V.I. Conservation District Board Struggles with Insufficient Membership

Despite support from the Committee on Rules and Judiciary for two individuals nominated to serve on the V.I. Conservation District Board, the entity falls woefully short of the 11-member total required by law. Even after the full body seconds the nominations of Nathaniel Olive and Carlos Robles, the board will only have a complement of 5 members.

The continued absence of a quorum means that the board, despite its new members, will be unable to take any official actions. The V.I. Conservation District Board, legally responsible under VI Code for the conservation and development of soil, water and related resources as well as proper land use, has remained relatively defunct for decades.

Mr. Robles, a former commissioner of the Department of Agriculture, told lawmakers that the board will need a 6th individual to achieve a quorum so that it could “begin establishing the goals and objectives for the conservation district.” Compounding the issue, the terms of 2 of the 3 members appointed to the board several years ago are quickly coming to an end.

Nonetheless, Mr. Robles was pleased that the territory was “now on the road to resurrecting this valuable resource.” To further bolster the board’s ability to do its work, he asked legislators to consider appropriating $40,000 to $45,000 for “inter-island and national travel and part-time secretarial services.” Sen. Carla Joseph was a proponent of providing seed funding that they can eventually “make grow.”