Virgin Islands National Park Virgin Islands Coral Reef

VIRGIN ISLANDS CORAL REEFVIRGIN MONUMENT ISLANDS NATIONAL ® VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK NATIONAL VIRGIN ISLANDS A Resource Assessment

March 2008 ®

Center for State of the Parks

More than a century ago, Congress established Yellowstone as the CONTENTS world’s first national park. That single act was the beginning of a remarkable and ongoing effort to protect this nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage. Today, Americans are learning that national park designation REPORT SUMMARY 1 alone cannot provide full resource protection. Many parks are compromised by development of adjacent lands, air and water pollu- VIRGIN ISLANDS AT A tion, invasive plants and animals, and rapid increases in motorized GLANCE 3 recreation. Park officials often lack adequate information on the status of and trends in conditions of critical resources. RATINGS 4 The National Parks Conservation Association initiated the State of the Parks® program in 2000 to assess the condition of natural and cultural resources in the parks, and determine how well equipped the RESOURCE MANAGEMENT National Park Service is to protect the parks—its stewardship capac- HIGHLIGHTS 9 ity. The goal is to provide information that will help policymakers, the public, and the National Park Service improve conditions in KEY FINDINGS 10 national parks, celebrate successes as models for other parks, and ensure a lasting legacy for future generations. THE VIRGIN ISLANDS For more information about the methodology and research used in preparing this report and to learn more about the Center for State ASSESSMENT of the Parks®, visit www.npca.org/stateoftheparks or contact: NPCA, NATURAL RESOURCES 12 Center for State of the Parks®, P.O. Box 737, Fort Collins, CO 80522; A Sanctuary, Above and Beneath Phone: 970.493.2545; E-mail: [email protected]. the Sea Since 1919, the National Parks Conservation Association has been CULTURAL RESOURCES 28 the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhanc- Comprehensive Resource ing our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work Identification, Documentation, together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, Protection, and Treatment Needed historical, and cultural heritage for generations to come. STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY 38 * More than 340,000 members * 22 regional and field offices * 35,000 activists APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY 44 A special note of appreciation goes to those whose generous grants and donations made the report possible: Dorothy Canter, Ben and Ruth Hammett, and anonymous donors.

COVER PHOTO: KELLY O'ROURKE islands ofthe U.S. VirginIslandsgroup,draw John, St.Thomas, andSt.Croix,thethreemain the U.S.VirginIslandsare no exception.St. this draw touriststotheCaribbeanIslands, and whispering intheevening breeze. Visions like white sandbeachatsunset,swaying palms coral formations;orwalking alongawarm, among colorfulfish,seaturtles, andspectacular tranquil turquoisewaters, glidingeffortlessly Few experiencescompareto snorkelingthrough REPORT SUMMARY habitat, added totheparkin1962).The cent submergedlands(off-shore underwater and shorelinehabitat5,650 acresofadja- of theisland,including7,259 acresofterrestrial and mostofthecentralsoutheast portions area. Theparkincludesmostofthenorthshore more thanhalfthemountainousisland’s land Park was establishedin1956andcomprises millions oftouristsannually. Located onSt.John,VirginIslandsNational Park eachyear. Virgin IslandsNational sands ofvisitorsto hundreds ofthou- turquoise watersdraw Ver dant islandsand

ELIZABETH MEYERS Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument 1 KYLE BRYNER

The remains of also includes Hassel Island, located in Charlotte Park was designated as an International hundreds of 18th- Amalie harbor on St. Thomas, which was added Biosphere Reserve by the United Nations century plantation in 1978. In 2001, Virgin Islands Coral Reef Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization structures are found throughout Virgin National Monument was established to protect (UNESCO). The park was one of the first Islands National Park. an additional 12,708 acres of submerged lands protected areas to receive this designation in the The park lacks suffi- Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park and associated marine resources around the United States. Of the hundreds of UNESCO cient funds to locate, island. In sum, the Park Service owns and oper- biosphere reserves worldwide, it is one of only document, and main- ates nearly 57 percent of the land area of St. 30 containing both marine and terrestrial tain all of them, which means that John and more than 18,000 acres of offshore ecosystems. It provides vital habitat for 138 bird nearly all are at risk underwater habitat. species, 400 reef-associated fish species, 17 of deteriorating. The park and monument offer protection to species of whales and dolphins, more than 230 unique features in St. John’s marine areas. Sea species of invertebrates, up to 13 reptile species, turtles, fish, conchs, and lobsters rely on coral and a variety of corals and sponges. Many of the reefs and seagrass beds as habitat. Virgin Islands species within the park’s and monument’s National Park also protects some of the last borders, both underwater and terrestrial, are remaining native tropical dry rain forest in the federally listed as endangered or threatened. Caribbean. In 1976, Virgin Islands National The abundance and diversity of the park units’ cultural resources rival that of their VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK AND natural resources and include prehistoric VIRGIN ISLANDS CORAL REEF NATIONAL archaeological sites, hundreds of historic structures, offshore shipwrecks, and museum collec- MONUMENT AT A GLANCE tions that encompass artifacts dating as far back as 840 BC. The Virgin Islands have been inhab- • The present economy of the U.S. Virgin Islands is based on ited for at least 3,000 years, beginning with tourism. More than 2 million people, 64 percent from the hunter-gathers of the Archaic Period. United States, visit annually. According to Park Service esti- Settlements continued throughout prehistory mates, more than 677,000 people visited Virgin Islands and ended with the Taino, the pre-Columbian National Park in 2006. Many come for the isolation in a popular culture present when Columbus explored the island setting: Virgin Islands National Park boasts some of the New World. When Europeans arrived, the most secluded and undeveloped beaches in the Caribbean. 3 Virgin Islands became a melting pot, inhabited More than 20 hiking trails wind through the mountainous park, by people who came from around the world to and scenic overlooks along roadways offer visitors spectacular make a new life on the islands. These colonial views of sparkling water and white sand beaches. settlements date from the 17th century through • Forty-four percent of Virgin Islands National Park and 100 the 19th century. Visitors can explore the ruins percent of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument are of hundreds of historic structures to get a sense marine environments. Visitors can explore the seascapes by of this history. snorkeling and diving among more than 400 reef fish species. Recognizing the significance of the natural Trunk Bay boasts a self-guided, 255-yard snorkeling trail, and cultural resources found within Virgin marked with underwater signs identifying coral reef organisms. Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, NPCA’s Center for • Hurricane Hole on the east end of St. John may be the most State of the Parks® assessed the current condi- pristine of the remnant mangrove habitats left in the U.S. Virgin tions of these resources. Although the park and Islands (more than half of all mangroves in the U.S. Virgin monument are two units of the National Park Islands have been destroyed—by a combination of develop- System, their resources are intertwined and ment and natural forces—during the past 50 years). Mangroves managed by the same staff, so they were provide vital ecological services: They filter sediment, serve as assessed as a single unit. Center for State of the nursery areas for many coral reef fish species, and provide Parks® researchers interviewed park staff, exam- nesting and roosting sites for birds. ined resource conditions on the ground, • Virgin Islands National Park is home to hundreds of historic consulted Park Service experts, and reviewed structures, including plantations, factories, fortifications, available publications and documents. schools, and thousands of house sites that were inhabited by

Researchers then analyzed this data using the National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park enslaved workers on the island. Center for State of the Parks® comprehensive methodology, in order to arrive at numerical • The waters of Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument scores for natural and cultural resource condi- and Virgin Islands National Park may harbor the remains of tions (see “Appendix”). The following report some of the 28 ships known to have wrecked in the vicinity of describes Virgin Islands National Park and St. John between 1713 and 1916. In 2006, the park archaeolo- Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument’s gist and a fellow researcher discovered shipwreck sites that diverse natural and cultural resources, summa- require analysis and documentation, both to preserve their rizes current conditions of those resources, illu- integrity and to advance knowledge of the maritime history of minates resource threats, and describes some of St. John and the West Indies. the ways resource managers are working to improve resource conditions. Note: When interpreting the scores for resource conditions, recognize that critical information upon which the ratings are based is not always available. This limits data interpretation to some extent. For Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, 68 percent of the information associated with the natural resource methods was available while 90 percent of the cultural resource information was available.

RESOURCE CATEGORY CURRENT

NATURAL RESOURCES

Overall conditions 73 FAIR 4 Environmental and Biotic Measures 77 Biotic Impacts and Stressors 70 Air 87 Water 82 Soils 80 Ecosystems Measures 68 Species Composition and Condition 67 Ecosystem Extent and Function 72

RATINGS SCALE

CRITICAL POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT

CULTURAL RESOURCES

Overall conditions 55 POOR Cultural Landscapes 37 Ethnography (Peoples and Cultures) 35 Historic Structures 46 Archaeology 73 Museum Collection and Archive 68 History 53

RATINGS SCALE

CRITICAL POOR FAIR GOOD EXCELLENT Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park

The findings in this report do not necessarily reflect past or current park management. Many factors that affect resource conditions are a result of both human and natural influences over long periods of time, in many cases pre-dating the park’s creation. The intent of the Center for State of the Parks® is to document the present status of park resources and determine which actions can be taken to protect them into the future. RATINGS identified and documented. To preserve some Current overall conditions of the known of these structures, the park needs funds to natural resources in Virgin Islands National support a crew of masons and other skilled Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National craftsmen trained in historic preservation. The Monument rated a “fair” score of 73 out of 100. park used to have four masons on staff, but Non-native species, visitor damage, and habitat these positions were cut as a result of funding fragmentation from the development of inhold- shortfalls. ings are major concerns. Natural disturbances The parks need storage space to safely and disease are also factors that threaten natural accommodate irreplaceable artifacts, and they resources in the parks. must find the staff and funds to protect archae- Land clearing and other agricultural practices ological sites from erosion and damage caused of the colonial plantation system forever by trail clearing and increased visitation. 5 changed the natural landscape of St. John, intro- Numerous reports and studies have yet to ducing cultural features such as walls, terraces, receive funding, including historic resource roads, and non-native plants. Natural distur- studies, a cultural landscape inventory, and bances, including hurricanes and drought, have ethnographic studies. All of this work is time- also shaped the parks in the past, and continue sensitive, but perhaps the most urgent are the The windmill at the Annaberg Sugar to threaten the island’s ecosystem. Overfishing, ethnographic studies. Oral histories of people Plantation is one of as well as anchor damage to reefs and seagrass who have ties to park resources must be gath- the park’s best- beds, has hurt fishery resources. Boats are also a ered before the opportunities are lost forever. preserved structures. leading source of pollution in these fragile marine environments. Tourists who swim, snorkel, and dive also inadvertently degrade reef health by stepping on, kicking, or otherwise KELLY O’ROURKE damaging fragile coral and other reef organisms. Non-native wild goats, hogs, donkeys, rats, and cats have roamed the island for more than a century, preying on sea turtle eggs, native plants, lizards, and birds. Animal grazing erodes the landscape and increases sediment in park waters, which in turn reduces water quality. The park does not have funds to hire staff dedicated to controlling non-native species; instead, the

