.  Might be the same patriarch.