To hire a full-time coral disturbance response coordinator

This federal Project Grant award, totaling $300,000.00, was provided by the Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs under the Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories program (CFDA 15.875). The grant funding will be used by the Executive Office of the Government of the Virgin Islands, Division of Coastal Zone Management, to hire a full-time Coral Disturbance Response Coordinator. The coordinator's responsibilities will include:

• Convening monthly working meetings of the VI Coral Disturbance Advisory Committee to discuss issues such as invasive species, bleaching events, vessel groundings, and storm damage
• Representing the territory in regional and national meetings, scientific conferences, media outlets, and outreach events related to coral disturbance response
• Collaborating with the Strike Team organization to develop territory-specific monitoring practices and data collection protocols to track the effectiveness of coral intervention efforts

This grant award supports the territory's efforts to strengthen its capacity for coral reef protection, coastal management, and environmental resilience initiatives through coordinated monitoring, response, and stakeholder engagement activities. The grant period of performance runs from Aug 19, 2024 to Sep 30, 2028.

The position scope will include coordination of monthly working meetings of the VI coral disturbance advisory committee on topics such as invasive species, bleaching events, vessel groundings, and storm damage. The cdrc will represent the territory as necessary in regional and national meetings, scientific conferences, media outlets and outreach events. In addition, the cdrc will work with the strike team organization to develop territory-specific monitoring practices for post-removal and data collection protocols to track the efficacy and effectiveness of strike team unomia removal and coral intervention efforts.