Background Paper No. 2


 The Basis for Current Ecological Research

 in the Virgin Islands


 Four primary events mark the basis for current inter-

est in ecological research in the Virgin Islands. Those

events were:

 1) The establishment of the Virgin Islands National Park

 for the most part on the island of St. John, 1956.

 2) The opening of the College of the Virgin Islands as

 a territorial institution of higher learning, 1962.

 3) The establishment of the Virgin Islands Ecological

 Research Station, 1965.

 4) The vitalization of research by the Bureau of Fish

 and Wildlife, Department of Conservation and Cultur-

 al Affairs, 1970.


 I shall discuss the role of these units separately. For

the moment, however, it is pertinent to point out that the

primary impetus for the establishment of the research ele-

ments of these organizations was the scientific "crisis"

which faced the United States in the late 1950's, and the

consequent large amounts of federal funds that became avail-

able for such programs. Without that funding, it is exceed-

ingly doubtful if ecological research in the Virgin Islands

would have progressed beyond the individual inquiry stage.


The College of the Virgin Islands.

 The College of the Virgin Islands was established in


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