park relies on contractors as funds allow. National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park Overall conditions of the known cultural resources in Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument rated 55 out of a possible 100, indicating “poor” conditions. With just one full-time cultural resources staff member, one term curator, and no funds to support research and preservation projects, hundreds of historic structures languish as dense tropical vegetation grows around and destroys them. Many are being reduced to rubble before they can be properly 6 Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park 7 Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AN ISOLATED PARADISE ON A About 1,400 acres within the park are owned POPULAR ISLAND by private interests and the Virgin Islands St. John, with nearly 50 miles of shoreline, is government. The Park Service must make surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north purchases or trade to acquire these private and the Caribbean Sea to the south. Located lands, known as “inholdings,” that are scattered near the northeastern corner of the Caribbean throughout the park. These inholdings include plate, St. John is the smallest of the three inhab- large parcels or clusters of parcels throughout ited U.S. Virgin Islands. The island is situated the park, which are often subdivided and sold about 70 miles east of Puerto Rico and measures for development. Recently, the Trust for Public roughly nine miles long and five miles wide. Land, a conservation group, acquired 419 acres Together, the U.S. Virgin Islands and British on Maho Bay. These lands are now safe from 8 Virgin Islands constitute the eastern extent of development, and they will be transferred to the the Greater Antilles, part of the Antilles Island Park Service as funds become available in the Arc that separates the Caribbean Sea from the next few years. Atlantic Ocean. In 2001, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Virgin Islands National Park was established Monument was established by a presidential in 1956 as a result of a land donation to the proclamation to protect an additional 12,708 federal government from Laurence Rockefeller acres of submerged lands around St. John. This and the Jackson Hole Preserve Corporation. In newly protected area is a “no-take” zone, which 1952, Rockefeller began purchasing more than means that fishing and other harvesting are not half of the land on St. John with the intent of allowed, with the exception of bait-fish harvest- preserving the majority as parkland and devel- ing at Hurricane Hole and blue-runner harvest- oping a restored sugar plantation/resort on a ing that uses a rod and line. portion of Caneel Bay. The Caneel Bay area, The climate of Virgin Islands National Park currently maintained as an exclusive resort, is is temperate year-round, with mild, dry privately operated. winters and warm, humid summers. Rain

Virgin Islands National Park boasts some of the most

secluded and unde- KELLY O’ROURKE veloped beaches in the Caribbean. During the busiest months of the year, Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park however, beaches are packed with thousands of people each day, which strains park facilities and can result in resource damage. generally falls in brief showers lasting only a RESOURCE MANAGEMENT HIGHLIGHTS few minutes, though storms can be severe. Hurricane season extends from June through • Mooring Buoy and Marker Buoy Installation. Improper boat November, and at least 12 major hurricanes anchoring and groundings damage coral reefs and seagrass. and tropical storms have passed over St. John To minimize this damage, the Park Service has instituted since the mid-20th century. Seven moderate or anchoring restrictions, installed a mooring buoy system, and severe droughts have also occurred on the deployed marker buoys to warn boaters of shallow coral and island during the 1900s. rocky areas. The present economy of the U.S. Virgin • Air Quality Monitoring. Virgin Islands National Park is Islands is based on tourism, with the majority involved in several air quality monitoring initiatives, including of visitors coming from the United States. the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments Beginning in the 1950s, St. Thomas became a 9 (IMPROVE) program, which focuses on visibility; the Clean Air popular destination for Caribbean cruise ships Status and Trends Network (CASTNET); and the National that sent passengers to St. John for day trips. Atmospheric Deposition (NADP) and National Trends Network Visitors to Virgin Islands National Park and (NTN), which focus on dry and wet deposition of pollutants, Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument respectively. are treated to some of the most isolated and pristine beaches in the busy Caribbean. • Ongoing Research. Park staff are engaged in a host of inter- Opportunities to swim among and observe disciplinary research projects that focus on coral disease, sedi- coral seascapes by snorkeling and diving are mentation rates, fisheries population biology, and watershed unparalleled. Local residents have adapted to delineation, to name several. Partnerships with universities, the the development that tourism has brought with Sierra Club, and Elderhostel help the park take on cultural it. The island—which once harbored fewer than resource projects and research that would not be possible 800 people living mostly in two-room wooden otherwise because of budgetary shortfalls. cottages without indoor plumbing, electricity, • Danish Colonial Architecture Archive. The park is using or telephones—has undergone a dramatic three-dimensional mapping to document crumbling historic transformation. Today, a permanent population structures, thanks to a partnership with the engineering of about 4,200, with a median household department of the University of Maine. Architecture within the income of $32,482, lives on the island, with park is being documented in a digital archive that allows users most residents in Cruz Bay. to view structures in three dimensions. Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument are • GIS Database. The park is working with students from refuges, not only for countless species of Syracuse University to develop a geographic information

wildlife, but also for human visitors who want systems (GIS) database that includes the locations of historic National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park to experience the Caribbean in its natural state. properties such as archaeological sites, historic structures, and The park contains some of the last remaining shipwrecks. native tropical dry forest in the Caribbean, the • Research Partnership with Danish University. Danish settlers only area of this forest type protected by the colonized the Virgin Islands in the late 17th and early 18th United States. Ten other terrestrial and shoreline centuries. Today, most of the park’s written history (AD 1665- vegetation types occur on the island, which is 1917) resides in Denmark. Park staff are working with the surrounded by miles of protected marine history department of the University of Copenhagen to locate habitat. The park and monument constitute a the first settlement sites and other lost plantations using true paradise amid a well-trafficked area, where historic research and ground surveys. people, plants, and animals can find refuge and sustenance. KEY FINDINGS ings and careless anchoring. Coral diseases are also of concern and have killed corals in and around the park and • Private lands, known as inholdings, are monument. scattered throughout Virgin Islands National Park. Many of these inholdings • Browsing, grazing, and predation by non- have been subdivided, resulting in further native wild goats, sheep, hogs, cats, rats, forest fragmentation and development and mongooses threaten the survival of around historic sites. This development native plants and animals and harm has destroyed historic landscapes and natural communities and processes. The historic and prehistoric archaeological presence of non-native Cuban tree frogs 10 sites. Intact forests are important habitat on St. John also concerns biologists. This for migratory birds, and fragmenting species preys on other frogs and can out- these areas could have drastic conse- compete native species for limited food quences for birds that spend winters in supplies. the park. The Park Service works with • Historic destruction of the natural vegeta- nonprofit organizations such as the Trust tion on St. John has been extensive, for Public Land and Friends of Virgin encompassing nearly 90 percent of the Islands National Park to acquire inhold- island. As a result, some native and ings, but high real estate prices make this endemic plant species have become difficult. extinct or nearly extinct. Additionally, the • Marine ecosystems within the parks face introduction of invasive plants also may a variety of threats. Natural disturbances have contributed to the demise of some such as hurricanes and drought have of St. John’s native plants. Today, intro- harmed mangroves, coral reefs, and duced invasive species can be found in seagrass beds, while visitors are responsi- most communities across the island, ble for damage caused by boat ground- particularly near historic structures and in

Thick vegetation grows quickly on St. John, covering

historic structures ELIZABETH MEYERS and causing them to crumble. Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park recently disturbed open areas such as inventory will include an overall entry for roadsides and construction sites. The the entire park as well as individual inven- Park Service is currently considering inva- tories for each identified cultural land- sive species management options for scape. This information is needed to Virgin Islands National Park. guide further cultural landscape research and to begin to understand historic struc- • One permanent employee (the staff tures in the context of their surroundings. archaeologist/cultural resource manager) currently handles all cultural resource • Poaching of building materials from issues within the two parks. In fact, the historic sites is a problem within the park, parks’ cultural resources budget is so but without enough staff and funds to limited that paying this employee’s salary survey and protect endangered sites, this 11 leaves no funds for projects and research. illegal activity is likely to continue. In addi- Because of the threat of vandalism and tion, without baseline cultural resource environmental factors (beach erosion, studies, staff do not know the extent of the hurricanes, and dense vegetation) that park’s cultural resources and cannot gauge are threatening cultural resources— the severity of the poaching problem. including sites that have yet to be identi- • Traditional use studies, oral histories, and fied and documented—staff are needed in-depth ethnographies are needed to to continue documenting and assessing help Virgin Islands National Park staff sites, conduct the required archaeologi- better understand groups of people cal mitigation and research where threats whose lifeways are traditionally associ- are identified, reduce encroaching vege- ated with park resources. These studies tation, and stabilize historic structures. must be done before older island resi- Additional full-time cultural resource staff dents pass away, but funding shortfalls positions (such as archaeological techni- prevent the park from gathering even cians, a historic architect, a preservation baseline information. specialist, and historic masons) are needed to address the growing needs of • Currently, the park is using an outdated, neglected sites in the parks. temporary storage facility to house its museum collection and archive. Between • Virgin Islands National Park has identified 2002 and 2006, the park worked to 400 historic structures that should be listed update this facility to increase its storage on the park’s List of Classified Structures; capacity and bring it up to established

currently only 236 of these structures are National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park standards. Despite these efforts, the listed. Dense vegetation threatens nearly building is corroding and is not designed all of the sites. The park risks losing irre- to protect the collections from severe placeable Virgin Islands history as struc- weather. Acquiring adequate storage tures are reduced to rubble before they space is critical as the park continues to are identified and documented. recover threatened resources that must • Virgin Islands National Park may contain be stored. as many as 100 cultural landscapes, but without funds to complete a cultural landscape inventory, these important park resources remain undocumented. The 12 Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument

CAROLINE ROGERS eagle rays. including spotted tude ofspecies, habitats foramulti- Monument provide Reef National Virgin IslandsCoral National Parkand Virgin Islands park visitation andassociateddisturbances to influencing theratingsarea continuous risein resources in“fair”condition. Prominent factors Monument 73outof100, whichrankspark and VirginIslandsCoral Reef National natural resourcesatVirginIslandsNationalPark The assessmentratedtheoverall conditionof BENEATH A SANCTUARY, ABOVE AND NATURAL RESOURCES— THE SEA THE VIRGINTHE ASSESSMENT ISLANDS affected theparks’ecosystems. hurricanes anddrought.Allhave negatively the occurrenceofnaturaldisturbancessuchas invasive specieseffects, landdevelopment, and clear-cutting ev park resources, ongoing forest recovery from ents ofthesugarplantingera, PAST AND CURRENT LAND USE ON ST. source of sediment runoff to the marine envi- JOHN—HUMAN FOOTPRINTS ON AN ronment. Re-opening and paving some of the ISLAND ECOSYSTEM defunct cart roads would certainly contribute to Native peoples in the Virgin Islands were all but forest fragmentation, non-native plant spread, driven to extinction by the Spanish in the 16th and increased erosion as well. century, as explorers sought out new territories Virgin Islands National Park is hugely for colonial expansion. In the 17th and early popular with vacationing tourists. Visitation to 18th centuries, Denmark colonized St. Thomas the park has increased from about 130,000 in and St. John. Forests on the islands were the early 1970s to more than a half-million visi- cleared and land was terraced for the produc- tors annually. Many guests spend their time in tion of sugar cane. This and other crops, such as or near the water, where carelessness can result cotton, tobacco, and indigo, were grown using in severe damage to park resources. Swimmers, 13 labor provided by enslaved peoples, and a snorkelers, and divers can hurt underwater plantation system began to develop on the communities by stepping on, kicking, picking islands. By 1780, the majority of St. John was up, and otherwise disturbing or killing fragile under cultivation. It is estimated that about 90 corals and reef organisms. percent of the island was cleared for planta- Boat groundings and anchors can break tions during the 1700s. corals and tear up seagrass beds, which are The plantation system began to erode in important food sources for wildlife like sea 1848, when slavery was abolished in the Danish turtles. In 1998, a single anchor drop from a West Indies. The breaking point for most cruise ship destroyed more than 3,200 square remaining plantations occurred in 1867 when a feet of reef. Monitoring at this site has revealed major hurricane and an earthquake prompted no significant recovery of hard coral since the many plantation owners to abandon their land. incident. In 1987, a survey of 186 boats revealed Boat groundings and Island populations declined, and cultivated that 32 percent were anchored in seagrass beds anchoring can damage fragile land began to revert to natural vegetation. Only and 14 percent in coral communities. To mini- underwater ecosys- a few plantations lasted into the 20th century. mize damage, the Park Service has instituted tems such as coral With the establishment of Virgin Islands anchoring restrictions and installed a mooring reefs and seagrass National Park, the Park Service undertook the buoy system and marker buoys to warn boaters beds. The park has task of mitigating the effects of almost 250 years of shallow coral and rocky areas. Private dona- markers to warn boaters of shallow of cultivation while at the same time assuming tions helped fund the installation of 215 areas and anchoring the responsibility of preserving and interpreting mooring buoys in the national park in 1999 restrictions to mini- significant cultural landscapes. and 17 moorings (not counting storm moor- mize damage.

