History

In 1953, Daniel Beard, a superintendent of Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park

Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...

, proposed setting aside part of the Exuma Cays as a park. His idea was received enthusiastically, received support from the Nassau newspapers. In 1955 a formal proposal was submitted and on February 13, 1956 the Governor of the Bahamas confirmed that 22 miles of Exumas had been set aside providing some organization would undertake to give concrete recommendations to the Bahmamian Government. This organization would also be responsible for financial support of the park. Carleton Ray, an assistant director of the new Your Aquarium, headed up a survey of the Exuma Cays. They asked for and received a one-year extension. It was recommended that the Bahamas National Trust be established to oversee the proposed park. The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was finally established in 1958 with the Bahamas National Trust overseeing it.

Park headquarters

The Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park headquarters in the island of Warderick Wells. The island is a popular spot for cruising sailboats and yachts to stop and spend the night in one of three anchorages. There are several nature trails on the island including one to Boo Boo Hill that offers a spectacular view of the island, anchorage and Exuma Sound.

Endangered species

The hutia

Hutia

Hutias are moderately large cavy-like rodents of the family Capromyidae that inhabit the Caribbean Islands. They range in size from , and can weigh up to . Twenty species of hutia have been identified, and half may be extinct. They resemble the nutria in some respects...

 is the only terrestrial mammal native to The Bahamas. There are a number of seabirds that nest in the park including Audubon's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater

Audubon's Shearwater, Puffinus lherminieri, is a common tropical seabird from the family Procellariidae. Sometimes called Dusky-backed Shearwater, the scientific name of this species commemorates the French naturalist Félix Louis L'Herminier....

, White-tailed Tropicbird

White-tailed Tropicbird

The White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus, is a tropicbird, smallest of three closely related seabirds of the tropical oceans and smallest member of the order Phaethontiformes. It occurs in the tropical Atlantic, western Pacific and Indian Oceans...

, brown noddy

Brown Noddy

The Brown Noddy or Common Noddy is a seabird from the tern family. The largest of the noddies, it can be told from the closely related Black Noddy by its larger size and plumage, which is dark brown rather than black...

 and six species of terns bridled

Bridled Tern

The Bridled Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. It is a bird of the tropical oceans.-Description:...

, least, roseate

Roseate Tern

The Roseate Tern is a seabird of the tern family Sternidae. This bird has a number of geographical races, differing mainly in bill colour and minor plumage details....

, royal

Royal Tern

The Royal Tern is a seabird in the tern family Sternidae. This bird has two distinctive subspecies. T. m. maximus breeds on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the southern USA and Mexico into the Caribbean. The slightly smaller T. m. albididorsalis breeds in coastal west Africa...

 sandwich and sooty

Sooty Tern

The Sooty Tern, Onychoprion fuscatus , is a seabird of the tern family . It is a bird of the tropical oceans, breeding on islands throughout the equatorial zone. Colloquially, it is known as the Wideawake Tern or just wideawake...

. The rock iguana

Rock Iguana

Rock Iguana may refer to:* The Rock Iguana, Iggy Pop, American punk rock singer and occasional actor* Rock iguana any species of the Genus Cyclura, that are found in the West Indies...

nest on several islands in the Exumas.

Overfishing has caused many commercial species to show large declines but the Exuma Land and Sea Park still has a healthy breeding population of conch, grouper and lobster. In 1985, the Bahamas National Trust took a bold conservation stance: the Exuma Park was made a protected replenishment zone. All fishing is prohibited within the boundaries of the park. The Osprey, Raptor pandion haliaetus, sometimes called a "fishhawk", are the only creatures allowed to fish in the Park. The benefits of this initiative are far reaching. There is evidence that more marine species are reaching adulthood, and are restocking areas outside the park boundaries.

External links

• Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park