Well-known and respected researchers and conservationists David Lee and Will Mackin have strongly criticised the BNT and the government department in an article in the latest edition of the Bahamas Journal of Science, and raised questions about the bodies responsible for the Exuma Land and Sea Park and wildlife conservation in the Bahamas.
At the crux of the issue is the park wardenﾴs dogs on Warderick Wells, which researchers say have been allowed to decimate the tropicbird colony there, but Lee and Mackin have also expressed their disappointment with the current level of conservation and protection of indigenous animals in general.
In the case of the tropicbird colony on Warderick Wells, the population has declined 85 per cent in just four years because of the dogs, and according to the May 2004 article, BNT and government officials have done little to nothing to put an end to the damage being done to the colony.
Researchers say the BNT has failed to take constructive action on a number of important issues brought to their attention, and the Department of Agriculture, despite repeated requests in various forms over four years, has yet to give an official response.
Researchers also note that despite their pleas to have the dogs removed, the warden insists that he needs the dogs for protection from criminals and poachers, even though ﾓtwo armed Defence Force officers are always stationed on the island.ﾒ
One local conservationist has described the Warderick Wells situation as ﾓheinous, obstinate irresponsibility.ﾒ
In a statement released over the weekend the Trust defended itself, pointing to the challenges of monitoring and patrolling the 176-square mile park with one warden and two defence force officers, and the dangers posed by poachers.
Study
The problem became evident about four years ago during a study of the Warderick Wells tropicbird colony ﾖ once the third largest site in the Bahamas.
The long-term study was eventually stopped because of the dog predation.
Warderick Wells was initially identified for the active research programme ﾖ the only site in the Atlantic ﾖ because of its accessibility, the large size of the colony and its protection on a predator-free island within a national park, according to the article.
The study first began in 1991, and at the time it was believed that 30-50 pairs of tropicbirds were on the cay, based on counting flying adult birds and the actual number of active nests they located ﾖ 26.
There were plans to continue the study started in 1991, but researchers said they were discouraged to discover that dogs were being allowed to roam freely around the colony area, and the rest of the island, by the park warden, but were assured that they were trained guard dogs and would not disturb the wildlife.
However, researchers say they noticed that the most accessible nest sites from 1991 were already vacant by 1999, reducing the colony by at least 10 pairs. Fresh dog tracks were also photographed all around the colony area and seen on all visits to the site during that season.
Dogs
Between the 1999 and 2000 breeding seasons, one of the wardenﾴs two dogs died. ﾓDespite our expressed concerns, it was replaced by two smaller dogs from the feral population on New Providence. In 2001 these two dogs actively hunted the colony, breeding activity was disrupted, and most of the adults were killed,ﾒ says Lee and Mackin in the article.
During a single visit in 2001, 13 adults were found to be killed by the dogs in the colony area.
The researchers noted that while the role of dogs in island extinction is well known but not well documented ﾖ there are numerous examples of dogs killing tropicbirds on nests in Bermuda.
However, despite repeated pleas to members of the Trust, to the warden at the park and to the Department of Agriculture, little to no action was taken between 1999 and 2001, according to the researchers.
After the massive tropicbird massacre of 2001, the warden removed the worst offending dog from the island but kept two others. In the fall of 2002, members of the Trust called for the remaining dogs to be removed, but the warden refused and insisted that the two remaining dogs do not hunt wildlife or go to the colony area frequently, and that he would not replace the dogs when they die because the threats of the poachers had diminished substantially.
Based on these arguments, a plan was designed with the warden, allowing park volunteers to monitor dog activity in the area of the colony by looking for dead birds, dog tracks or other signs that the dogs were still visiting the colony.
One plan included putting up a sign asking visitors not to enter the colony during the tropicbirdﾴs breeding season and to report any dogs in the colony or dead birds to the park headquarters, according to the article.
But reports showed that the dogs were continuing to visit the colony during the birdﾴs breeding season.
On four of the 13 weekly visits between late February and May, the volunteers found fresh dog tracks throughout the nesting area.
At that point, the situation was discussed with the warden again, but he refused to discuss any limitations of the dogﾴs range around the island, including the minimum solution of fencing the tropicbird colony off to protect the birds from the dogs, according to the article.
The warden insisted that there was not enough evidence to demonstrate that the two remaining dogs are threats to the tropicbirds or other wildlife. In addition, he promised that he would replace the dogs when they die, ﾓa direct reversal of his earlier statements.ﾒ Finally, he stated that he did not want to discuss the issue again until more dead birds are found or a team of scientists spends several months at the colony and proves that the dogs are currently killing tropicbirds, say researchers.
ﾓWe are still hoping that authorities in the Bahamas National Trust will force the warden to enact a responsible solution to this problem, and our discussion with them and the Department of Agriculture are ongoing,ﾒ says Lee and Mackin.
ﾓWe have no issue with the warden having dogs. They simply need to be contained. Park policy permits dogs on the island so long as they do not disturb the wildlife.ﾒ
In a statement released over the weekend in response to Insightﾴs questions about the researchersﾴ criticisms, the Trust said it has kept an open dialogue with the researchers regarding the tropicbird colony on Warderick Wells and has appreciated their cooperation in working with the warden and Trust to attempt to resolve the issue.
