Number: 1983-17
WHEREAS, islands and other isolated ecosystems containing unique endemic species, the products of thousands of years of secluded evolution, are extremely vulnerable to anthropogenic disturbance and their biotas have been and continue to be severely decimated by colonization efforts and introduction of exotic species; and
WHEREAS, thirty-five vertebrate species have become extinct on one or more of the islands of the Puerto Rico/Virgin Islands Bank and another sixty-five vertebrate species are considered threatened with extinction from this area; and
WHEREAS, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 listed the tree boa as endangered in 1974, 1980; and
WHEREAS, no comprehensive life history study has been conducted on the tree boa, less than twelve specimens have been examined, and since the nocturnal boa has only been known to science from 1932; and
WHEREAS, eleven of the known specimens of the tree boa have been located east of the 64 52’W meridian on St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, within an area of 7.7 square kilometers where human development continues at a rapid rate; and
WHEREAS, the country with the greatest opportunity to set aside undisturbed areas of high ecological value and biological diversity is the country which initiated endangered species protection as an example in the Caribbean;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 17-20, 1983, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, strongly urges the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Office of Endangered Species to take immediate action to designate critical habitat and a management plan for the continued survival of the Virgin Island Tree Boa.