Tag: Department of Environment
Baby turtles don’t need help to make it to sea
(CNS): The Department of Environment is urging the public not to try to help or interfere with baby turtles as they hatch from their nests. The experts explained that the little creatures don’t need help, and attempting to dig them out of the sand can cause more harm than good. Only DoE teams are authorized […]
Oil tanker under inspection before it returns to sea
(CNS): The oil tanker that ran aground while delivering diesel to Cayman Brac on Saturday, 6 July, is now anchored off the coast of Grand Cayman, the Department of Environment and Cayman Islands Coast Guard have said. After temporary repairs were made to its damaged hull, the Sea Elephant left the Brac on Thursday afternoon […]
Cabinet OKs ‘damaging’ East End shoreline project
(CNS): Cabinet has granted a coastal works licence for a groyne and the excavation of swim areas along the beachfront of the Wyndham Reef Resort in East End despite clear recommendations from the Department of Environment several years ago that the application should be denied because of the potential damage to the marine environment and […]
NCC corrects false narrative on DoE director’s power
(CNS): The National Conservation Council has refuted false claims and misinformation being circulated on social media that incorrectly suggest the director of the Department of Environment has unprecedented powers under the National Conservation Act (NCA) that elevates the post-holder above Cabinet and enables whoever holds the job to make decisions without accountability.
Invasive red-headed African lizard spotted in GT
(CNS): An invasive red-headed rock Agama was spotted in George Town on Wednesday, and the Department of Environment is urging people to call in any further sightings to help prevent what could be another invasive reptile threatening Cayman’s endemic lizards and iguanas. One of these animals was first spotted here in January, a long way […]
NCC chair has ‘grave concerns’ about NCA changes
(CNS): Stuart Mailer, chairperson of the National Conservation Council, has said that members have “grave concerns” about possible changes to the National Conservation Act and the misinformation campaign designed to discredit the law and the work of both the NCC and the scientists it depends on at the Department of Environment. As he opened the […]
Concerns unlawful land clearance may be quarry
(CNS): The Department of the Environment and the Department of Planning have both raised concerns about an application for after-the-fact land clearing and the excavation of what was partially pristine shrubland and forest off the Queen’s Highway in East End that may actually be for quarrying and not just for farming purposes as claimed.
‘Absurd’ attack on NCA a ‘corrupt initiative’ says Panton
(CNS): Former premier Wayne Panton MP (NEW) has accused the developer lobby of a “corrupt initiative” to influence the UPM into amending the National Conservation Act to allow them free rein. In a scathing attack on his former colleagues, Panton has said the same agenda that drove him from Cabinet is driving the “absurd attack” […]
First sea turtle sniffer dog deployed on GC beaches
(CNS): The Department of Environment and the volunteers with its Marine Turtle Beach Monitoring programme have a new team member this turtle nesting season: Bell, Cayman’s first sea turtle detection dog. DoE Coral Reef Management team member and part-time Turtle Team member Stephanie Gunby has spearheaded a pilot study to train her golden retriever to […]
NCC wants input on protecting rare flowering herb
(CNS): Cayman Sage (Salvia caymanensis), a flowering herb native exclusively to Grand Cayman, was thought to have become extinct until it was rediscovered growing in the road verge on the Queen’s Highway in 2007. Now, because of its precarious existence, the National Conservation Council has begun a public consultation on a proposed species conservation plan […]
Loggerhead turtle rescued from man-made groyne
(CNS): A female loggerhead turtle that tried to nest on a beach became trapped in a man-made groyne and was rescued by members of the public and conservation officers Tuesday morning. The Department of Environment said this was an unfortunate example of why man-made structures on nesting beaches are so dangerous for these endangered species.
