US Virgin Islands

All sea turtle species are fully protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended. Upon signing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) on 28 December 1973, (which replaced the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969), President Nixon stated “Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” The purpose of the Act is to conserve the Nation’s natural heritage for the enjoyment and benefit of current and future generations.

The Act provides for the conservation of species which are in danger of endangerment or extinction throughout all or a significant portion of their range, as well as the conservation of the ecosystems on which these species depend. Listing decisions must be based solely on the best scientific and commercial data available. The Act prohibits the consideration of economic impacts in making species listing decisions. A species must be listed if it is threatened or endangered due to any of the following five factors:
– present or threatened destruction, modification, or curtailment of its habitat or range;
– over-utilization for commercial, recreational, scientific, or

educational purposes;
– disease or predation;
– inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms; and
– other natural or manmade factors affecting its continued existence.

All species of sea turtle are listed by the Act, and the killing or harassment of sea turtles is prohibited. After a species is listed, a recovery plan is prepared which identifies conservation measures to help the species recover. These recovery plans, as well as other status assessment documents, are regularly updated. In addition, Section 7 of the Act requires all Federal agencies to use their authorities to conduct conservation programs and to consult with the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and/or the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) concerning the potential effects of their actions on any species listed under the Act, including sea turtles. Consultations occur with Federal action agencies under section 7 of the Act to avoid, minimize or mitigate the impacts of their activities on listed species. NMFS also reviews non-Federal activities which may affect species listed under the ESA and issues permits under section 10 for the incidental take of those species and for scientific research and enhancement purposes.

For the complete text, please see http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/prot_res/laws/ESA/esatext/esacont.html

Boulon, R.H. 1989. Virgin Islands turtle tag recoveries outside of the USVI. In : Eckert, S.A., K.L. Eckert and T.H. Richardson. 1989. Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Workshop on Sea Turtle Conservation and Biology. NOAA Tech. Memo NMFS-SEFC – 232: 207 – 209.

Boulon, R.H. 1992. Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Nesting Biology, Sandy Point, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.: 1981 to 1990. Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Tech. Memo NMFS-SEFSC-302: 14 – 16.

Boulon, R.H., Team Leader. National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1992. Recovery Plan for Leatherback Turtles in the U.S. Caribbean, Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. NMFS, Wash., D.C. 65 pp.

Boulon, R.H., Team Leader. National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1993. Recovery Plan for Hawksbill Turtles in the U.S. Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Gulf of Mexico. NMFS, St. Petersburg, FL. 52 pp.

Boulon, R.H. 1993. Nesting Biology of a leatherback turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, on Sandy Point, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.: 1979 to 1992. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memo NMFS-SEFSC-341: 25 – 27.

Boulon, R.H. 1994. Growth Rates of Wild Juvenile Hawksbill Turtles, Eretmochelys imbricata, in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Copeia, 1994(3): 811 – 814.

Boulon, R.H. 1998. Trends in Sea Turtle Strandings, U.S. Virgin Islands: 1982 to 1997. Proceedings of the Eighteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memo NMFS SEFSC-436: 261-263.

Boulon, R.H. 1998. Leatherback Turtles: An Ancient Species In Peril. Dive Training, May 1998: 44 – 48.

Boulon, R.H. 1999. Reducing Threats to Turtle Eggs and Hatchlings: In Situ Protection. In Research and Management Techniques for the Conservation of Sea Turtles, K.L.

Eckert, K.A. Bjorndal, F.A. Abreau Grobois and M. Donnelly (eds.). IUCN/SSC Marine Turtle Specialist Group Publication No. 4.

Boulon, R.H. and D.A. Olsen. 1982. Virgin Islands Turtle Resources: aerial census results 1979 – 1980. Final Technical Report to National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Contract Nos. NA-79-GA-A-00133 and NA-80-GA-A-00055. 23 pp.

Boulon, R.H. and D.A. Olsen. 1982. Notes on the population biology of green (Chelonia mydas) and hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricate) turtles in the USVI. Final Technical Report , USFWS,DOI. 33 pp.

Boulon, R.H., K.L.Eckert and S.A. Eckert. 1988. Dermochelys coriacea [leatherback sea turtle] migration. Herp. Rev., 19(4): 88.

Boulon, R.H. and N.B. Frazer. 1990 . Growth of Wild Juvenile Caribbean Green Turtles, Chelonia mydas. J. of Herpetology, 24(4): 441-445.

Boulon, R.H., D. L. McDonald, and P. H. Dutton. 1994. Leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) Nesting Biology, Sandy Point, St. Croix, U.S.V.I.: 1981 to 1993. Fourteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation. NOAA Technical Memo NMFS-SEFSC-351:190-193.

Boulon, R.H., P.H. Dutton, and D.L. McDonald. 1996. Leatherback turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands: Fifteen years of conservation. Chelonian Conservation and Biology, 1996, 2(2): 141-147.

