Awards - Andrew Simpson
The Euan P. McFarlane Environmental Leadership Award
1998: Mr. Andrew Simpson, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Andrew Simpson of the St. Croix Environmental Association (SEA), which received the 1997 ISLANDS Ecotourism Award, has been selected by Island Resources Foundation as this year's recipient of the Euan P. McFarlane Environmental Leadership Award.Simpson is a lawyer who has served as SEA's board chairman and has provided the organization with pro bono legal work for several years.
Andrew became actively involved in environmental affairs after reading about plans to develop Jack and Isaac Bays; he had fallen in love with that pristine ecosystem shortly after moving to St. Croix. Attending a public hearing on the issue, Simpson remembers being amazed that "such a small island had such a wealth of professional talent coming forward to provide reasoned, sound objections to the proposal. That meeting caused me to volunteer my legal services to help SEA fight this development.
Simpson's continued advocacy established the legal precedent that all coastal zone permitting decisions must consider the cumulative effect of development on an area, balancing economic opbjectives with environmental impacts. His work has helped formulate public policy and has shaped the way the island government does business.
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