Bakers Bay

The year is 2006. Dr. James Cervino is a coral pathologist and physiologist. He slips on his mask, puts his regulator to his mouth. Along with his assistant from Pace University, and Save Guana Cay Reef President Troy Albury, he descends to the shallow bottom of Bakers Bay.

For several days, the team had been collecting tissue samples from the more robust coral formations enclosed within the barrier reef on the Atlantic side of the Bakers Bay property. Dr. Cervino volunteered to study the potential effect of the Bakers Bay development on the island's coral reef - he is the second of three independent coral scientists to do so.

The team was evaluating an item they learned about in the developer's Environmental Impact Assessment - which we'll call the EIA.

An EIA is a document written about a site that is about to be developed.

Bruce Barcott writes, in a top-selling 2008 environmental thriller whose outcome is directly tied to the Bakers Bay court case:

"In theory, EIA's sound great. In practice, they can be deeply flawed. EIAs aren't intended to be stand-alone gatekeepers. They're reports that make policy makers stop and consider the environmental consequences before approving major projects. As they're evolved - especially in developing countries - EIAs often provide little more than the illusion of environmental checks and balances. Many of the world's largest construction firms now operate lucrative environmental consulting arms that produce slick project-justifying EIAs for the worst sorts of developments."

Disney left Bakers Bay in the 1990s, but now their ships dock off Gorda Cay, which they renamed Castaway Cay, in the Sea of Abaco.

In reality, nobody ever reads EIA's. The Bakers Bay EIA is particularly large. Likely, the authors probably thought nobody would ever read this monster either. It goes on and on about - you guessed it - native plants.

Little did they know at the time, the Bakers Bay EIA would be picked over for years.

But in the huge document, where was the section on the marine environment?

The lead designer of the EIA is an American named Kathleen. She is a marine biologist. Why did the EIA contain little about the marine environment? When people think of Guana Cay, they think coral reef. When people think of the Bakers Bay end of Guana Cay, they think, magnificent coral reef! How could a marine biologist forget to include sufficient mention of the coral reef and nearshore marine environment in general?

Parrotfish at Great Guana Cay reef

That is a question that has plagued opponents of Bakers Bay for years. Now, it is March 2008, and I am in a small boat heading north along the Bakers Bay property. We look up at the towering mounds of artificial sand dunes - we have arrived at the monstrous golf course development site, which is being masterminded by Tom Fazio. I asked a golfing friend what he thought about Tom Fazio courses.

"I've golfed a lot of the Fazio courses. You know, the problem with that guy is he likes to move a lot of fucking dirt."

I had said, "I heard serious golfers don't like Tom Fazio courses - he designs the courses so the balls suggest themselves toward the hole?"

"Exactly!"

And that masterminded, sculpted, dirt-moving look is part of the very story of this coral reef's likely doom. The sand dunes can be seen from ten miles away.

"You know," says Jenkins, "Kathleen isn't even coming to Bakers Bay every month anymore."

I say, "What's shocking about that statement is the fact that she is supposed to come only once a month in the first place." It's easy to get the impression that a full time biology staff is monitoring the Bakers Bay construction project - but it's an illusion, especially if Kathleen isn't even visiting the site anymore.

Kathleen isn't only the lead designer behind the EIA. She is also the head of the Environmental Monitoring Team - the official crew designated by Discovery Land Company to study, report on and give grades to the developer to make sure they are living up to their environmental promises. Also, her team is in charge of communication with the local community, and to facilitate the reporting of incidents.