Basford, S.S., R.L. Brandner and R.H. Boulon. 1986; 1987; 1988; 1989 and 1990. Tagging and nesting research of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on Sandy Point, St. Croix, USVI. Technical Reports, USFWS, DOI. 29; 30; 32; 31; and 31 pp.

Dutton, P., D. McDonald and R.H. Boulon. 1992. 1991 a “record year” for leatherback productivity on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Marine Turtle Newsletter, No. 57: 15-17.

Dutton, P., D. McDonald and R.H. Boulon. 1992; 1994. Tagging and nesting research of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on Sandy Point, St. Croix, USVI. Technical Reports, USFWS, DOI. 25; and 23 pp.

Dutton, D.L., P.H. Dutton and R.H. Boulon. 2000. Recruitment and mortality estimates for female leatherbacks nesting in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands. Nineteenth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, NOAA Tech Memo NMFS-SEFSC-443:268-269.

Dutton, D.L., P.H. Dutton, M. Chaloupka and R.H. Boulon. 2005. Increase of a Caribbean leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea nesting population linked to long-term nest protection. Conservation Biology, 126 (2005): 186-194.

Eckert, S.A., K.L. Eckert and R.H. Boulon. 1982. Tagging and nesting research of the leatherback sea turtle, Dermochelys coriacea, Sandy Pt., St. Croix, USVI. Tech. Report, USFWS, DOI. 29 pp.

Geis, A., T. Wibbels, B. Phillips, Z. Hillis-Starr, A. Meylan, P. Meylan, C. Diez, R. van Dam. 2003. Predicted Sex Ratio of Juvenile Hawksbill Sea Turtles Inhabiting Buck Island Reef National Monument, U.S. Virgin Islands. Journal of Herpetology 37(2):400¬404.

Fleming, E. H. 2001. Swimming Against the Tide: Recent surveys of exploitation, trade and management of marine turtles in the Northern Caribbean. Traffic North America 161 pages.

Hillis-Starr, Z.M., R. Boulon and M. Evans. 1998. Sea Turtles of the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. In: Mac, M.J.,P.A. Opler, C.E. Puckett Haecker and P.D. Doran (Eds.), Status and trends of the nation’s biological resources. USDOI, USGS, Reston, VA. 964 pp.

McDonald, D., P. Dutton, and R.H. Boulon. 1991; 1993; 1995: 1996. Tagging and nesting research of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on Sandy Point, St. Croix, USVI. Technical Reports , USFWS, DOI. 23; 22; 20 and 21 pp.

McDonald, D, B. Krueger, J. Ferguson and R.H. Boulon. 1996. Tagging and nesting research of leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) on Sandy Point, St. Croix, USVI. Technical Reports, USFWS, DOI. 20 pp.

Pollock, Clayton, Ian Lundgren, Lindsay Albright, Amber Avestruz, Julio Polan and Zandy Hillis-Starr. 2009. Unexpected visitors to the Eastern Caribbean: Loggerheads nest at Buck Island Reef National Monument. Marine Turtle Newsletter. (124): 13-15

Platenberg, R.J. and R. H. Boulon. In Press. Conservation status of reptiles and amphibians in the US Virgin Islands. Applied Herpetology.

Vicente, V.P., R.H. Boulon and T. Tallevast. 1995. Characteristics of green turtle (Chelonia mydas) grazing grounds in some Caribbean islands. Twelfth Annual Symposium on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation, 1992. NOAA Tech. Memo NMFS-SEFSC-361: 145-149.

Wibbels, T., Z.M. Hillis-Starr and B. Phillips. 1999. Female-biased sex ratios of hatchling hawksbill sea turtles from a Caribbean nesting beach. Journal of Herpetology 33:142-144.

Williams, E.H., L.B. Williams, E.C. Peters, B.P. Rodriguez, R.M. Morales, A.A. Mignucci-Giannoni, K.V. Hall, J.V. Rueda-Almonacid, J. Sybesma, I.B. De Calventi and R.H. Boulon. 1994. An Epizootic of Cutaneous Fibropapillomas in Green Turtles, Chelonia mydas, of the Caribbean: Part of a Panzootic? J. of Aquatic Animal Health, 6:70-78.

Williams E.H. Jr., L.B. Williams, R.H. Boulon Jr., K.L. Eckert and N.L. Bruce. 1996. Excorallana acuticauda (isopoda, Corallanidae) An associate of leatherback turtles in the northeastern Caribbean, with a summary of isopods recorded from sea turtles. Crustaceana 69(8):1014-1017.

USVI Division of Fish and Wildlife: Sea Turtle Hatchlings
Leatherback Sea Turtles: USVI Critical Habitat
The Nature Conservancy: East End Marine Park
Virgin Islands National Park, “Friends of the VINP”, and related topics
See St. John: Marine Life/Marine Turtles
Coral World Ocean Park

US Library of Congress Collection – made in late 1941 by the Farm Service Administration, which was one of the Franklin Roosevelt programs to bring the country out of the Depression.