Bahamas National Trust
Encyclopedia
The Bahamas National Trust is a non-profit organisation in the Bahamas
that manages the country's twenty-five national parks. Its headquarters is at the located in New Providence at The Retreat Gardens on Village Road. The Bahamas National Trust was created by an Act of Parliament in 1959, through the efforts of two groups of conservationists.
of the United States urged the Bahamas government to protect the flamingos, which led to passage of the Wildbirds (Protection) Act in 1905.
In the early 1950s, Audubon expert Robert Porter Allen scoured the Caribbean
searching for flamingos. In his popular book, On the Trail of Vanishing Birds, Allen found that the colonies on the island of Andros
in the Bahamas had already disappeared. He determined that the largest surviving group of Caribbean Flamingos inhabited the isolated back-waters of Lake Rosa on Inagua
. That is where Allen and the Audubon Society decided to make a stand. A group of influential backers was recruited in Nassau
to form a Society for the Protection of the Flamingo, with Arthur Vernay as its leader. Two wardens were hired on Inagua, brothers Samuel and James Nixon, and Audubon helped finance the entire operation.
graduate Carleton Ray had written a book on The Bahamas called The Underwater Guide to Marine Life, which recommended the protection of marine areas in the same way that land areas were protected. Ray teamed up with Tolstoy to mount a new Bahamian expedition, to the Exuma
cays, which was organised by January 1958. Allen and other well-known conservationists, including Donald Squires of the American Museum of Natural History
and Bahamian experts Oris Russell and Herbert McKinney, were part of the team. They spent a week travelling by boat from Norman's Cay
to Conch Cut and their report led to the creation of the world's first land and sea park in the Exumas, as well as to the formation of the Bahamas National Trust itself.
They concluded that the area had
The survey team called for an organisation modelled on the British National Trust
to acquire lands and manage protected areas throughout the Bahamas. This organisation - which was created by parliament in 1959 - would be the government's advisor on conservation matters and seek to educate Bahamians on the value of their natural heritage. The government adopted the expedition's recommendations wholesale and the 176 square miles (455.8 km²) Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the first of its kind in the world, was officially established, and The Bahamas National Trust was created as an independent statutory organization charged with conservation and preservation.
The BNTs governing council includes government, private sector and scientific representatives. In addition to overseeing the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, The Bahamas National Trust also took over responsibility for the endangered flamingos on Inagua. Over the years since the BNT has built a national parks system that incorporates 25 protected areas totalling over 700000 acres (2,833 km²) on land and in the sea.
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
that manages the country's twenty-five national parks. Its headquarters is at the located in New Providence at The Retreat Gardens on Village Road. The Bahamas National Trust was created by an Act of Parliament in 1959, through the efforts of two groups of conservationists.
Flamingos
In the early 20th century there was concern for the survival of the Caribbean Flamingo. The National Audubon SocietyNational Audubon Society
The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation. Incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world and uses science, education and grassroots advocacy to advance its conservation mission...
of the United States urged the Bahamas government to protect the flamingos, which led to passage of the Wildbirds (Protection) Act in 1905.
In the early 1950s, Audubon expert Robert Porter Allen scoured the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
searching for flamingos. In his popular book, On the Trail of Vanishing Birds, Allen found that the colonies on the island of Andros
Andros, Bahamas
Andros Island is an archipelago within the archipelago-nation of the Bahamas, the largest of the 26 inhabited Bahamian Islands. Geo-politically considered a single island, Andros has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined...
in the Bahamas had already disappeared. He determined that the largest surviving group of Caribbean Flamingos inhabited the isolated back-waters of Lake Rosa on Inagua
Inagua
Inagua is the southernmost district of the Bahamas comprising the islands of Great Inagua and Little Inagua.Great Inagua is the third largest island in The Bahamas at 596 sq mi and lies about 55 miles from the eastern tip of Cuba. The island is about 55 x 19 miles in extent, the highest point...
. That is where Allen and the Audubon Society decided to make a stand. A group of influential backers was recruited in Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
to form a Society for the Protection of the Flamingo, with Arthur Vernay as its leader. Two wardens were hired on Inagua, brothers Samuel and James Nixon, and Audubon helped finance the entire operation.
