Conservation
Hotel on the Cay is helping to conserve the St. Croix ground lizard.
This amphibian is most readily identified by the alternating blue and black rings on the tail.
The Hotel has signed a cooperative agreement with the US. Division of Fish and Wildlife Service through the efforts of the Endangered Species Coordinator, Dr. William Cole from the Division of Fish and Wildlife on St. Croix.
This cooperative agreement, a first time ever between that government agency and a private entity, is serving as a model for future agreements throughout the USA.
The St. Croix Ground Lizard is one of the most endangered species in the Virgin Islands. It was thought to be extinct on St. Croix during the early 20th Century but in the late 1960's a remnant population was observed on a beach north of Fredriksted. Currently there are small populations on the uninhabited islands of Ruth Cay and Green Cay. The total number of Lizards is approximately 400.
Currently Dr. Cole has coordinated students from local middle and high schools to help restore and maintain the lizard's critical habitat on Protestant Cay, the only place in the world where these lizards can be seen. The project is designed to develop a landscaping model that will reduce landscaping and grounds maintenance costs for the Hotel and at the same time increase viable habitat for the Lizards without sacrificing the natural beauty of the Cay.
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