When steep hillsides on St. John were cleared National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park for agriculture, the result was both the loss of native species and the spread of non-native plants such as Brazilian pepper (Schinus tere- RAFE BOULON binthifolius), tan tan (Leucaena leucocephala), and limeberry (Triphasia trifolia), as well as increased soil erosion. Numerous paved and unpaved roads run through and adjacent to park lands, including old Danish cart roads that date back to the plantation era. Roads can sometimes block the dispersal of plants, animals, and other organisms, and unpaved roads are a significant ings) in the national monument in 2004. are privately owned. In recent years, many Mooring buoys and size limits on vessels of these parcels have been subdivided and allowed in park waters have resulted in less pres- developed. For example, there were 261 parcels sure on reefs, but in some areas there is little in 1991 and about 322 parcels in 1992. The coral left to protect. Park Service works with nonprofit organizations Visitors on land can also negatively affect the such as the Trust for Public Land and Friends of park’s natural resources. Some beaches within Virgin Islands National Park to acquire inhold- the park are extremely busy at certain times of ings, but high real estate prices make this diffi- the year; visitors damage vegetation and create cult. When inholdings are developed, ecological social trails by taking shortcuts to trails, parking communities are fragmented, native vegetation areas, and beaches. Some visitors illegally is cleared, and non-native ornamental species 14 remove plant material for crafts, home gardens, are often planted. and to create vistas, threatening park forests. But Activities in surrounding waters also affect overall, visitor effects on land are minor when park resources. Commercial and recreational compared to those on marine systems. Limiting fishing, cruise ship traffic, and development on visitation in particularly sensitive areas may be nearby islands can harm marine populations, necessary in the future. water quality, and coral reef health. Additional threats related to increased human visitation on St. John include sewage, VIRGIN ISLANDS MARINE HABITAT— fuel, and other waste from boats, soil erosion as AN UNDERWATER HOME TO MANY a result of development, septic tank seepage, The seagrass beds, coral reefs, and hardbottom and an increase in trash production. All trash on areas in and adjacent to Virgin Islands National St. John is compacted and removed to a landfill Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National on St. Thomas. Waste disposal space is at a Monument are important marine habitat. More premium in the Virgin Islands; all landfills are than 400 reef-associated or inshore-ranging near or over capacity. A recycling program pelagic species are found in the nearshore should be developed and implemented in the waters surrounding St. John. The two most park, as well as in “gateway communities” such important herbivorous fish families on as Cruz Bay, St. John. If recycling is not an Caribbean reefs are parrot fish (Scaridae) and option in the immediate future, a glass crusher surgeonfish (Acanthuridae). Both of these fami- would help to conserve waste disposal space in lies face strong fishing pressure in waters the short run. around the U.S. Virgin Islands, but they are Adjacent land use greatly influences ecosys- protected from commercial fishing within the

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park tems in the park and monument. While park parks. Aggregating fish predators—large, carniv- lands account for more than 50 percent of the orous fish that are solitary hunters—also repre- island of St. John, about 5 percent of the island sent an important component of the reef is owned by the Virgin Islands government. The ecosystem. The term “aggregating” refers to the remaining portion of the island is private land, fact that these species must gather in large currently undeveloped or used for residential or groups to effectively reproduce. Examples of light commercial activity. In the last 40 years, these fish species include snappers (Lutjanidae) residential and tourism-related development and groupers or sea bass (Serranidae). has rapidly increased on privately held lands. For many fish species in the region, coral Park staff are particularly concerned about reefs provide shelter from predators, a source of development of inholdings. About 1,400 acres of food, and a place to spawn. Juvenile fishes of land within V irgin Isl ands National Park many species (such as the great barracuda and Underwater habitats at the park and K. BOULON monument harbor countless marine organisms, including this octopus.

gray snapper) find shelter amid red mangrove Harvestable invertebrate species include the prop roots. Some species, such as the bucktooth Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), queen parrotfish (Sparisoma radians) and fringed file- conch (Strombus gigas), and whelk (Cittarium fish (Monocanthus ciliatus) live their entire lives pica). These species may be fished, with restric- in seagrass beds. Other species use the seagrass tions, within the national park, but not within beds as nurseries or for nocturnal feeding. Even the national monument. habitats dominated by gorgonians (types of Marine mammal abundances and distribu- coral), sand, or algae are essential for some tions in U.S. territorial waters of the Caribbean fishes, including the scrawled filefish (Aluterus are poorly understood. At least 17 species of

scriptus), which feeds on gorgonians; the spotted whales and dolphins have been reported in the National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park snake eel (Ophichtus ophis), which lives in sand; region of the parks, including the federally and the chalk bass (Serranus tortugarum), which listed endangered humpback whale (Megaptera lives on the algal plain. novaeangliae). Marine areas surrounding the A wide variety of marine invertebrates is also island provide both feeding and reproductive found in the waters of Virgin Islands National grounds for some migrating mammal species, Park and Virgin Island Coral Reef National while others do not migrate, but feed and repro- Monument. This diverse group of organisms duce in northwestern Caribbean waters includes sponges and a host of reef-building throughout the year. and non-reef-building corals. Other marine Two federally listed sea turtles are commonly invertebrate community members include found in park and monument waters. The annelid worms, mollusks, and arthropods. hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricate) requires coral reefs for food and refuge. Peak variety of causes, including natural disturbance nesting season on park beaches occurs from July and human activities. through November, although nesting activity Hurricanes have affected coral reefs around may take place any month of the year. Green sea the parks since the islands formed, and they turtles (Chelonia mydas) are found in seagrass have caused significant damage. At long-term beds in park waters, though they rarely nest on monitoring sites around St. John, coral cover St. John’s beaches. The federally listed dropped from about 30 percent to 8-18 leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) percent following Hurricane Hugo in 1989. may also be found in waters surrounding the Studies have shown that no substantial recov- park and monument. ery in total coral cover has occurred to date, although corals are reproducing. In September 16 CORAL REEFS—FRAGILE SYSTEMS IN 1995, two hurricanes (Luis and Marilyn) hit DANGER the U.S. Virgin Islands within a ten-day In the summer of 2006, two coral species found period. Reefs on the south side of St. John in Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin suffered severe damage. Although damage was Islands Coral Reef National Monument were visible at Great Lameshur Bay, the percentage federally listed as threatened under the of live coral cover along permanent study Endangered Species Act (ESA). Staghorn coral areas did not decrease, due perhaps to the (Acropora cervicornis) and elkhorn coral (A. uneven nature of hurricane damage or palmata) are the first coral species to be listed because so little coral remained to be under the ESA, an accomplishment of great damaged. In some bays on the north shore of significance for coral reef conservation. Elkhorn St. John, coral colonies suffered extensive coral is one of the primary reef-building corals physical damage from boats that had broken Coral bleaching and usually creates shallow reefs responsible for loose and been dragged across the reef. Large occurs when benefi- breaking ocean waves and diminishing coastal coral colonies, some perhaps more than 100 cial algae that live erosion. Significant decline in this important years old, were split into pieces by boat keels, inside coral tissue are lost due to rising species can be blamed on damage from hurri- an example of the powerful, combined effect water temperatures canes and boat groundings. A federal listing is of natural and human disturbance. and/or ultraviolet an important step towards protecting the Hurricanes in 1989, 1995, and 1999 also radiation from the species from further loss. caused major “blow-outs,” or scoured depres- sun. Corals may The delicate coral reef systems in park and sions, in the seagrass beds within the park and recover from bleaching episodes, or they monument waters are of special concern. They monument. Long-term monitoring of Great may die. have been altered and have suffered from a Lameshur Bay seagrass communities has

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park demonstrated that hurricanes produce fluctua- tions in both seagrass density and community structure. Following Hurricane Hugo, park

CAROLINE ROGERS managers saw no significant seagrass recovery for five years. Hurricanes in 1995 and 1996 again reduced seagrass densities. Another serious cause of reef loss and degradation is disease, which has caused extensive coral death on reefs in and around the park and monument. Black band disease, which primarily infects major reef-building corals such as boulder star coral (Montastraea CAROLINE ROGERS

annularis) and symmetrical brain coral anyone associated it yet with pollution or any With funding from (Diploria strigosa), has been documented in other human activity. the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund, park waters, but it is not as prevalent or In July 1997, conspicuous white patches of researchers from the damaging as white band disease or plague type dead tissue began to appear on corals in several U.S. Geological II. From the mid-1970s to mid-1980s, white bays around St. John. Analysis confirmed the Survey are working to

band disease killed large stands of elkhorn presence of Sphingamonas, the pathogen associ- quantify coral disease National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park coral in the Caribbean, including the waters ated with plague type II, the most severe coral along long-term study transects off St. John. In 1984, the disease was found at disease that has been observed around St John. established by the seven sites off the north shore of the island, In some affected areas the disease killed entire Park Service. although it was not prevalent. Elkhorn and colonies, and no recovery of diseased portions staghorn corals, both federally listed as threat- has been noted on individual colonies moni- ened, are the most vulnerable to white band tored around the island. Monthly surveys have disease, which generally kills the colonies it documented new incidence of disease on infects, although occasional patches do Tektite Reef (Lameshur Bay area) every month survive. To date, the cause of the disease since December 1997. Depending on the site, remains a mystery: No one has been able to disease covers 3 to 58 percent of the coral. clearly link a pathogen to the disease, nor has While the actual loss of coral to disease each month is small, the cumulative effects have led unpaved roads across the island, the resulting to a significant decline in the percentage of erosion and sedimentation from runoff can total live coral cover. smother coral colonies and reduce the amount Coral bleaching is also a grave concern. of light available for photosynthesis. Data on Bleaching occurs when beneficial algae (zooxan- coral growth rates in Hawksnest Bay have thellae) that live inside coral tissue are lost, shown short-term declines associated with leaving the tissue transparent and revealing the increased runoff from upland development. white coral skeleton beneath. It is a response to Extensive bulldozing and clearing of vegetation rising water temperature and/or ultraviolet radi- in the upper Hawksnest Bay watershed threaten ation from the sun and has been linked to the recovery of elkhorn coral on nearshore global climate change. Bleached coral colonies fringing reefs. In general, the effects of hurri- 18 may recover in some instances, or parts of the canes, disease, and damage from boats appear colonies may die. Coral colonies in park waters to have caused more reef degradation around St. bleached in 1987, 1990, 1998, and 2005. In John than sedimentation; however, scientists 2005, corals within Virgin Islands National Park believe that chronic sedimentation significantly and Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. damages reef communities. Croix endured the most severe bleaching event recorded to date in the U.S. Virgin Islands. FISHERIES—THREATENED BY Ninety percent of coral cover bleached at six OVERFISHING AND HABITAT long-term monitoring sites within these two DEGRADATION parks. Many corals began to recover from the Commercial fishing occurs around the Virgin bleaching episode only to be afflicted by Islands and in the surrounding region, but it is disease. Of more than 460 elkhorn colonies that not allowed in Virgin Islands National Park. In are being monitored at four reefs in Virgin contrast, recreational fishing of most species is Islands National Park, about 45 percent allowed within national park waters with few bleached, 13 percent died partially, and 8 limits or exceptions. percent died completely. Recent analyses of Analyses of fisheries have shown a change in coral cover show high rates of cover loss from the relative abundance of reef fish species, a the 2005 episode. Preliminary calculations of change in the species composition, a decrease in coral loss between September 2005 and July the numbers of many fish species, and a 2006 show an average cover loss at all moni- decrease in the size of fish in the waters around tored sites of almost 49 percent. Of the four St. John. Since 1992, the U.S. Geological reefs sampled, Tektite Reef experienced the Survey–Biological Resource Division has coor-

