By Caroline Jeranek | Development Manager
EPIC reached an exciting milestone in June 2026 in our work to restore critical seabird nesting habitat in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Dozens of invasive goats were successfully removed from Battowia, an offshore island that supports one of the region’s significant seabird nesting colonies.
For years, non-native goats damaged the island’s habitat by eating and trampling native vegetation, reducing the cover available to nesting seabirds. These impacts were compounded by Hurricane Beryl in July 2024, which placed additional pressure on the island’s ecosystem. Battowia is an important nesting site for seabirds including Red-footed Boobies, Brown Boobies, Magnificent Frigatebirds, and Laughing Gulls.
Removing the goats gives the island’s vegetation an opportunity to recover naturally, helping restore the habitat seabirds need to nest, rest, and raise their chicks.
The work required careful planning and coordination. Invasive species specialists worked alongside EPIC’s local team, with support from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Forestry Department in the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Transformation. Reaching remote Battowia also required traveling by boat and working around changing weather, wind, and sea conditions.
The EPIC team and partners are excited to see early signs of recovery - within days of the goat removal, new shoots of grass were already emerging on East Battowia.
EPIC’s work on Battowia is not finished. EPIC and our partners will continue monitoring the island to document how its vegetation and seabird populations respond as the habitat recovers. Our team is also preparing for the next phase of restoration work on the Pillories, another offshore island and important seabird nesting site in the Grenadines.
Restoring an island ecosystem takes time, but removing invasive goats is a major step toward giving Battowia’s seabirds a healthier and more resilient home for years to come.
Thank you for helping make this work possible. Your support allows EPIC and our local partners to take meaningful conservation action on the ground and protect the remarkable wildlife and islands of the transboundary Grenadines.
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