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EPIC led mangrove planting and bird habitat work at Simpson Bay Lagoon and Fort Amsterdam in 2025
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) and partners planted mangroves in Simpson Bay Lagoon, installed a nesting platform for least terns away from the airport runway, and replanted native vegetation at Fort Amsterdam's pelican colony in spring 2025, according to EPIC.
By SXM Daily ·
Reported 23 June 2025.
Environmental Protection in the Caribbean (EPIC) led a series of habitat restoration projects at Simpson Bay Lagoon and Fort Amsterdam in the spring of 2025, according to an update the non-profit published on 23 June 2025. The work included mangrove planting, coastal clean-ups, removal of invasive plants and a new nesting site for threatened seabirds.
Illustrative: Fort Amsterdam. Photo: David Stanley / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Mangroves and terns in the lagoon
According to EPIC, the effort began in March 2025 at Simpson Bay Lagoon, where EPIC worked with the Nature Foundation, the Ministry of VROMI, GreenPhenix Curaçao and Learning Unlimited to plant mangrove propagules and clean up the shoreline.
In April, the team launched a temporary nesting platform in the lagoon for least terns, a threatened species that had previously nested close to the runway at Princess Juliana International Airport. EPIC said the fenced, open runway area attracts the birds but creates a risk of bird strikes, and the platform, built with the airport and Aquatic Solutions, was meant to give them a safer alternative.
Pelicans at Fort Amsterdam
In May, during the annual SXM DOET volunteer programme, EPIC turned to Fort Amsterdam, which it described as the island's only remaining nesting site for the Caribbean brown pelican, Sint Maarten's national bird. According to EPIC, volunteers removed invasive weeds and planted more than 140 native plants in three hours.
EPIC said the work was supported by the European Union's BESTLIFE2030 programme, along with local businesses and partners, and that more planting and invasive species removal would follow.
For more on the lagoon, see Simpson Bay Lagoon and Mullet Pond. Little Key, a mangrove island in the same lagoon, was the subject of a 2024 push for nature park status.
Sources
Source: https://epicislands.org/restoring-simpson-bay-lagoon-and-fort-amsterdam-habitat-sint-maarten/