Hilary Lohmann (MAMA 2015) for Caribbean Communities and Conservation

August 11, 2017
Hilary releasing green turtle hatchings in the East End Marine Park with Friends of STXEEMP volunteers, 2016.
Hilary releasing green turtle hatchings in the East End Marine Park with Friends of STXEEMP volunteers, 2016.
Hilary releasing green turtle hatchings in the East End Marine Park with Friends of STXEEMP volunteers, 2016.

Hilary focused her Master’s program on social resilience and the human dimensions of protected areas in the tropical developing world, specifically small island developing states (SIDS) of the Caribbean. Her thesis was published in Ocean & Coastal Management’s Special Edition on Oceans and Climate Change (2016), Comparing vulnerability and adaptive capacity to climate change in individuals of coastal Dominican Republic.

Hilary is the NOAA National Coral Management Fellow 2016-2018 for the US Virgin Islands. Working at the St. Croix East End Marine Park (STXEEMP), Hilary founded the nonprofit Friends of STXEEMP, Inc. to leverage external resources (ie volunteers) to help meet certain Park needs identified in the management plan. For example, the Friends conduct seasonal monitoring of sea turtle nesting activities along Park beaches; created and are now installing a bayside sign campaign for the 17 bays of the Park; and raise funds to support certain Park costs and the material costs of Friends’ activities.