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park greatest cover loss at 54.3 percent. Further data dinated an assessment of the effects of fishing and information on the causes and extent of on reef fish, monitoring their populations at this recent disease episode are not yet available, selected sites. The goal is to determine trends in but the findings are currently being prepared for species composition, abundance, and size of publication. fish, as well as effectiveness of park fishing Development on lands adjacent to the park restrictions. also harms coral communities. Runoff from Results of the assessment indicate that fish land development activities on St John is one of traps significantly reduce the numbers of fish, the biggest threats to water quality and habitat change the relative abundances of species, and in shallow nearshore areas. The island terrain is decrease the mean sizes of individuals on St. steep and receives brief bouts of intense precip- John reefs. Larger species such as groupers and itation. Coupled with the high number of snappers have all but disappeared, and those that are caught are below size at sexual matu- PARK PLANTS—STILL RECOVERING rity, indicating that overfishing is occurring. FROM PREVIOUS LAND USE When this happens, the number and size of St. John is home to 747 species of vascular the spawning-age adults are reduced to a point plants, of which 642 are native to the island. that the population does not have the repro- Nearly every species on St. John is also found on ductive capacity to replenish itself. other Virgin Islands, with the exception of three Populations of reef fish inside and outside endemic flowering plants: Earhart’s stopper Virgin Islands National Park are not signifi- (Eugenia earhartii); marron bacora (Solanum cantly different, suggesting that park regula- conocarpum); and Woodbury’s stingingbush tions, which only ban commercial fishing, are (Machaonia woodburyana). not protecting the resource. However, these Historic destruction of the natural vegetation findings pre-date the establishment of Virgin on St. John has been extensive, encompassing 19 Islands Coral Reef National Monument, where nearly 90 percent of the island. The first 130 no fishing of any kind is allowed. Park staff years of colonization were particularly harsh on hope that future studies will provide evidence the vegetative communities of St. John due to that full protection contributes to improve- extensive clearing for agriculture. As a result, ments in fish populations. some native and endemic plant species have Natural island events can also directly kill become extinct or nearly extinct, their popula- fish and degrade marine habitats. When tions reduced to a few individuals. Examples Hurricane Hugo swept through the Virgin include marron bacora, pepino (S. mucrona- Islands in September 1989, the total abundance tum), cowhage cherry (Malpighia infestissima), of fishes and number of species on two St. John Woodbury’s stingingbush, and woolly nipple reefs decreased significantly for two to three cactus (Mammillaria nivosa). Additionally, the months after the storm. introduction of invasive plants such as Brazilian

Large carnivorous fish such as the Nassau grouper (Epinephelus

CAROLINE ROGERS striatus) are important residents of coral reef communities. Studies by the U.S. Geological Survey indicate that species such as this are being

overfished in the National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park waters around St. John. Park staff hope that fishing bans within the national monument will help species recover. National Park. A draft environmental impact statement, released in September 2006, evalu-

RAFE BOULON ates the potential environmental consequences of the proposed options. Two federally listed endangered species of plants occur in the park: St. Thomas prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum thomasianum) and Thomas’ lidflower (Calyptranthes thomasiana). Recent surveys of both species show them to be stable within the park.

20 PARK WILDLIFE—BATS, BIRDS, FROGS, AND SLUGS CONTRIBUTE TO DIVERSE TERRESTRIAL COMMUNITIES St. John’s only native mammals are six species of bats: red fig-eating bat (Stenoderma rufum), greater bulldog bat (Noctilio leporinus), Jamaican fruit-eating bat (Artibeus jamaicensis), Antillean fruit-eating bat (Brachyphylla cavernarum), velvety free-tailed bat (Molossus molossus), and Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis). The red fig-eating bat, greater bulldog bat, and Antillean fruit-eating bat are protected under the Virgin Islands Endangered and Indigenous Species Act of 1990. Because they are important pollinators for many native plants, as well as important seed dispersers for fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, they are regarded as keystone species—crucial members of the ecosystems Marron bacora is one pepper, tan tan, and limeberry may have they inhabit. of three species of contributed to the demise of some of St. John’s Birds abound in Virgin Islands National vascular plants found native plants. Park. In the U.S. Virgin Islands as a whole, docu- only on St. John— nowhere else in the The present vegetation of St. John shows mented birds include 39 seabird, 23 waterfowl,

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park world. Historic differing degrees of regeneration, ranging from 23 marshbird, and 37 shorebird species. At least destruction of the recently disturbed to late secondary succes- 59 species of migratory Nearctic landbirds island’s vegetation sional forests. Existing vegetative cover contains (birds from North America, Greenland, or the and the introduction numerous introduced plants that have become Mexican highlands) have also been recorded in of non-native plants and animals have established in dense stands or, more commonly, the U.S. Virgin Islands; many of them use the caused some native are intermixed with native species. Introduced mature intact forests of St. John as overwinter- species such as invasive species can be found in most commu- ing grounds. Federally listed bird species found marron bacora to nities across the island, particularly near historic in the U.S. Virgin Islands include the endan- become nearly extinct. structures and in recently disturbed, open areas gered brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) and such as roadsides and construction sites. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus), as well as Park Service is currently considering invasive the threatened roseate tern (Sterna dougallii). species management options for Virgin Islands Although wildlife poaching is an illegal activity, the poaching of brown pelican and roseate frog (E. cochranae), it was found in every habitat tern eggs may be a problem in some remote type across the island. Researchers have areas of the park. In addition, disturbance by concluded that amphibian populations in the human visitation to offshore cays where the park are doing well, though they are concerned birds nest results in low egg production, death about the presence of the non-native Cuban tree of chicks to sun exposure, or even abandon- frog (Osteopilus septentrionalis), a species that ment of the entire nesting colony. Decreases in preys on other frogs and competes with other baitfish populations due to overfishing may species for limited food supplies. Researchers limit nesting populations and affect the breed- from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) have ing and fledging success of these birds. predicted that the Cuban tree frog population Human poaching and disturbance are only will continue to grow and spread across the two threats faced by bird species on St. John. island. Three species of Anolis lizards (Anolis 21 Habitat loss continues to leave migratory bird stratulus, A. cristatellus and A. pulchellus) can be species vulnerable. Mangrove and salt pond found throughout the park and are the most wetlands serve as vital habitat for winter-resi- common reptiles seen. The green iguana dent birds, and their loss and degradation (Iguana iguana), house gecko (Hemidactylus caused by local development threaten migratory frenatus), and red-footed tortoise (Geochelone birds. Fragmentation and clearing of intact carbonaria) are all introduced species, but forests also harms birds. according to the USGS survey report, they do Virgin Islands National Park is home to not appear to be having negative effects on many terrestrial reptile and amphibian species. native flora or fauna. The Antillean frog (Eleutherodactylus antillensis) Not surprisingly, the dominant terrestrial life was the most common amphibian detected forms in Virgin Islands National Park are inver- during surveys, and along with the whistling tebrate fauna, including a wide range of tropical

Many seabird species nest at Virgin Islands K. BOULON National Park. Human visitation to nesting areas disturbs some species and can even result in the death of chicks. Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park Non-native feral hogs eat native plants, compete with native

species for food, and CARRIE STENGEL create trails and compact soils. The park has been working to reduce populations of hogs and other non-native animals since 2002.

snails, slugs, crabs, spiders, scorpions, topsoil that erodes during grazing travels centipedes, millipedes, and insects. In 1987, downslope and degrades coral reefs found in 232 species of invertebrates representing 124 the waters below the cliffs. families were identified on the island. Herbivory and direct disturbance to vegetation (trampling, crushing, and uprooting) by NON-NATIVE MAMMALS—GOATS, goats, sheep, wild hogs, and donkeys negatively SHEEP, DONKEYS, HOGS, AND OTHER affect protected plant species within Virgin ANIMALS DEGRADE ISLAND Islands National Park. Because numerous COMMUNITIES threatened and endangered plant species have Wild, non-native goats, sheep, donkeys, and small populations to begin with, even relatively