Exuma cays
Explorer Ilia Tolstoy (a grandson of the 19th century Russian writer and a frequent visitor to the Bahamas) had been lobbying the colonial government to set aside some Bahamian islands as protected areas. In 1957 the government agreed to temporarily reserve a 22 miles (35.4 km) stretch of the Exuma Cays, providing that some group would explore the possibility of creating a national park and make concrete recommendations. Meanwhile, Columbia UniversityColumbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
graduate Carleton Ray had written a book on The Bahamas called The Underwater Guide to Marine Life, which recommended the protection of marine areas in the same way that land areas were protected. Ray teamed up with Tolstoy to mount a new Bahamian expedition, to the Exuma
Exuma
Exuma is a district of the Bahamas, consisting of over 360 islands . The largest of the cays is Great Exuma, which is 37 mi in length and joined to another island, Little Exuma by a small bridge. The capital and largest city in the district is George Town , founded 1793 and located on Great...
cays, which was organised by January 1958. Allen and other well-known conservationists, including Donald Squires of the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
and Bahamian experts Oris Russell and Herbert McKinney, were part of the team. They spent a week travelling by boat from Norman's Cay
Norman's Cay
Norman's Cay is a small Bahamian island in the Exumas, a chain of islands south and east of Nassau, that served as the headquarters for Carlos Lehder's drug-smuggling operation from 1978 to around 1982.-Drug smuggling history:...
to Conch Cut and their report led to the creation of the world's first land and sea park in the Exumas, as well as to the formation of the Bahamas National Trust itself.
They concluded that the area had
"...essentially unspoiled natural conditions with unmodified associations of plants, animals, earth processes, and those intangible elements that combine to give an area its outstanding character".and that:
"The Exuma Cays park under consideration should be regarded as only the beginning of a conservation movement that is vital to the Bahamas as a whole. It will also be a beginning of a new concept, integrated land-and-sea conservation, in which the Bahamas will take the lead and show the way to other nations throughout the world."
The survey team called for an organisation modelled on the British National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
to acquire lands and manage protected areas throughout the Bahamas. This organisation - which was created by parliament in 1959 - would be the government's advisor on conservation matters and seek to educate Bahamians on the value of their natural heritage. The government adopted the expedition's recommendations wholesale and the 176 square miles (455.8 km²) Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, the first of its kind in the world, was officially established, and The Bahamas National Trust was created as an independent statutory organization charged with conservation and preservation.
The BNTs governing council includes government, private sector and scientific representatives. In addition to overseeing the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park, The Bahamas National Trust also took over responsibility for the endangered flamingos on Inagua. Over the years since the BNT has built a national parks system that incorporates 25 protected areas totalling over 700000 acres (2,833 km²) on land and in the sea.
List of National Parks in The Bahamas
The Bahamas national park system protects many unique features, critical habitats and endangered species. Highlights include the world's largest breeding colony of Caribbean Flamingo, miles of underwater cave systems and the first no-take marine reserves in the wider Caribbean.- Walker's Cay National Park
- Black Sound Cay National Reserve
- Tilloo Cay National Reserve
- Pelican Cays Land and Sea Park
- Abaco National Park
- Lucayan National Park
- Rand Nature Centre
- Peterson Cay National Park
- The Retreat
- Central Andros National Park
- Bonefish Pond National Park
- Harrold and Wilson Ponds
- Primeval Forest
- Exuma Cays Land and Sea ParkExuma Cays Land and Sea Park-History:In 1953, Daniel Beard, a superintendent of Everglades National Park, proposed setting aside part of the Exuma Cays as a park. His idea was received enthusiastically, received support from the Nassau newspapers...
- Conception Island National Park
- Moriah Harbour Cay National Park
- Marine Farm
- Hope House
- Inagua National ParkInagua National ParkInagua National Park is a national park on the island of Great Inagua in The Bahamas. It was established in 1965 and has an area of ....
- Little Inagua National Park
- Union Creek