Bahamas Pine Forest Workshop Notes

Participants
Bahamas Pine Forest Workshop Notes
March 2, 2008 – Lighthouse Club, Fresh Creek, Andros
Bergh, Chris
The Nature Conservancy – Florida Keys Program
Higgins, Alison The Nature Conservancy – Florida Keys Program
Brown, Lauren The Nature Conservancy – Florida Keys Program
Wendelberger, Kristie University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Land, Aerin
Everglades National Park
Vaidya, Mayavati Everglades National Park
Knowles, Anita Friends of Environment - Abaco
Knowles, David Bahamas National Trust - Abaco
Hamilton, Newton Rev Andros Conservancy and Trust
Riley, Rivean
Bahamas National Trust - Andros
Butler, Apollo
Bahamas National Trust - New Providence
Burrows, Randolph Bahamas National Trust -New Providence
Russell, Christopher Bahamas Dept Lands & Surveys
Bradley, Keith Institute for Regional Conservation
Hamilton, Martin Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Sanchez, Michelle Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Naqqi, Bryan
Turks & Caicos National Trust
Gibbs, Ethlyn
Turks & Caicos National Trust
Cheon, Julie
Julie Cheon Environmental Consulting
Cheon, Ron
Julie Cheon Environmental Consulting
Gill, Bob
The Nature Conservancy, Member
Gill, Eve
The Nature Conservancy, Member
Klein, Joy
Miami-Dade County
Monroe, Mark No affiliation
Watson, Kip
FCDM Inc.
Rahming, Tamica Bahamas National Trust - New Providence
Darling, Christopher Bahamas National Trust - Exuma Cays
Tucker, Jake Miami-Dade College
Paraphrased Discussions
Management of Blue Holes National Park, Central Andros
The public needs to know about the park, care about the park and be willing to be vocal
about boundary protection and appropriate management of the park in order to get
government to take positive actions.
Within the park there seems to be a difference in the fire regimes from east (humancaused
fires in dry season) to west (lightning-caused fires at any time of year).
It is necessary to identify new fire breaks and the size of the fire management units
created by existing roads and natural barriers to fire spread as well as new fire breaks.

Photographic monitoring of changes in vegetation community structure and other basic
monitoring (e.g. vegetation transects or plots) as a result of fire management, other
management activities and general change would be worth the effort.
Invasive exotic species mapping and control efforts are vital. There may even be
problematic native species (e.g. braken fern) that need to be addressed. Effects of these
species on fire behavior and fire regimes need to be considered.
Creation of volunteer fire brigades could help with fire management.
The opportunity for ecotourism, particularly bird watching, to contribute to the local
economy and local individuals income is significant and should be developed
Incentives for private development of compatible uses should be a considered.
Land swaps should be considered as a way of consolidating protected area ownership.
Coppice Forest Conservation
Coppice forest communities of Central Andros, and throughout the Bahamas, are not
adequately protected in the current national park system. Much coppice is in private
ownership and it is difficult to identify the owners. There is a fundamental lack of
species inventories for these areas. It is not apparent which species are rare and which
are common. There is no zoning or land use regulation system in place so it is not
apparent what types of activities can take place in coppice forests in general or specific
forest patches. This comment is relevant to other natural communities as well.
Forestry in the Bahamas
Forestry within Blue Holes or other national parks could, in the future, be governed by
the “conservation forest” rules proposed in the draft Bahamas Forestry Act.
A market for small diameter pine trees needs to be developed.
The draft Forestry Act would provide backup protection for areas of the pine forest that
are currently protected as well fields/water reserve areas.
The draft Forestry Act of 1996 would create three classes of Bahamian National Forest;
• Conservation Forests, where rare species protection, water resources, and
other natural values receive the greatest degree of protection but forest
product extraction is possible,
• Forest Reserves, where multiple use of the forest resources is the objective,
• Protected Forests, where multiple use of the forest resources is the objective
but which can be dedesignated via ministerial declaration, whereas the
Conservation Forests and Forest Reserves can only be dedesignated by an
act of Parliament.

The North Andros well fields and south Andros’s and Mangrove Cay Crown Lands were
proposed as Forest Reserves in the draft act. Maidenhair Coppice, immediately east of
Blue Holes Natoinal Park, was proposed as a Conservation Forest. Maidenhair Coppice
was proposed as a Conservation Forest because of its diversity and density of orchids.
Expert input from both technical experts (e.g. scientists) and local residents should be
incorporated into Forest boundary identification.
Fire Management
The role of fire in forest systems should be incorporated into local school curricula and,
importantly, field trips so students can see the issues first-hand. Joy Klein can provide a
copy of the State of Florida’s grade 3-5 curriculum on fire.
An outreach campaign including booths at events, posters and other communications
media is called for. A mascot like the U.S. Forest Service’s Smoky the Bear would help.
Smokey the Land Crab and Smokey the White Crowned Pigeon were discussed as good
mascots because they represent species that rely on well managed forests, particularly
coppice forests that provide them with fruits to eat and which are vulnerable to wildfires.
General Comments
We need to understand better how the drawdown of the freshwater lens affects the biota.
There is a need for an assessment of the Bahamas biological diversity. Density of
species, presence of endemic species, rarity of species, species on the Bahamas
Threatened Species list and CITES-listed species should be assessed and expert input
should be used in addition to empirical data.
Government should be encouraged to create land use regulations because the stability and
predictability created by these regulations will attract investors who would have some
certainty about the future of adjacent land uses.
The Pine Rockland Working Group should become more formalized. A draft
Memorandum of Agreement should be developed by the PRWG and circulated to current
and potential future participants for review. Martin Hamilton will provide Keith Bradley
with a copy of a similar agreement that has proven effective. Bahamas Ministry of
Tourism should join the PRWG.
Next Steps
PRWG involvement in a meeting on the Forestry Act in Nassau in the fall was discussed.
A PRWG-coordinated conference/workshop in the Turks and Caicos Islands in May 2009
was discussed. Charter flights are available directly to North Caicos or participants could
fly to Providencialis and take a 30-minute ferry to North Caicos.