Just please leave it the way it is and let us have our fun. Please.
By Kiana Quetel, age 9, St. Thomas – VI Daily News, February 13, 2015

 

Hi, my name is Kiana Quetel.

Mandahl Bay is my favorite bay in the world. I spend most of my time there because there is so much to do and look at.

I swim and snorkel with my Daddy. My Mommy, Daddy, little sister and I have gone fishing and watched the pelicans and other birds there. Every day after school, I go there with my little sister and my aunt. Most of my beach parties were there. I call Mandahl Bay “Salt Pond.” All of my friends love it. I started riding my bike there. Just please leave it the way it is and let us have our fun. Please.

My aunt told me that they want to build a huge hotel, but there are so many other places that people can build a hotel. Why do they have to build it at Salt Pond? I wish that I could make them understand how much I love Salt Pond. I wish that I could make this go away, but my aunt said that it is the job of our governor and senators, the people we voted for to help save Salt Pond. She tried to explain for a long time who these people were and what they do, but it was too hard for me too understand.

I told my aunt that I wanted to vote too, to help save Mandahl Bay and she said that I had to be at least 18. I am 9 years old and I am asking the people who are supposed to help to please do something now.

Thank you,
   Kiana Quetel

 

Vote down this proposed lease for those you represent now, and for future generations.
By Susan M. Parten, P.E  – submitted to the VI Daily News

Honorable Senators:

The reason for this letter is to share with you my concerns and opposition to a lease requested by Transcontinental Realty Investors, for their proposed development in Mandahl Bay. While such a proposed lease agreement is not yet before the 31st Legislature, and would need to be sent to you anew by Governor Mapp, I feel it’s important to emphasize certain overarching circumstances surrounding this proposed development. I was very glad to hear that most of you visited the site this week, some of you for the first time, where this massive commercial development is proposed.

I have read about, and seen concept renderings for the proposed development. Though there’s much that could be said about the “performance history” of those requesting this lease, — and I do hope you have done or will do your due diligence in that respect — I will only comment here on those things I can speak to professionally, as a civil – environmental engineer having formal education/training and over thirty years of experience in these areas of science and engineering. Continue reading →

Mandahl Bay holds a special place in my heart
By Nolan Diehl, submitted to the VI Daily News and the St. Thomas Source

People of the Virgin Islands, my name is Nolan Diehl and I am writing this letter to support the Friends of Mandahl Bay in an effort to preserve this Caribbean community that we are blessed to call home.

I was born in the cold, grey, and bleak state of New Jersey where industry was such a prominent facet of everyday life that it superseded the natural world. Fortunately, my parents moved our family to the beautiful island of St. Thomas when I was four and my recollection of those early years is faint. For the next 20 years our family grew together in Mandahl Bay, relishing all of the priceless wonders this unique setting had to offer. Continue reading →

Mahdahl Bay is one of the few remaining marine environments is St. Thomas. 
By Michael and Catherine Von Hatten – VI Daily News, February 10, 2015

As property owners in Mandahl Estates, we are writing to express our opposition to the proposed development of the Mandahl Bay area. We believe the proposal will have a negative impact on the environment, benefits a few at the expense of many, and violates the terms of the original grant. Additionally, it has a negative impact on those whose property is adjacent to the development. Continue reading →

Mandahl Bay for the People
By Charlie Davis, Mandahl Resident –  VI Daily News, February 3, 2015

A well respected St John educator told me “Now I know how the American Indian felt when he was put on a reservation.” I feel much the same way here on St Thomas as I see more and more of our precious green space, shoreline and local lifestyle under attack by outside exploiters. Specifically, I am referring to the proposed development at Mandahl Bay by The Port of Mandahl group which is a subsidiary of Transcontinental Realty Investors, a New York Stock Exchange Company. Continue reading →

Every day letters like these are being sent to our local news sources. Read what people are saying about Saving Mandahl Bay

Mandahl Bay: Once it is gone, it is gone forever
Bonnie J. Jackson, former St. Thomas resident
VI Daily News, December 19, 2014

When I was younger my family owned two houses high up in Estate Mandahl. I fondly remember my summers there as well as working there as an adult. I hope to return when I retire. As a former dive master in St. Thomas and a professional fisheries biologist, I have seen habitat degradation and destruction first hand on other islands due to land development. Continue reading →

Every day letters like these are being sent to our local news sources.  Read what people are saying about Saving Mandahl Bay.

We can build wealth without ruining Mandahl Bay!
By Caroline A. Browne –  St. Thomas Source, December 10, 2014

These days when I hear the words “economic development and jobs” in the same sentence, my brain perks up with questions. Who is this economic development going to benefit? Who will work in these jobs? Will this economic development get us out of the debt created by all the other economic developments? How much will this economic development cost our community in the short term, midway and into future generations? What will be the environmental impact/cost to our islands and the socio-economic dynamics? Continue reading →

Every day letters like these are being sent to our local news sources. Read what people are saying about Saving Mandahl Bay

Save the environment, save Mandahl Bay!
By Kirk Boeger – St. Thomas Source, December 10, 2014

I live above Mandahl Bay, where nature thrives in a healthy ecosystem. It is one of the few remaining areas of its kind in the entire Territory. As you have surely heard and seen, Mandahl Bay is the proposed location of a new hotel, marina, condominium, and commercial development. This is not just a little development; this is being touted as the “Port of Mandahl”, with intentions of making this into a Red Hook type of area. Continue reading →