Existing Plans

The importance of the guts has been thoroughly documented through the past studies and management plans. The following plans formed the basis of the background for this project, in addition to site observation and inventory of the guts conducted during travel week as a part of this studio.

Watershed Management Plans

In 2022, Watershed Consulting Associates LLC, in partnership with the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) and the Office of Disaster Recovery (ODR) produced 8 watershed management plans for priority watersheds on St. Thomas and St. Croix.2 Five of these plans were for priority watersheds on St. Croix. The plans thoroughly document the existing physical conditions of the watersheds, analyze the issues that they face, and identify project sites to implement best management practices.3

A Strategy for Management of Ghuts in the U.S. Virgin Islands

In 2008, this report was released by the Water Resources Research Institute at the University of the Virgin Islands. The report identifies a number of prevalent issues that the guts face, but more importantly makes the distinction that the guts need to be managed as a resource, rather than as simply a pollution issue.4 The report concludes by proposing five key strategies for gut management, including specific recommendations such as gut monitoring, buffer zones, recreational opportunities, and education.

Hazard Mitigation and Resilience Plan

Most recently, the Hazard Mitigation and Resilience Plan (HMRP) has been looking at the future of St. Croix in context of hazards such as flooding, hurricanes, and drought. In the analysis on flooding, the HMRP has identified that flooding today has been impacted greatly by development, as changing land uses and land cover types reduce the permeability of the landscape and increase runoff.5 Additionally, debris and uncontrolled plant growth in the guts can cause water to back up in the channel and contribute to flooding.