Newsletter-18

On March 29th, two days before Easter, a hectare of dry forest on Pinel Island was reduced to a pile of ashes because of an unauthorized barbecue. The efficient intervention from the firefighters helped to limit the damage, but it is really unfortunate that the anonymous culprit did not comply with the ban on lighting fires in the reserve and did not use the fire points installed by guards on the island. A meeting is planned at the Prefecture between the Firefighters and the Reserve Officers to improve their response capacity in the event of a possible fire. The Reserve will strive to educate the public better about fire risks before Easter, traditionally celebrated with camping on beaches. Plus signboards that clearly indicate the ban against lighting fires will be put up on the Reserve’s beaches. The police have opened an investigation into the exact cause of the fire.

At the Advisory Committee meeting, Fedmer, a fishermen’s association, brought forward the eventual possibility of bait-and-spinner fishing in the protected waters of the reserve. It was decided to set up a working group for this issue. This group will combine professional fishermen and scientists from the Nature Reserve to study - in the beginning - the methods of implementation of seasonal fishing.

Even although the Nature Reserve keeps a close watch on Pinel Island; it still remains a highly fragile site.

As it is a very popular spot and relatively near to the coast, it is vulnerable to possible pollution, especially the marine environment.

In order to make an accurate assessment of the seabed around the island, the Nature Reserve gave Aurélien Schmitt the task of mapping out the benthic zones around Pinel, ie: living ground cover on the seabed (coral, sea grass and algae...).

In his second year of Masters for «Expertise and management of the coastal environment» at the Faculty of Brest, he has six months, from March, to fulfill his mission, which is based on three components:

• to create a map of the benthic zones around Pinel
• assess their condition,
• indicate all emblematic species on the map, such as Elkhorn coral Acropora palmata.

espaces protégés Le Journal de la Réserve Naturelle Nationale de Saint-Martin N°18 Juillet 2013 Managing The Impact Of Human Activities In Protected Areas Saint-Martin had the honor of hosting the annual meeting of the Conseil des Rivages Français d’Amérique (CRFA), from April 4th to 6th, 2013. The plenary session was held at the Beach Plaza Hotel and more than 70 attendees were present. Elected officials from Guyana, Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint-Barthelemy, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, and Saint-Martin, met to validate the projects of the Conservatoire du Littoral, and in particular the new perimeters of land intervention. Viviane Le Dissez, President of the Conservatoire du Littoral, Michel Peltier, Deputy Director, Garcin Malsa, President of the CRFA, Marc Duncombe, Overseas Territorial Delegate for the Conservatoire, the Préfet, Philippe Chopin, and Guillaume Arnell, Vice-President of the Collectivity’s Sustainable Development Pôle, each took their turn leading the session. For Saint-Martin, the elected CRFA officials - those being Guillaume Arnell, and Territorial Councilor, Christophe Hénocq - approved the proposed project of expanding the Conservatoire’s perimeters of protection in the area of the Barriére Salt Pond. The Conservatoire wishes to extend its protection to the mangrove areas located north of the pond that are currently unprotected. This validation given at the Conseil des Rivages authorizes the Conservatoire to approach the landowners concerned (in this case, the Collectivity of Saint-Martin, who was approached in May by the Conservatoire regarding this issue).Again with regards to this site, the Conservatoire wishes to work in collaboration with the Collectivity on the development of the boundary area between the pond and the sea, and more widely to the dock area of Cul-de-Sac, with the idea of welcoming the numerous visitors for Pinel in a more appreciable environment. Further to this, the inaugural visit of the stilted wooden walkway on the Barriére Salt Pond, recently built by the Conservatoire du Littoral, took place during the CRFA. This trail allows visitors to enter the heart of the mangroves that are home to many bird species. Thanks to the numerous educational signboards posted along the walkway, the secrets of the mangroves no longer remain hidden from visitors. This walkway completes the network of facilities already established by the Conservatoire du Littoral, whereby all the major types of ecosystems on the island are now represented: dry coastal forest on the trail of Froussards, coastline vegetation on Pinel, and seascapes at the Coralita Observatory.

211 rats and 79 mice were trapped during a capturing campaign lasting about 2 weeks on the islands of Tintamare, Pinel, Green Cay and Creole Rock. 200 traps were baited with harmless peanut butter and rolled oats, so as not to kill other species other than these rodents. This management campaign for small mammals took place from March 4th to 14th, 2013 and will be carried out again next year at the same time, just before egg-laying season. It was organized by the Reserve, along with the support of three researchers from the National Institute of Agronomy Research (INRA) and the National Museum of Natural History, as well as an intern in his 2nd year of Masters at the University of Antilles- Guyane. Introduced onto the islands, these rodents who just love birds’ and turtles’ eggs, pose a threat to the reproduction of the Brown Noddy and Tropicbirds and they also attack Gaiac trees by devouring its seeds. The objective of this campaign and conservation of these classified natural areas was to complete the inventory of the species present on the islands, initiated in 2010, and also to reduce pest populations. Further analysis will allow a better understanding of the two target species - genetic characteristics, reproductive cycles - and thus better identify their impact on the Reserve.

The tropical sun has the unfortunate tendency to deteriorate exterior signboards, making
them illegible in three or four years. There have also been several acts of vandalism
on existing signboards. This however, won’t be the case for the educational
signboards recently put up by the Conservatoire du littoral on Pinel, at Coralita and
along the trail of Froussards, nor those erected around the Barriére Salt Pond. They
are made from a UV-resistant material (layered digital printing), and are more resistant
to degradation, their only downfall is their expense. Considering, however, that the investment
is worth it in the long term, the Conservatoire has financed the replacement
of the signs that have already been erected on other reserve sites by the guards.

The annual conference for all French Nature Reserves was held April 15th to 20th, 2013, in Louan, near to Provins. Saint-Martin’s reserve was represented by Romain Renoux, accompanied by Julien Chalifour, Head of the Scientific Division, and Franck Roncuzzi, Head of the Nature Police Division. Like all other overseas territory reserves, which together make up the greatest ecological richness of France, Saint-Martin’s reserve presented their missions and activities performed. The presence of the reserve during these annual meetings is essential to consolidate and defend their budgets that seem to have taken a knock within the difficult national budgetary context. Guest speaker, the philosopher, Alain Cugno, developed the paradox of small and large within the context of marine protected areas: small areas and small budgets for small teams, but major challenges, as it entails the conservation of the life and the biodiversity of these territories. Romain Renoux, a member of the Overseas Territories Committee, noted that a growing number of reserves are fulfilling their role of support and advice to the Collectivity with regards to the planning and development of their territory, and confirms that Saint-Martin’s reserve is part of this dynamic. Julien Chalifour was appointed to the Scientific Committee for French reserves, where he is the only representative of the Overseas Territories. Franck Roncuzzi, Overseas Territory referent in the police group of the Staff Committee, will assist in the development of the document on health issues at work in November 2013, in Paris. This document, required by the Ministry of Ecology, regulates the conditions of work and will be in force in all French reserves by 2014./p>