Governor de Jongh Lauds Interior Approval of 
Grant for Marine Research and Education Center on St. Croix

Governor John P. de Jongh, Jr. said Tuesday he is pleased at the decision by the Department of the Interior to provide grant funding that will assist in the cost of developing an energy-efficient and environmentally- sustainable design for a Marine Research and Education Center in the Virgin Islands. “I thank Assistant Secretary Tony Babauta for his approval of the $50,000 grant which will enable the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories to plan its 2010 Student Design Competition, which will focus on developing innovative concepts for the proposed Marine Research and Education Center at Salt River on St. Croix.”

de Jongh said the Marine Research and Education Center is a visionary project that will provide the people of St. Croix and the region a world-class facility for students and the public to learn about our coral reefs. “The Department of Interior has contributed more than $2 million to the proposed Marine Research and Education Center which will be an education, research and museum complex on more than 70 acres of real estate at Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve. This latest grant was issued under the Coral Reef Initiative. In November, the Office of Insular Affairs awarded $1.25 million to support the proposed Salt River Bay Marine Research and Education Center. “

The Institute for Sustainable Laboratories is carrying out the competition in partnership with the National Park Service, the Joint Institute for Caribbean Marine Studies and the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.

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