Down with invasive species!

Strategies to manage invasive alien species were the subject of a workshop organized by the Nature Reserve from May 12th to 14th, at the Mercure Hotel. Saba and St. Eustatius Marine Parks attended, along with Petite-Terre Nature Reserve, Bonaire National Park, the Marine and Terrestrial Park of Anguilla, the Minister of Environment from Anguilla, the ONCFS from Guadeloupe, as well as the British Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). The first two days were devoted to sharing experiences, with presentations of different actions used to eradicate and control the invasive species found in each territory. Anguilla is the only island to have successfully eradicated all the rats that had invaded Dog Island through implementing a very costly and extensive program of poisoning. They were warmly congratulated by the others as the fight against invasive species is a challenge for everyone. Bonaire, like Saint- Martin (see pages 12 and 13), faces the invasion of the underwater algae Halophilastipulacea. The ONCFS from Guadeloupe, for its part, has had a proliferation of the green iguanas, whilst St. Eustatius is fighting against rats and achatinas that is, of course, when the orchid-loving goats leave them the time to do so!

The third day was spent out in the field at Tintamare where the Reserve gave a demonstration of their method of rodent eradication, which trapped and killed 211 rats and 79 mice in March 2013.