ﾓThe BNT has the challenge of monitoring and patrolling the 176-square mile Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park (ECLSP), which was designated a ﾑno take marine reserveﾴ in 1985, with one warden and two defence force officers. In order to patrol the park, the warden and the officers have to leave the Park headquarters at Warderick Wells unprotected for long periods of time. Poaching is a reality in the ECLSP and many of the poachers are not only equipped with faster, bigger boats, but have in the past been aggressive and threatening to the warden and those assisting him. There have been instances where the wardenﾴs boat has been rammed, his life threatened and an actual attempt on his life was made. Additionally, there is the concern that sabotage and or arson could occur while the warden and defence officers are on patrol. The Warden of the ECLSP feels that the dogs are necessary to alert him or his family to intruders who might wish to do harm either to him personally or to the physical property of the Trust. The Executive Committee of the Trust continually struggles with the problem of protecting life and property at Warderick Wells while also fulfilling our obligation as a protector of the natural resources and wildlife of the park,ﾒ said the statement.
ﾓThe personal safety of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park Warden and his family is imperative. However, the Trust also recognises the research conducted by David Lee and William Mackin has brought to the forefront the need to address how best to protect the wildlife in the Parkﾴs Headquarters on Warderick Wells without lessening the peace of mind and physical safety of the Park personnel. The Trust and the warden of the ECLSP have cooperated and worked with the researchers and offered them support in not only the research conducted on Warderick Wells, but also the research conducted by William Mackin on the Audubon Shearwater colony located on Long Cay in the ECLSP. The warden and researchers have worked together to monitor the effects of the dogs on the Tropicbird Nesting area and had discussed the fencing of the area, an option which may need to be further explored.ﾒ
The Trust noted that both Long Cay and Warderick Wells were identified and designated Important Bird Areas (IBA) in the 2002 IBA Workshop along with another 43 sites that are of international importance to the Bahamas. They are both within an existing protected area that has direct management and a monitoring programme in place and are thus not on the top 10 priority list of areas that need protection or monitoring.
ﾓThe Trust will continue to work with the researchers and the warden of the ECLSP as to how to best resolve the situation so that our staff and their families are safe and the wildlife protected,ﾒ said the statement.
Recovery
Researchers now fear that the decimated colony at Warderick Wells is not likely to recover quickly, and may not recover at all.
There are no known sites that have been reclaimed by tropicbirds once the sites are abandoned. ﾓIf the dog situation is corrected on Warderick Wells, one could learn a great deal about the population dynamics of this seabird by documenting the timing and demographics of the populationﾴs recovery.ﾒ
The dog predation on Warderick Wells was not limited to tropicbirds, notes researchers.
A pair of rock iguanas placed on the island in the late 1980s were well established and had nearly reached breeding size by 1991, but within a month after the arrival of the dogs the iguanas disappeared.
It was also noted in the article that several researchers doing a long-term population study on the native curley-tailed Lizards had marked more than 220 individuals and had recapture and age data suggesting that individuals lived for 15 years or more.
The population of these lizards dropped considerably in the late 1990s, and researchers noticed a visible decline in the average size and abundance of the curley-tailed lizards around the park headquarters in 2000 and 2003.
The Bahama Hutita, an endangered, endemic rodent introduced on the island in the late 1980s had become well established on Warderick Wells by 1991.
The dogs frequently kill hutitas, according to the article.
ﾓBy 1999 tracks of this rodent were scarce on the island and visitors reported the dogs killing individual hutitas and using them as play toys,ﾒ according to the article.
The Least Tern colonies on Warderick Wells were gone by 1999 and nesting Antillean Nighthawks, which were common in 1990, were not seen nesting on subsequent visits.
ﾓTo what extent other reptiles or ground nesting birds were affected by the dogs is unknown, these were simply species we, and others, had been monitoring in the park,ﾒ says Mackin and Lee.
Researchers have questioned the notion of expanding park systems and other protected areas when the structure is not there to protect the resources already in the system, and the overseeing organisations fail to understand the significance of what they are expected to protect.
Inviting outside expertise to evaluate the resource is a reasonable option, but when the studies are being done at no expense to the governing organisation, it seems that recommendations of the investigators not only should be considered but that these recommendations are actually the most important aspect of their contributions.
ﾓYet the BNT has failed to take constructive actions on a number of important issues that have been pointed out by outside researchers. In a few cases these problems have persisted for decades, and the species in question continue to decline. Information presented was ignored, and in extreme cases the investigators making conservation based recommendations, or their findings, were discredited,ﾒ says Mackin and Lee.
ﾓTo some extent a lack of action can be explained when governing bodies have no acquired resources to protect and manage systems, but the question remains as to why dysfunctional systems are allowed to persist.
ﾓIn the case of the predation on Warderick Wells, however, it is difficult to justify the demise of the tropicbirds and other faunal elements when the solution is simple, obvious, one dimensional and could be corrected at no cost whatsoever to the Trust.ﾒ
The researchers say that while the trust is in charge of the Exuma Land and Sea Park per se, the Department of Agriculture oversees the protection of wildlife in general. ﾓRepeated notification over four years (phone, e-mail, presentations at meetings, published information and written documentation on this specific issue) also failed to get any official response from that agency regarding the plight of this tropicbird colony.
ﾓWe are disappointed with the current level of conservation and protection of indigenous fauna within the Bahamas. While this is very clear cut and documented case of neglect of a resource, it is unfortunately not a singular one.ﾒ
The Department of Agriculture did not return calls to Tribune Insight seeking comment on the Warderick Wells issue for this article.
The Tribune
July 19, 2004
