Robert Trent Jones, Jr.
705 Forest Avenue
Palo Alto, CA 94301

RE: Don’t destroy Bimini Bay

Dear Mr. Jones,

I strongly urge your company to withdraw from your involvement with the proposed golf course at the Bimini Bay Resort & Casino on North Bimini, Bahamas. Since it started back in 1997, this development has been highly criticized both locally and internationally, largely for its devastating impact on Bimini’s ecology. The Bimini Bay Resort & Casino has already removed large areas of pristine habitat along Bimini’s coastline.

Bimini’s mangrove forests and wetland areas are some of the Bahamas’ most productive and precious resources, and serve as the only marine nursery area on the entire western Great Bahama Bank. Bimini’s mangroves supply essential habitat for an abundance of commercially important fish and invertebrates, as well as refuge for several rare and endangered species, both above and below the water. Because of Bimini’s unique ecology, the mangrove lagoons of the North Sound and East Bimini were designated as the country’s highest priority site for a proposed Marine Protected Area in 2000. This Marine Protected Area was to ensure that Bimini would remain viable, both ecologically and economically, for decades to come.

The golf course your company designed is in direct conflict with North Bimini’s proposed Marine Protected Area boundaries. To develop this course, hundreds of acres of untouched land will need to be cleared, including several hundred square meters of mangroves along the shoreline of the North Sound lagoon. Clearing these mangroves and filling the adjacent wetlands will drastically diminish the fisheries that have provided for Bimini and its visitors for decades, and will make the tiny island far more susceptible to hurricanes and storm damage.

Please consider the tremendous harm your golf course will have on one of the most precious places on Earth. International icons, such as Ernest Hemmingway and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., drew inspiration from waters around Bimini, and thousands of visitors have seen for themselves the astounding beauty of this island. Don’t allow your name to be associated with the destruction of this historic and beautiful island.

Most Sincerely,