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park hogs cause major damage to park resources. small impacts can have a large detrimental effect Goat and sheep herds are capable of denuding on the total floral composition of the island. large areas of all vegetation, including trees Non-native grazers consume the two federally (through bark stripping) and cacti. The most listed plant species found on St. John: the St. fragile forest community—the dry forest in Thomas prickly-ash and Thomas’ lidflower. the southeastern portion of the island—may They also eat marron bacora, a rare plant found not be able to recover from such damage only on St. John. Marron bacora was proposed because it has few plant species and few indi- for listing under the Endangered Species Act in viduals of those species left. Unfortunately for 1998, but in 2006 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife the dry forest community, goats prefer the Service (USFWS) announced that the plant did steep, semi-barren cliffs that dominate this not warrant protection under the law. The non- area. In addition to plant damage, precious native animals also forage on seedlings of three mangrove species, which are protected under gered slipperyback skink (Mabuya inabouia), Virgin Islands law. while areas uprooted by hogs undergo notable Non-native goats and sheep also indirectly declines in small mammal and reptile popula- harm threatened and endangered plants by tions. Wild hogs also serve as co-hosts with altering micro-habitats and facilitating the native wildlife and livestock for infectious and spread of invasive, non-native plants. These parasitic diseases such as hog cholera, swine invasive plants out-compete native plant species brucellosis, trichinosis, foot and mouth disease, for available nutrients and water, at times African swine fever, and pseudo-rabies. They leading to their local extinction. When search- can also affect park aesthetics and visitor safety ing for food and shelter, non-native mammals on trails. In one case, hog rooting caused create winding trails through plant communi- $50,000 in damage to the Reef Bay Trail. ties. These paths compact the soil and Since 2002, the park has been working to 23 contribute to increased water runoff, erosion, reduce populations of cats, rats, mongooses, and nutrient loading to nearby marine hogs, and goats through contracts with the U.S. resources. These paths can also serve as routes Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant for the spread of invasive plants. Health Inspection Service. The park hired a Park wildlife is also at risk from non-native wildlife biologist in 2005 to coordinate these species. Reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates efforts. Together, they have removed several are particularly susceptible to local extinction dozen hogs, several dozen goats, and many cats from predation by these invaders because these from the park. They have also been trapping native species are small, often slow-moving, and mongooses at key sea turtle nesting beaches to readily available throughout the park. Non- reduce or eliminate predation on eggs. native mammals prey upon frogs, geckos, Anolis lizards, ground lizards, legless lizards, blind snakes, skinks, dragonflies, damselflies, and beetles. They also target endangered hawks- FEDERALLY LISTED THREATENED AND ENDANGERED bill and leatherback sea turtles that nest on St. SPECIES WITHIN THE PARK AND MONUMENT John, killing emergent hatchlings and consum- ing eggs (see sidebar on page 24). Birds are also Endangered at risk from rats, cats, and mongooses, which Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) prey upon chicks, juveniles, and adults of most Kirtland’s warbler (Dendroica kirtlandii) species that nest on St. John. Of particular Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) concern is predation of the endangered brown Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) pelican, threatened roseate tern, and territorially Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park endangered bird species such as the bridled West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus) quail dove (Geotrygon mystacea), Bahama pintail Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) duck (Anas bahamensis), and Antillean mango Thomas’ lidflower (Calyptranthes thomasiana) hummingbird (Anthracothorax dominicus). St. Thomas prickly-ash (Zanthoxylum thomasianum) Several native bat species on the island are also targets for rats, cats, and mongooses. Goats, sheep, and wild hogs directly compete Threatened with small animals for prey such as insects, Roseate tern (Sterna dougallii) earthworms, and other invertebrates, and their Piping plover (Charadrius melodus) grazing limits the food available to native Elkhorn coral (Acropora palmata) species. Hogs prey upon the territorially endan- Staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) SEA TURTLES— of St. John en route to the British Virgin ANCIENT SPECIES FACE A Islands continues to grow, as does other boat traffic around the islands. Increasing MULTITUDE OF THREATS populations of juvenile green turtles and growing numbers of high-speed powerboats Visitors to Virgin Islands National Park and have resulted in increased mortalities. Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Non-native rats, cats, and mongooses Monument may be lucky enough to see prey upon endangered hawksbill and some of the parks’ most ancient species— leatherback sea turtles that nest on St. John. hawksbill, green, and leatherback sea These introduced predators kill emergent 24 turtles. These species have been around for hatchlings as they crawl from the nest to the millions of years. In fact, evidence from fossil ocean at night, and also prey upon sea turtle records indicates these species were around nests soon after eggs have been laid, eating when dinosaurs walked the earth. Although many eggs and spoiling the remaining ones. they fared better than the dinosaurs, these Mongoose predation accounts for up to a 23 gentle creatures currently face a number of percent loss of sea turtle eggs in the park. threats, both within and outside of the park Wild hogs have also been known to eat eggs and monument. and young. To combat these losses, the park Sea turtle mortality on St. John as a result has been trapping mongooses and remov- of boat strikes has significantly increased in ing wild hogs from the park as indicated in Hawksbill turtles, one the last 15 years. In some years, more than the “Non-Native Mammals” section. of three sea turtle half of all reported turtle strandings (inci- Vanishing habitat is also a problem. species found in the dences of turtles washing ashore dead or Nesting areas on beaches in the Caribbean park, are increasingly dying) involved damage to their shells from and on St. John continue to be lost to threatened by human activities and non- boat propellers or hulls. The number of high- development. Underwater seagrass beds native predators. speed boats traveling along the north shore used for foraging are also threatened by pollution, increased sedimentation, and damage from visitors. Finally, fibropapilloma, a debilitating disease that affects green sea turtles, could CAROLINE ROGERS become a serious concern in the near future. The large and profuse tumors associated with this affliction hinder the mobility of the

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park affected animals, grow over their eyes, and often smother turtles by blocking their mouths, throats, and nostrils. This disease, increasingly reported by sea turtle researchers in the southeastern United States and Hawai‘i, is currently not seen on a large scale in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Reports of infected green sea turtles are on the increase, however, as are the sizes of reported tumors. This may become a significant concern if a larger segment of the turtle population is affected in the future. RAFE BOULON

WATER RESOURCES—MORE Septic tanks throughout St. John present a Sediment from MONITORING NEEDED possible source of bacteria pollution in park unpaved roads washes into A program was established on St. John in 1988 waters. During large rainstorms, many septic nearshore waters to monitor water quality within and outside of tanks overflow into nearshore waters, which can where it can smother Virgin Islands National Park. Originally, 31 result in occasional algal blooms. Higher pollu- corals. monitoring sites were established, but this was tion levels are also expected in developed water-

reduced to 15 in 1995 due to lack of funding sheds such as the main town of Cruz Bay. As National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park and staff. Today, 16 sites are monitored, includ- development pressure increases in adjacent ing one within the more recently established parklands, the threat to water quality from Virgin Islands National Monument. All are salt- human sources will also increase. water sites. Currently, resource management Unpaved roads on St. John are a significant staff sample the sites every three months to contributor to the sedimentation problems monitor clarity, dissolved oxygen, temperature, affecting the coastal waters. These unpaved roads salt content, light transmittance, cloud cover, deliver about 1-2 centimeters per year of sedi- wind speed, sea state, conductivity, and pH ment to the nearshore environment. As levels. Park staff also test for bacteria at three discussed earlier, excess sediment can smother main swimming beaches to establish baselines coral reefs, blocking sunlight from reaching the and to ensure the beaches are safe for visitors. beneficial algae residing in coral species, algae Researchers monitor coral reefs and fish communities around St. John to determine their condition and assess threats.

26 CENTER FOR COASTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT/BIOGEOGRAPHY TEAM Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park that require sunlight for photosynthesis. but these may not pose a significant threat due Without the presence of these algae, coral species to their limited occurrence. eventually die. Sediment runoff from roads as Water quality in freshwater habitats such as well as development of inholdings has resulted ephemeral streams and pools on St. John has in an overall reduction in water clarity and nutri- not been measured. A program must be devel- ent loading of park marine waters. Stricter regu- oped to include these habitats, which support lations for construction buffers and septic tank several species of fish, invertebrates, and aquatic placement and capacity could minimize some of plants. They are poorly studied and in danger of these impacts. Nutrients (from fertilizers and being contaminated from upstream develop- other landscaping chemicals) carried in runoff ment, which could lead to the loss of their flora have caused occasional localized algal blooms, and fauna. AIR QUALITY—GOOD, THOUGH GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND THE CONCERNS REMAIN CARIBBEAN Air quality is considered to be generally good in Virgin Islands National Park; it is considered a Class 1 air quality area under the Clean Air Act, Climate change can influence storm frequency and intensity, which means it is protected by strict regulations. water and air temperatures, and sea levels. Over the past 100 Air quality monitoring at the park is done years, the average annual air temperature in the Caribbean has through the Interagency Monitoring of increased by more than one degree Fahrenheit. Relative sea level Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) shows a rising trend of about 3.9 inches per 100 years at sites program, Clean Air Status and Trends Network being monitored throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. (CASTNET), and the National Atmospheric It is difficult to conclude what effects this will have on Virgin 27 Deposition Program/National Trends Network Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National (NADP/NTN). The CASTNET and NADP/NTN Monument, but scientific models suggest that rising sea level and stations have been in place since 1998, but not surface water temperatures could lead to increased wind speed enough data have been collected to detect and frequency of storms like hurricanes and typhoons. Island trends in the park. Ozone also has been moni- ecosystems, because of their small size and isolation, are particu- tored in the park since 1998. These data show larly sensitive to changes in climate patterns. that ozone has not exceeded National Ambient The availability of freshwater resources is already limited in an Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). island system. Because most Caribbean islands exhibit a lower Volcanic ash from the nearby island of elevation than mainland areas and receive less rainfall, they retain Montserrat and dust blown from the Saharan less freshwater and have no perennial streams. Thus, they depend Desert in Northern Africa sometimes impair on limited groundwater resources. The tourism industry, agricul- visibility on St. John. African dust events are ture, and private development all compete with the natural envi- most prevalent in the summer months and can ronment for these limited freshwater supplies. In the U.S. Virgin transport fungal spores, polychlorinated Islands, existing water supplies have been overused and remain- biphenyls (PCBs), nutrients, and other chemi- ing groundwater resources have been contaminated from sedi- cals to the U.S. Virgin Islands. Some coral ment, leaky septic tanks, and wastewater. An increase in hurricane diseases are caused by bacterial pathogens and activity could further degrade these resources by threatening salt- fungal spores that are commonly transported water intrusion into freshwater supplies. on dust particles from the African desert; disease A large portion of St. John was designated as a national park outbreaks in the Caribbean have also coincided and biosphere reserve because of the presence of unique and with large dust events. Toxins and chemicals rare systems such as the dry tropical forest, mangroves, coral that have been applied in Africa as pesticides are reefs, and seagrass habitats. Climatic changes may have a devas-

also being transported to the Caribbean on dust tating effect on the unique ecosystems that exist in the park. National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park particles and can negatively alter coral growth Ocean waves and winds can directly damage these resources, patterns and disease resistance. and increasing sea levels and water temperatures may cause an One of the world’s largest oil refineries is increase in coral bleaching events, rendering them more suscep- located on the nearby island of St. Croix and is tible to disease. Coral reefs are believed to be the ecosystem a potential source of large quantities of volatile most sensitive to increased hurricane activity. Terrestrial systems organic compounds that can harm air quality. seem to recover quickly from events such as hurricanes, but an Evidence showing that these compounds are increase in frequency or intensity may limit recovery ability. reaching the island of St. John, however, has yet to be recorded. KELLY O’ROURKE

Structures at the CULTURAL RESOURCES— on the results of indicator questions that reflect Annaberg Sugar COMPREHENSIVE RESOURCE the National Park Service’s own Cultural Plantation are some

