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Overview

     Because of human-induced extinctions and depletions of key biological species, natural ecosystems worldwide are suffering from reduced resilience in the face of naturally occurring hazards. At the same time, anthropogenic intensifications of storms and other hazards are placing new strains on already-compromised social ecosystems, particularly in coastal regions and on islands, rendering them vulnerable to collapse during the coming decades. 

 

     As noted in a recent report issued by the National Research Council (Enhancing the Value and Sustainability of Field Stations and Marine Laboratories in the 21st Century; 2014), field stations and marine laboratories can provide critical platforms for research and education that are especially relevant to the resilience of natural and social ecosystems.  Importantly, these societal roles of stations and laboratories can only be realized fully if they are intimately woven into the fabrics of the surrounding communities, with extensive education and outreach opportunities, including programs and workshops that regularize the exchange of ideas and information between researchers and community stakeholders.

Above: Christiansted Boardwalk

     During the early 1970’s, Fairleigh Dickinson University (FDU), a privately-funded institution headquartered in New Jersey, underwrote and opened the West Indies Laboratory (WIL), a marine research and teaching facility located on the northeastern coast of the island of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.  WIL rapidly became a preeminent facility in the Caribbean region for marine ecological research.  Despite its success and prominence, WIL was experiencing increasing financial difficulties through the 1980s and, following Hurricane Hugo in 1989, WIL closed permanently.  In the years since, there have been several efforts to establish a new marine-research facility on St. Croix, including ongoing work spearheaded by a consortium of Universities, the National Park Service, and other agencies, to develop a Marine Research and Education Center (MREC) at Salt River Bay. 

 

     In considering field stations and marine laboratories for the 21st century, two interrelated questions seems paramount: 1) Has the concept of a station limited primarily to marine research and education become anachronistic?; and 2) Should a 21st-century field station instead be based on a new model that integrates a wider spectrum of research and scholarship focused more directly and purposefully on solutions to local and regional challenges?

 

     Against this backdrop, a transdisciplinary group of students at the University of Cincinnati—Alana Frew (Environmental Studies and Journalism), Megan Lamkin (Biological Sciences); Cassandra Radke (Interior Design); and Kristen Fleming (History)—undertook an investigation of the prospects for development of a new research center on St. Croix that would be accessible and of value to a broad constituency, including:  island residents; practitioners and community stakeholders, researchers and scholars from multiple disciplines whose home bases extend well beyond the Caribbean; students at all stages of their educations; and even tourists.

 

     As part of its work, the group investigated several topics, including:

  • The history of WIL, considering what made it successful in the first place, but, ultimately, unsustainable. 

 

  • The concept of resilience, and its relevance to the development of a research and education facility.

 

  • Ongoing efforts to develop the MREC at Salt River Bay, resistance to these efforts from some constituencies, and possible expansion of MREC’s intended programmatic purview.

 

  • A possible alternative to the Salt River center, located in the heart of the island’s largest population center, Christiansted.

 

     In conducting its work, the group spoke with people who had interests and experiences related to past and current efforts to maintain or establish a marine research lab on St. Croix. Several of these discussions were conducted during the group’s one-week trip to St. Croix, October 4-11 2014, and others took place while the group was in Cincinnati, sometimes via telephone or Skype.  These discussions were particularly valuable as the group wrestled with the complexities of diverging, and, in some cases, competing visions for the future of a marine-focused research center on St. Croix.  The names and affiliations of all people interviewed by the group are provided at the end of this narrative.

 

     In suggesting a possible alternative to the Salt River site, the group wants to make it clear that it is makes no judgments about the ultimate suitability or feasibility of the MREC; in fact, the group was humbled by the extensive planning and analyses conducted to date in preparation for development of the MREC by a highly dedicated, skilled set of individuals from multiple backgrounds and professions.  In this regard, the group’s suggestion of a possible alternative site in Christiansted should not be taken as expression of disapproval about the MREC at Salt River. The group’s only intent is to provide food for additional thought, and is born partly of its understanding that a research center should be accessible and of value to the widest possible constituency.  

 

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