Challenges of the Future for
Virgin Islands National Park

Carrying Capacities. One of the greatest challenges facing our National Parks is deciding how to provide for quality enjoyment of increasingly large numbers of visitors while preserving the fragile ecosystems within the Park, such as the coral reefs and tropical forests of Virgin Islands National Park. Like other national parks where visitation is on the rise, Virgin Islands National Park may need to set "carrying capacities." Doing so enables a park to preserve its natural and cultural resources - a mandate from the U.S. Department of the Interior - by limiting the numbers of visitors and/or vehicles within an area at a given time.

Carrying capacities can be examined in terms of "social carrying capacities." -How many visitors can occupy a beach or hiking trail before it is no longer fun?- and resource carrying capacities -How many visitors can occupy a beach or snorkel in its waters before it is no longer a quality experience?. Carrying capacities are determined by identifying limits of acceptable change. How much change - or resource damage - is acceptable, while still allowing visitors to enjoy a destination?

With visitation to Virgin Islands National Park already at one million each year, that number is exected to increase dramatically as the "mega class" cruise ships bring as many as 3,000 passengers to the Park at one time. It is expected that within two years the smaller cruise ships will be supplanted with the newer "eagle class" of ship that can carry up to 4,000 passengers - doubling the regular population of St. John during a single cruise ship visit. In three years, it is further expected that the Havensight dock on St. Thomas will have the capacity to dock enough cruise ships to offload 20,000 visitors onto St. Thomas, again increasing possible visitation to the Park.

Mooring System/No-Anchoring Zones. Another issue of grave concern to Virgin Islands National Park is the damage to coral reefs and seagrass beds caused by inappropriate anchoring by boating visitors. While part of the solution may be to expand the current mooring system and establish no-anchoring zones, this is an expensive and human resources intensive endeavour. The Park is considering a combination of expanding no-anchoring zones, such as the one that currently exists on its south shore, and increasing the number of mooring buoys. The boating public could then access safe moorings, rather than drop anchor. Establishing new mooring buoys is expensive, but the greater expense is in maintaining them, as maintenance involves the continuous work of divers.

South Shore Marine Reserve. Virgin Islands National Park is studying the possibility of designating the Park's south shore waters as a marine reserve or no-take zone as a way to better protect the coral reef ecosystem and fisheries. On June 11, 1998, President William J. Clinton signed an Executive Order that provides the Park with additional tools to protect its coral reefs, and with additional opportunities to work with the U.S. Virgin Islands government and local fisheries to protect the coral reefs for the enjoyment of future generations.

Coral Disease Research. In July 1997, marine biologists at the U.S. Geological Survey Field Station on St. John observed a new, apparently virulent and rapidly advancing coral disease on a number of coral reefs. Since then, follow-up by the scientists has included monitoring the spread of the disease and the fate of the infected coral heads. Samples of diseased mucus and tissue were sent to marine microbiologists at Florida International University and the University of South Carolina-Aiken for isolation and identification of the pathogen. This ongoing research is a part of the Coral Reef Monitoring Program being conducted by scientists at the field station on St. John, and is one of the longest-running coral reef monitoring programs for the Atlantic/Caribbean.

Cultural Heritage Preservation. Virgin Islands National Park occupies land with a culturally rich past - from the era when a pre-Colombian Amerindian civilization thrived on St. John, to the time when the Danish colonial sugar plantation life dominated the island, to the period following emancipation when a self-subsistence culture thrived on St. John. Park staff ischarged with preserving not only the natural ecosystems that provide Virgin Islands National Park with its remarkable beauty, but also its cultural resources, folklife and traditional arts and crafts. To that end, Park staff continues to work together with local community leaders to devise ways to preserve traditional crafts. A long range goal is to create a center in which local craftspeople can both demonstrate their crafts and sell their unique wares.

Gateway Community Initiative. Increasingly, the National Park Service is recognizing that communities serving as "gateways" to national parks - Cruz Bay on St. John is a prime example - are impacted by the great number of visitors who come to enjoy the neighboring park. Wishing to be a good neighbor to such communities, the National Park Service has begun a Gateway Community Initiative, in which it offers the services of professional planners who meet with community members to identify long-range goals, which ultimately helps them to plan more effectively for the future. Gateway communities can then work toward making their proximity to a national park an asset rather than a detriment. Cruz Bay has been identified by the National Park Service as a gateway community, making it eligible for participation in the Gateway Community Initiative.

Land Acquisition/Park In-Holdings. As society continues to seek solitude, inspiration from nature and temporary escape from daily stress, the Caribbean islands come under intense pressure to develop more land for vacation rental properties and permanent residential housing. Because St. John is no exception - and because islands have very limited potential for growth and development- Virgin Islands National Park is, possibly more than its sister parks, threatened by rapid development. Already, undeveloped land that has been privately held within the Park since its beginning, is quickly being developed into luxury vacation home subdivisions. Park management estimates that, at this rapid pace and coupled with the skyrocketing value of real estate on St. John, in-holdings that the Park is unable to purchase in the next five years will be lost to Virgin Islands National Park forever.