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park IDENTIFICATION, Resource Management Guideline and other poli- of the best preserved in Virgin Islands DOCUMENTATION, PROTECTION, cies related to cultural and historical resources. National Park. Using AND TREATMENT NEEDED Originally, Virgin Islands National Park was labor provided by Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands established for its natural beauty and recre- enslaved peoples, the Coral Reef National Monument scored an ational resources. Since then, the Park Service plantation produced overall 55 out of 100 for cultural resource condi- has become aware of the rich cultural resources sugar, rum, and molasses. Visitors can tions, including archaeology, cultural land- in the park, including landscapes that are tour the site and learn scapes, history, historic structures, archive and among the most all-inclusive and culturally about its history. museum collections, and ethnography (peoples diverse in the National Park System. Virgin and cultures). This score indicates that the Islands National Park has since started to revise park’s cultural resources are in “poor” condi- management plans to reflect these significant tion. The scores for cultural resources are based cultural resources, to collectively preserve a comprehensive picture of the Caribbean’s cotton, and indigo fields. Remnants of stone human heritage and development from prehis- walls, mills, stables, and guard houses are tory to the present, on land and underwater. common throughout the park. In 1733, the Funding and staffing shortfalls make it enslaved peoples on St. John rebelled and took impossible to care for the park’s vast cultural control of the island for six months. French resources in the manner they deserve. The entire troops from Martinique had to be called in to cultural resources budget for Virgin Islands squash the rebellion. During the Napoleonic National Park is dedicated to paying the salary Wars of the early 19th century, Denmark sided of one permanent employee—the staff archae- with France. As a result, Great Britain invaded ologist/cultural resource manager. Many addi- and occupied St. Thomas and St. John in 1801 tional staff are needed to care for the park’s and again in 1807. During this period, Hassel extensive cultural resources (see the “Funding Island and the harbor at Charlotte Amalie 29 and Staffing” section). became part of a booming trade economy. The Virgin Islands transformed into a HISTORY OF ST. JOHN—A BLEND OF melting pot of many cultures from around the CULTURES world. This is especially evident in the historic The human history of St. John is one shared record of the lands that make up the Virgin with much of the West Indies, deriving from Islands National Park. Historic landscapes and Interpretive panels teach visitors about pre-Columbian, European, and African architectural remains of hundreds of historic the workings of the heritage. Significant prehistoric sites are present structures from sugar, cotton, indigo, and coffee island’s 18th-century on almost every beach and in every bay within estates are found throughout the park. Estate plantations. the park. These archaeological sites date from as early as 840 BC to the arrival of Columbus. Across this temporal landscape, there are early

nomadic hunter-gatherer Archaic sites, followed ELIZABETH MEYERS by a proliferation of early chiefdom villages, then complex ceremonial sites and burial grounds. Only two prehistoric sites have been investigated in the park—Cinnamon Bay and Trunk Bay. These sites have contributed to a greater understanding of this Caribbean region’s prehistory, and the religious and social development of the Taino culture that greeted

Columbus into the New World. In addition, National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park these two sites have dramatically increased understanding of the ancient petroglyphs that are found throughout the Caribbean islands. Although Columbus “discovered” St. John in 1493, it was not until the late 17th century that Europeans began constructing buildings on the islands. The Danish West India Company colonized St. Thomas in 1672 for the production of sugar cane and other goods; colonization of St. John followed in 1718. Plantation owners used enslaved Africans to work the sugar cane, coffee, HISTORIC STRUCTURES AND tures in the Virgin Islands (the oldest on St. ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES John, dating to the 1680s), and the remains of one of the oldest villages that housed SHARE COMMON THREATS enslaved Africans. Vandalism is another threat. Sites that The wide array of historic structures and have been opened to the public have lost archaeological sites within Virgin Islands almost all surface cultural materials, and National Park share some common threats. some sites have been robbed of structural The most significant threat to the park’s materials such as cut coral, historic bricks, cultural resources is the destruction wrought and keystones. In the last ten years, the park by the island’s dense vegetation. Each year has been able to document the loss of two 30 The park’s historic structures are in need the park loses significant features of historic large sugar pots and an inscribed, dated of constant mainte- buildings as well as entire historic structures keystone. The park needs to continue to nance as vegetation that crumble as vegetation works into the document and recover remaining artifacts and weathering take masonry’s soft lime-mortar joints. The build- on the landscape to prevent this loss. a toll on soft lime- ings’ walls collapse, leaving behind unrec- Protection of sites and cultural materials is mortar joints. Masons are desperately ognizable piles of rock, brick, and mortar. rapidly becoming a larger problem as visita- needed to repair The second largest threat to significant tion increases, the island’s population grows, joints and stabilize resources in the park is the beachfront more area is opened to the public, and structures to mitigate erosion at Cinnamon Bay. Presently, this access to remote areas becomes easier. visitor safety concerns erosion threatens the only identified Taino Recent private publications have exacer- and preserve these resources into the ceremonial offering site in the Caribbean, bated this problem by mapping historic future. one of the oldest standing historic struc- trails in the park and directing readers to vulnerable sites. The park must address this problem, as there are still many sites on both St. John and Hassel Island with significant surface remains that are in danger of being lost to poaching. These remains, if recov- ered in a systematic way, could provide

VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK invaluable information about sites, and they are crucial to any serious investigation that includes subsurface testing. Normal visitor use can also threaten

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park resources. For example, petroglyphs at Reef Bay are high profile resources in good condition, but they receive a large number of visitors who touch, rub, and sometimes mark the rock art with chalk, which causes damage over time. Other minor threats to cultural resources include new recreational development and structural deterioration due to inappropriate methods of stabilization and repair, specifically the use of concrete on historic structures, which causes moisture retention problems. Archaeological artifacts such as this KEN WILD zemi, a clay effigy that was used for religious purposes, help researchers understand the park’s human history.

structures on these colonial landscapes include As the Virgin Islands shifted into the 19th sugar works consisting of windmills, curing and 20th centuries, the landscape inherited a houses, cisterns, and other structures; rum, new set of structures dedicated to bay rum cotton, tobacco, coffee, and indigo works; and production, charcoal processing, and cattle stables, gate houses, and wells and troughs, to ranching. After Denmark sold St. Thomas, St. name a few. In addition to these plantations, John, and St. Croix to the United States in 1917, there are cemeteries where the enslaved peoples the U.S. Navy established a station on Hassel buried their dead and at least 2,000 house sites Island. All of this prehistory and history is that were occupied by the enslaved workers. preserved within Virgin Islands National Park Preserved within this colonial setting are and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National government infrastructure and community Monument. buildings such as historic bridges, cemeteries, To understand park resources in the context roads, schools for enslaved children, and aque- of this rich history, the park and monument

ducts and catchments. Moreover, there are need a number of historic resource studies that National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park barracks, batteries, forts, guard houses, a phar- cover both maritime and terrestrial sites. Such macy, and a small pox quarantine station. work would help staff manage historic Notably, the military sites dating to the 1801 resources, define their significance, develop occupation of St. John and St. Thomas are the interpretive plans, and determine what addi- only Napoleonic sites on American soil. The tional research is needed. One way to accom- park and monument also include the remains of plish this would be to partner with universities. all the ships that sank in their waters. This The park has already begun pursuing this with maritime heritage also includes the oldest the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, surviving steam-powered marine railway in the enlisting Ph.D. students to conduct needed world—Britain’s Royal Mail Steam Packet historic research, both on St. John and in Company—and several historic coaling stations. Denmark. Because of the islands’ history of Danish settlement, a plethora of historical ARCHAEOLOGY—SURVEYS NEEDED FOR documents are located in Denmark. BOTH TERRESTRIAL AND Other research has progressed, including UNDERWATER SITES work on the historical context of the park’s Archaeological resources provide a valuable archaeological sites. The park’s lone cultural connection to the prehistory and history of St. resources manager receives assistance from a John. The Park Service is required to investigate The waters surround- temporary, two-year term curator with an all archaeological sites and assess their condi- ing St. John proved undergraduate history degree and experience tions, but the park cannot investigate sites to be treacherous for in historical research. The Southeast quickly enough with current staffing levels. many ships: at least Archeological Center also provides assistance, Known sites need to be surveyed and docu- 28 ships wrecked 32 between 1713 and but the park must pay for this help with mented for status and condition, and valuable 1916. This cannon is project funds. Important work in need of prehistoric and historic data must be recorded evidence of one of immediate attention includes preparing nomi- before they are lost. those wrecks. The nations for the National Register of Historic Current archaeological work includes excava- park and monument Places, nominations to garner National tion at Cinnamon Bay. The park is also working need funds to locate and document these Landmark status for various park resources, with the St. John community to rebury human submerged resources. and an administrative history. remains that have been exposed by beach KEN WILD Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park erosion at Cinnamon Bay. The cleanup and stabilization of the Creque Marine Railway site on Hassel Island has also begun. This site is rich KELLY O’ROURKE in history and archaeological remains. Archaeological resources seldom seen by park visitors include those found under park waters. An underwater survey was conducted in the early 1970s, funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities with support from various local Virgin Islands businesses and individuals. It revealed submerged items such as a large cannon buried in the sand at Maho Bay 33 beach, and a sizeable anchor (with a 13-foot shaft) caught under a reef ledge off America Point. Recreational divers have reported other large anchors, including one that was removed from the sea and is now located at the Virgin Islands Environmental Resources Station at Lameshur. and report on archaeological findings for sites The Reef Bay Virgin Islands Coral Reef National that warrant further investigation. Plantation is one of seven historic zones Monument may contain some of the 28 ship- HISTORIC STRUCTURES—BUDGET within Virgin Islands wrecks known to have occurred in the vicinity of National Park. St. John from 1713 to 1916. In 2006, the park CONSTRAINTS LIMIT WORK archaeologist and a fellow researcher discovered Structures within Virgin Islands National Park shipwreck sites in the waters around St. John range from Danish plantation great houses, that require analysis and documentation, both cook houses, homes of enslaved peoples, and to preserve their integrity and to advance knowl- sugar processing factories, to a colonial fort and edge of the maritime history of St. John and the battery, schools, and guard houses. In sum, the West Indies. The locations of the sites have not park has identified 400 historic structures that been disclosed to the public to avoid distur- should be on its List of Classified Structures, bance to the resource. though just 236 structures are currently listed. Although Virgin Islands National Park and Because of St. John’s thick and extensive vegeta- Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument tion that can quickly grow to obscure structures,

benefit from a staff archaeologist, other duties new buildings are still being discovered. National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park limit the amount of time that person can spend Systematic surveys are needed to fully identify on archaeological preservation and interpreta- all resources. tion. To accomplish needed work, the parks All historic structures in the national park often rely on volunteers and interns. require immediate attention. Dense vegetation The park has requested funds to complete an is causing nearly all of the sites to collapse into inventory and assessment of submerged archae- piles of rock, brick, and mortar. Park staff and ological resources at both the park and monu- volunteers regularly remove vegetation at ment; support emergency multi-phase recovery several sites (Reef Bay Great House, Trunk Bay, of eroding cultural resources; complete excava- and Annaberg) to prevent further damage, but a tions at Cinnamon Bay to save threatened sites crew dedicated to vegetation removal is needed from severe beach erosion; and catalog, analyze, to keep pace with the ever-growing vegetation. The remains of hundreds of historic structures are

evidence of the park’s KELLY O’ROURKE past and provide exceptional learning opportunities for visitors. All structures are at risk of crumbling to pieces without necessary maintenance— work that is hindered by staffing and 34 funding shortfalls.

