Have regular Hurricanes deforested Saint Thomas?

[Palm_trees]

I was shocked on a recent cruise visit to the island of Saint Thomas VI by how few large trees there were on the hill sides. Sure there were trees in towns, but I got the impression they were planted. The country side were filled with smallish bushy trees. We took the boat to Saint Johns and found a beautiful forested hilly island with many large trees.

 

Is the lack of larger trees on Saint Thomas, a result of deforestation due to hurricanes, logging or climate, does anyone know?

[The Islander]

Hurricanes have affected plants/trees on St. Thomas and St. John, the VI in general. The last very severe hurricane was Hurricane Marilyn in 1995 and before that Hugo in 1989. However, I think your observation has less to do with hurricanes and more to do with the natural environment.

 

St. Thomas' and St. John's north side and more mountainous areas have larger trees, thicker forests, they receive more rainfall, are less affected by salt spray from the sea. The east end and south side are more low lying; inland they tend to have grassy savannas with short trees, some areas have thorny plants that are resistant to dry weather and in coastal areas cactus and short bushes that can live with getting a lot of salt spray from the ocean as well as being dry resistant.

 

Cruise ships dock/anchor on the southside of St. Thomas. If you saw some of the island while getting to the ferry then you took the Red Hook ferry. The most common driving routes to get from town or Havensight to Red Hook would not take you through the northside of St. Thomas and it is in the Northside that you would see big trees and forest. Driving to Red Hook you may have passed over Raphune Hill and through Tutu which is more of a savanna with short bushes & trees. And then Red Hook is on the east end, drier area with dry resistant type plants.

 

On St. John the ferry dock is on the west end and most visitors head to Trunk Bay, Cinnamon Bay... those beaches are on the northshore. So you experience the forest and trees. However, if you head out to the East End of St. John the landscape and plant life is very different; shrubs, cactus, grass.

 

It’s the same on St. Croix where there is a 'rain forest', not a true rain forest but a tropical forest. It’s on the north, west side, the mountainous side. The east end on the other hand is low lying with lots of grass and cactus.

 

--Islander