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Virgin Islands National Park Virgin Islands Coral Reef ® March 2008 VIRGIN ISLANDS NATIONAL PARK VIRGIN ISLANDS CORAL REEF NATIONAL MONUMENT A Resource Assessment ® 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 REPORT SUMMARY ELIZABETH MEYERS 1 Virgin Islands National Park / Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument / Virgin Islands Coral Reef Virgin Islands National Park Few experiences compare to snorkeling through millions of tourists annually. Verdant islands and tranquil turquoise waters, gliding effortlessly Located on St. John, Virgin Islands National turquoise waters draw hundreds of thou- among colorful fish, sea turtles, and spectacular Park was established in 1956 and comprises sands of visitors to coral formations; or walking along a warm, more than half the mountainous island’s land Virgin Islands National white sand beach at sunset, swaying palms area. The park includes most of the north shore Park each year. whispering in the evening breeze. Visions like and most of the central and southeast portions this draw tourists to the Caribbean Islands, and of the island, including 7,259 acres of terrestrial the U.S. Virgin Islands are no exception. St. and shoreline habitat and 5,650 acres of adja- John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix, the three main cent submerged lands (off-shore underwater islands of the U.S. Virgin Islands group, draw habitat, added to the park in 1962). The park KYLE BRYNER 2 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 struc- tures, 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
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