Because of inadequate funding and limited Caribbean. At one time, the park had a staff of staff, the park cannot address the destruction of four masons, but funding shortfalls resulted in most of the historic buildings in the park. the loss of these positions. New funds have been Vandalism also jeopardizes the park’s historic requested to again support full-time, on-site structures. Many of the park’s sites are remotely masons, but funds have not been forthcoming. located, while many others are still undiscov- A historic architect or a historic preservation ered. The theft of historic building materials and specialist is also needed to research, identify, other artifacts has been noted (see the “Historic and document hundreds of historic structures Structures and Archaeological Sites” sidebar), in the park. Volunteers and interns have

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park but without comprehensive documentation of contributed much, but another full-time staff all of the park’s resources, staff cannot begin to member is needed to focus solely on park struc- gauge the extent of this problem. tures. Without immediate action, the park risks In addition to vegetative encroachment and losing irreplaceable Virgin Islands history as looting, historic structures suffer from damage structures are reduced to rubble before they are caused by the harsh island climate. One of the identified and documented. park’s most pressing needs is a masonry team to repair brick joints and stabilize sites in desperate CULTURAL LANDSCAPES—PARK LACKS need of attention. A program to stabilize and LANDSCAPE PROGRAM maintain these structures would reduce safety Cultural landscapes illustrate how past peoples hazards to visitors and continue to provide a lived on the land and used its resources. Lands link to past cultures that thrived in the within Virgin Islands National Park, including most of St. John as well as Hassel Island in the No cultural landscape studies have been Charlotte Amalie harbor of St. Thomas, have completed within Virgin Islands National Park. been inhabited by diverse groups of people who The park has requested funds to gather this used the islands’ resources in different ways. St. baseline data on several occasions, but no John’s geography played an important role in funding has been granted. This baseline the historical development of the landscape. research is essential as the park addresses Prehistoric sites were situated to take advantage management concerns and needs. Recently this of multiple resources that could be exploited, became very clear when the park developed its including easy access routes across the island’s fire management plan. Information on cultural interior to water sources and religious sites. landscapes is needed to ensure they are not Initial investigation indicates that there are more inadvertently damaged as a result of fire prehistoric and historic sites within the interior management activities. 35 of St. John than previously thought. Some sites Without these studies, the park cannot meet in isolated locations may illuminate more about baseline project requirements for establishing people who escaped lives of slavery on the cultural landscapes, even at an elementary island’s plantations. The entire park includes level. The park continues to locate new archae- evidence of cultural landscapes such as terraces, ological sites and historic structures each year, The Reef Bay petro- aqueducts, stone walls that marked property but until a cultural landscape inventory is glyphs, evidence of lines, and a host of other features. The park’s completed to define the significant landscapes, some of St. John’s earliest inhabitants, cultural landscapes encompass all the periods of the park’s ability to preserve and interpret the are listed on the Virgin Islands history, and so they must be landscapes and their component features is National Register of further identified, protected, and interpreted. severely diminished. Historic Places. KELLY O’ROURKE Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park ETHNOGRAPHY (PEOPLES AND has identified the Taino, Carib, and West Indian CULTURES)—BASELINE RESEARCH groups, and African Americans, Danish, and NEEDED TO START PROGRAM American continentals as traditionally associ- As defined by the National Park Service, an ated groups. ethnographic resource is a site, structure, object, The park has established relationships with landscape, or natural resource feature assigned West Indian and Danish groups, but more traditional, legendary, religious, subsistence, or ethnographic research is needed to further other significance in the cultural system of a understand and more effectively interpret asso- group traditionally associated with it. Within ciated cultures. This work is time-sensitive: Virgin Islands National Park are many historic Oral histories of the oldest island residents features, sites, and buildings that are associated should be collected before these stories are lost 36 with the island’s West Indian culture. Many of to time. An ethnographic overview and assess- the West Indian residents of St. John are descen- ment or a rapid ethnographic assessment dants of peoples who occupied the Virgin would begin this process. The park has Islands during early historic times. Like people requested funds to complete two ethnographic on other Caribbean islands, many of these studies—one of Hassel Island and another inhabitants have cultural traditions and prac- focused on traditional uses of local materials tices that have been passed down from genera- and life on St. John in the early to mid-1900s. tion to generation and form an important part Without proper funding for the baseline proj- of life on St. John today. ects, the ethnography program in the park Now that the Park Service manages much of remains stalled at its infancy and at risk of St. John, the park has a responsibility to foster losing important oral histories of traditionally relationships with people who were tradition- associated peoples. ally associated with the area and to protect the Additional ethnographic work should resources that are important to them. The park explore connections between colonial

Within the park’s archaeology lab at Cinnamon Bay,

researchers analyze ELIZABETH MEYERS and catalog historic and prehistoric artifacts. The lab is housed in the oldest standing structure on

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park St. John, dating to the 1680s. resources and living descendants of the Danish the growing collection, the staff at Virgin people who settled on St. John and built plan- Islands National Park dedicated much time tations. The park’s cultural resource manager between 2002 and 2006 to the museum collec- has met several people of Danish ancestry who tion and archive, addressing recommendations have come to St. John to visit sites where their from the 2002 collections condition survey. As grand- or great-grandparents had been raised. a result, conditions improved vastly. These descendants can contribute historical Environmental controls and monitors, as well information through their own oral histories. as a new security system, were installed in the For example, one visitor recalled seeing, at a modular Bally building where the collections relative’s home in Denmark, the furnishings are stored. Objects were reorganized and that had been on the Caneel Bay estate during stored in archival boxes, and vertical compact the 1733 slave revolt battle. Another individual storage was installed in the building, providing 37 recalled that her great-great-grandmother was greater protection and easier access to the born and enslaved on the Paquerau collections. Archival materials were also reor- Plantation, and that the plantation was ganized and rusted metal cabinets were devoted primarily to the production of coffee. replaced with new ones. Despite these efforts, It is critical for the park to actively pursue this the building is not designed to protect the type of information in order to adequately collections from severe weather, such as hurri- protect and interpret irreplaceable ethno- cane-force winds, and the island climate has graphic resources. caused the building to corrode, leaving collections vulnerable to insects. Adequate storage MUSEUM COLLECTION AND ARCHIVE— space is needed to protect the irreplaceable PROVIDING ADEQUATE CARE IS A items in the collections. STRUGGLE Conditions are not ideal at the park’s archae- The museum collection and archive at Virgin ology lab at Cinnamon Bay, either. This historic Islands National Park include items that repre- building is threatened by beachfront erosion. sent the gamut of the park’s cultural and The park is working with the Friends of Virgin natural history. The archive includes field Islands National Park to make improvements notes, historic photographs, maps, blueprints, and to design museum exhibits for Cinnamon and other historical documents. Natural Bay. The lab is the oldest building on St. John, resource collections include a herbarium; dry and to protect its integrity the park has not forest seed collection; insect collection; fish, installed heating, ventilation, or an air-condi- bird, and mammal specimens; and examples of tioning system. The work conducted from this

minerals, corals, and mollusks. Cultural building includes analysis and cataloging of National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park resource collections are very large and growing objects that are used to bring the park’s past every day. They consist of artifacts that docu- alive for the public. ment the prehistory and history of the Virgin In addition to adequate storage space, Islands. Prehistoric materials include effigy support is needed to catalog the growing collec- vessels, carved stone tools, adornments, and tions, perform regular housekeeping duties, and ceramics that define the evolution of social and maintain the Automated National Catalog religious development for large portions of the System, which is a database management system Caribbean. The historic material is equally the Park Service uses to accession and catalog the important in preserving the colonial past and museum collections of all national parks. The interpreting traditional lifestyles. park would benefit from a permanent curator In an effort to meet the rising demands of and technicians to care for the collections. ELIZABETH MEYERS

The Virgin Islands STEWARDSHIP CAPACITY while the national monument is authorized to National Park Visitor hire three full-time employees. But funding Center, located in FUNDING AND STAFFING—SUPPORT shortfalls mean that the two park units are only Cruz Bay, St. John, NEEDED FOR STAFF INCREASES AND able to fill 65 of the 75 authorized positions. Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park provides important information to visitors RESOURCE PROJECTS The park’s cultural resource division suffers and opportunities to Stewardship capacity explores how well the most from staffing shortfalls. There are a interact with park equipped the Park Service is to protect the parks. host of critical unfilled or unfunded positions, staff. The most significant factor affecting a park’s including archaeological technicians; a historic ability to protect its resources is the funding a architect; a historic preservationist; six crafts- park receives from Congress. Virgin Islands men (masons, carpenters, etc.); a crew of ten National Park’s current operating budget is people devoted to vegetation removal and about $4.6 million; the operating budget for preservation; and additional staff that can be Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument is used for surveys, archaeological site and only about $360,000. The national park is historic building assessments, cultural resource authorized to hire 72 full-time employees, mitigation requirements, analysis, cataloging, report writing, patrols, rule enforcement, and likely occur following completion of the resource monitoring and protection. A site national park’s GMP. manager and a six-person preservation and Other planning efforts include an integrated maintenance crew for Hassel Island are also pest management plan. This plan is in addition needed. At current cultural resources staffing to the existing environmental assessments, levels, resources are at risk. which address the negative impacts on The parks’ natural resource division is better resources from non-native wild hog, goat, staffed with 11 employees. As part of the South sheep, rat, cat, and mongoose populations. The Florida/Caribbean Network of the Park Service’s preferred management alternative for all these Inventory and Monitoring Program, the park animals is a sustained reduction of their popu- receives additional natural resources assistance. lations using trapping (cats, mongooses, hogs), In addition to staffing shortfalls, the park shooting (hogs, goats), and rodenticides (rats). 39 faces a maintenance backlog of $22 million. Much needed cultural resource research These funds are needed to care for roads, trails, includes historic resource studies, an adminis- Exhibits teach visitors interpretive signs, boat docks, and other facili- trative history, a cultural landscape inventory, about the park’s ties, such as the Annaberg Sugar Plantation, that cultural landscape reports, historic structure natural and cultural features and help serve visitors. reports, ethnographic studies, submerged and them understand why maritime historic research, and a scope of these resources are PARK PLANNING—NEW GENERAL collections report. important to preserve. MANAGEMENT PLAN AND CORE OPERATIONS ANALYSIS UNDER WAY To guide management of diverse resources, parks rely on a variety of plans. The primary, ELIZABETH MEYERS overarching planning document at most parks is the general management plan (GMP). Virgin Islands National Park is in the process of updating its GMP to replace the last plan that was completed in 1983, and the park expects to release a draft GMP in 2008. Also in 2008, Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument are engaging in analysis of their core operations to determine how best to achieve

their goals. This analysis will help park National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park managers identify the most important resource management issues and determine how best to address those issues. In 1999, the park compiled its resource management plan (RMP), which provides general information on the status of natural and cultural resources in the park. It also discusses main threats to the area. A similar plan will be developed for Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, which has no separate management document at present. This will Interpretive panels teach visitors how to

interact safely with KYLE BRYNER park resources. Corals, in particular, are easily damaged by snorkelers who unintentionally kick or step on them. Some of the park’s interpretive signs are faded and need to be replaced. 40

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH—VISITORS people and their cultural heritage while preserv- LEARN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ing and protecting important cultural resources. RESOURCES The park’s development concept plan of The Virgin Islands National Park Visitor Center 1983, designed to improve interpretive trails is located in Cruz Bay, St John. The center and exhibits, called for the installation of infor- contains exhibits, brochures, maps, park videos, mation, orientation, and interpretation kiosks and books describing the history and natural at the main beaches, the public ferry docks, and ecology of the park. Many programs, organized visitor contact areas in the park. A number of and run by park interpretive staff, include hikes, these planned developments have been

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park historical tours, snorkel trips, evening camp- completed, including kiosk installations; toilet ground programs, and cultural craft demonstra- facility upgrades; maintenance area improve- tions. Trunk Bay has a 225-yard, self-guided ments; and improvements to handicapped underwater snorkeling trail marked with under- accessibility, trails, and off-road parking. But water signs identifying coral reef organisms. many of the park’s interpretive signs are faded The park makes a special effort to introduce and in need of replacement. These signs display visitors to the culture of St. John through crucial information to visitors on proper inter- cooking and basket-making demonstrations at action with resources such as coral reefs and the Annaberg Sugar Plantation. Improved other animals, and they should be updated and demonstrations of traditional ways of life on St. replaced as necessary. John will enhance the visitor experience to the Several centers on St. John focus on environ- island and reaffirm connections between local mental education. The Virgin Islands Environmental Resources Station (VIERS) is a the National Historic Preservation Act; survey, nonprofit organization located in Lameshur Bay research, document, and analyze cultural on the south shore of St. John. VIERS serves the resource sites; and maintain cultural resources local community and visiting groups through databases. Trails throughout the on-site, year-round environmental education The national park’s friends organization, park allow visitors to programs and activities. VIERS staff conduct the Friends of the Virgin Islands National experience scenic vistas and explore guided trail hikes, seashore explorations, Park, is an invaluable asset to the cultural both natural and mangrove walks, plant and wildlife identifica- resources program. This group assists not only cultural features. The tion excursions, and snorkeling outings to intro- with actual research projects, but with obtain- park needs funds to duce visitors of all ages to marine life and the ing funding as well. Friends log thousands of address its $22 million local environment. volunteer hours to aid in cultural resource maintenance backlog, which includes proj- 41 The children’s environmental education projects such as archaeological research, inter- ects to care for visitor program is key to teaching island youth about pretive and thematic programming, and park services such as trails their natural environment, cultural heritage, stewardship. Volunteers work with commu- and interpretive signs. conservation, and the value of protecting natural and cultural resources. This program takes park information into classrooms as well as taking classes into the park. The park’s education coordinator develops classroom programs at St. John’s three schools and arranges field trips for classes from both St. John and St. VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK Thomas. These programs focus on both cultural and natural resources. The Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, a nonprofit organization, organizes a seminar series throughout the year to inform the local community about park-specific issues. The Friends are also a source of advocacy and fundraising for the park. Members and volunteers work with park staff to meet existing needs, as well as initiate programs to address new and potential park resource issues (see below).

EXTERNAL SUPPORT—PARTNERS AND Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park VOLUNTEERS PROVIDE VALUABLE SERVICES Faced with significant funding and staffing shortfalls, the park and monument increasingly rely on partners and volunteers to bridge the gap between what is needed and what they can afford. Even with help from volunteers and interns, the parks still need additional staff to properly research and care for archaeological sites and other cultural resources; identify cultural resources to comply with Section 110 of An intern sponsored by the Friends of Virgin Islands National Park works with the park’s cultural resource manager to map ruins at Leinster Bay. The information will contribute to a FRIENDS OF VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK three-dimensional mapping project.

nity and school groups to educate St. John summers and provide stipends for their work.

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park residents about the park’s mission to protect To find out more about archaeology projects cultural sites important to the history of St. completed by interns and park staff, visit John and the Caribbean. The Friends group http://friendsvinparch.blogspot.com/. Friends contributes money to fund cultural resource pair with community businesses to raise management in the park, and along with money for the park—some local stores take other private funding, helps staff complete donations from customers while others cataloging and site inventory projects. In addi- donate sales of specific items. tion, the Friends group is working with the Other volunteer groups assist with tasks park to develop museum exhibits at the throughout the park. The Student Conservation archaeology lab at Cinnamon Bay. Funds Association, local school programs, local church derived from the Friends group also provide groups, and individuals from the community assistance to house interns during the help clear vegetation, remove litter from beaches and trails, clean mooring buoy lines, develop protocols for monitoring within the monitor sea turtle nests, and scan Park Service South Florida/Caribbean Network of the Park documents. The Sierra Club and Elderhostel Service’s Inventory and Monitoring Program (of have also contributed volunteer time to care for which Virgin Islands is a part). The monitoring the Virgin Islands’ cultural resources. These program currently focuses on the effects of groups have adopted sites, helped clear vegeta- development and increased visitation on tion to prevent damage, and assisted in the ecosystems; effects of hurricanes and droughts inventory process. on marine and terrestrial resources; effects of Universities also support Virgin Islands fishing on fish populations and reef systems; National Park with cultural research. Through a effects of soil erosion on coastal and marine partnership with the University of Maine, ecosystems; and the status of rare, endangered, students work with staff to map and electroni- and endemic species. 43 cally preserve architecture from the Danish In sum, hundreds of academic and govern- colonial era. The resulting digital archive of sites ment-sponsored studies within the Virgin allows users to view a structure from all sides for Islands have focused on natural resource topics a more complete picture of its construction. The such as coral reef health, fisheries population project provides essential site information to biology, and hurricane and dust events. An the park, and it also provides hands-on historic updated overview report of these activities is preservation experience in the field to the needed so that resource managers and scientists students involved. are aware of what has been done and can iden- The park has also paired with Syracuse tify additional needed research. University archaeology students who participate in summer field schools in the park. The students provide essential geographic informa- WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP tion systems (GIS) and geographic positioning • Participate in park planning efforts. The public is invited to systems (GPS) mapping of historic and archae- provide input on all park plans and studies. The park is ological sites in the park while gaining more currently updating its general management plan. Copies of hands-on experience. Partnering with the the park’s planning documents and information on public University of Denmark, international interns involvement opportunities can be found at www.nps.gov/viis. also complete intensive historical research on sites, which the park uses to better document its • Support or become a member of groups helping to resources. Park staff and interns use historic protect the park: NPCA (www.npca.org), Friends of Virgin maps to locate undocumented historic and Islands National Park (friendsvinp.org), Trust for Public Land

archaeological sites. The historic maps are (www.tpl.org), and other regional organizations. National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park superimposed on modern images of St. John to • Volunteer in the parks. Many parks are looking for dedicated show where plantations, structures, and roads people who can lend a helping hand. To learn about oppor- were once located. This process helps staff find tunities at Virgin Islands National Park, contact the park at resources in dense vegetation, often reducing 340.776.6201. the amount of work needed to clear a site. Since 1996, researchers stationed with the • Become an NPCA activist and learn about legislative initia- Biological Resources Division of the U.S. tives and protection projects affecting parks. When you Geological Survey have operated out of a build- join our activist network, you will receive Park Lines, a monthly ing within the park. These scientists are respon- electronic newsletter with the latest park news and ways you sible for establishing protocols for research on can help. Join by visiting www.npca.org/takeaction. natural resources within the park, and they also APPENDIX: METHODOLOGY

44 To determine the condition of known natural and cultural resources at Virgin Islands National Park, Virgin Islands Coral Reef KYLE BRYNER National Monument, and other national parks, the National Parks Conservation Association developed a resource assessment and ratings process. The assessment methodology can be found online at NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks® website (www.npca.org/stateoftheparks/). Researchers gather available information from a variety of research, monitoring, and background sources in a number of critical categories. The natural resources rating reflects assessments of more than 120 discrete elements associated with environmental quality, biotic health, and ecosystem integrity. Environmental quality and biotic health measures address air, water, soils, and climatic change conditions as well as their influences and human-related influences on levels, park planning documents, resource plants and animals. Ecosystems measures education, and external support. address the extent, species composition, and For this report, researchers collected data

Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park interrelationships of organisms with each and prepared a paper that summarized the other and the physical environment. results. The draft underwent peer review and The scores for cultural resources are deter- was also reviewed by staff at Virgin Islands mined based on the results of 90 indicator National Park, Virgin Islands Coral Reef questions that reflect the National Park National Monument, and the Southeast Service’s own Cultural Resource Management Regional Office of the Park Service. Guideline and other Park Service resource NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks repre- management policies. sents the first time that such assessments have Stewardship capacity refers to the Park been undertaken for units of the National Service’s ability to protect park resources, and Park System. Comments on the program’s includes discussion of funding and staffing methods are welcome. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For more information about the NPCA thanks the staff at Virgin Islands National Park, Center for State of the Parks® Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, and and this and other program reports, contact: the Park Service’s Southeast Regional Office who reviewed the factual accuracy of information used in National Parks Conservation Association this report. We also thank peer reviewers for their Center for State of the Parks® valuable comments and suggestions. PO Box 737 Fort Collins, CO 80522 CENTER FOR STATE OF THE PARKS® Phone: 970.493.2545 ADVISORY COUNCIL E-mail: [email protected] Or visit us at www.npca.org/stateoftheparks/ Dr. Douglas Schwartz, Chair National Parks Conservation Association The School of American Research Suncoast Regional Office Dr. Dorothy Canter John Adornato, III, Regional Director The Johns Hopkins University Phone: 954.961.1280 Email: [email protected] Dr. Francisco Dallmeier Smithsonian Institution Primary researchers: Kyle Bryner, Kimberly Collini, and Kelly O’Rourke Writers: Teri Kman and Elizabeth Meyers Dr. Sylvia Earle Design/Layout: Paul Caputo National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Center for State of the Parks Staff: Michael Finley Dr. James Nations, Vice President Turner Foundation Dr. William Knight, Director Henry A. Jordan, M.D. Kelly Courkamp, Cultural Resources Program Manager Chairman, Glynwood Center Dr. Gail Dethloff, Natural Resources Program Manager Elizabeth Meyers, Publications Manager Bruce Judd Cathy Norris, Program Assistant Architectural Resources Group Megan Lassen, Natural Resources Intern Karl Komatsu Erin McPherson, Cultural Resources Intern Komatsu Architecture Daniel Saxton, Publications Intern Dr. Thomas Lovejoy Other reports available: Adams National Historical Park (MA), Andersonville H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics, National Historic Site (GA), Apostle Islands National Lakeshore (WI), and the Environment Assateague Island National Seashore (MD, VA), Big Bend National Park (TX), Big Hole National Battlefield (MT), Big Thicket National Preserve (TX), Dr. Pamela Matson Biscayne National Park (FL), Bryce Canyon National Park (UT), Canyonlands Stanford University, Ecological Society of America National Park (UT), Catoctin Mountain Park (MD), Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Robert Melnick National Historical Park (DC/MD/WV), Death Valley National Park (CA), Denali University of Oregon National Park and Preserve (AK), Fort Laramie National Historic Site (WY), Fort Necessity National Battlefield (PA), Fort Pulaski National Monument (GA), Fort Dr. Kenton Miller Union Trading Post National Historic Site (ND), Frederick Douglass National World Resources Institute, World Commission on Historic Site (DC), Gateway National Recreation Area (NY), Great Smoky Protected Areas Mountains National Park (TN/NC), Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Dr. Roger Sayre (PA), Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IN), Isle Royale National Park (MI), United States Geological Survey Joshua Tree National Park (CA), Keweenaw National Historical Park (MI), Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site (ND), Lewis and Clark National Dr. Lee Talbot Historical Park (OR), Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail (various), Little George Mason University Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (MT), Longfellow National Historic Site (MA), Missouri National Recreational River (NE), Mojave National Preserve (CA), Nez Perce National Historical Park (WA, ID, MT, OR), Olympic National Park (WA), Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore (MI), Point Reyes National Seashore (CA), Rocky Mountain National Park (CO), San Juan Island National Historical Park (WA), Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site (NH), Shenandoah National Park (VA), San Antonio Missions National Historical Park (TX), Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (MI), Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park (MT-Alberta), Zion National Park (UT)

Please visit www.npca.org/stateoftheparks/ to view these reports and to learn Copyright 2008 more about the Center for State of the Parks®. National Parks Conservation Association 1300 19th Street, N.W., Suite 300 Washington, DC 20036 p/ 202.223.6722 f/ 202.659.0650 www.npca.org

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