National Park Service Resumes Important Community Role

by Nina York

Our National Park Service suffered from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with internal personnel losses, and recovery from two Category 5 hurricanes. But the established structure and personnel loyalty that is enjoyed by the National Park Service enabled it in its 106th year to continue as a leader in preservation for and education of the American public.

St. Croix can boast of having three National Park sites: The Christiansted National Historic Site, the Salt River Bay Historical Park & Ecological Preserve, and the Buck Island Reef National Monument. These three attractions offer totally different educational and enjoyable experiences within a small geographical area. The Christiansted site became our first National Park area in 1952, Buck Island in 1962, and Salt River Bay in 1992, almost the quincentennial of Columbus’ visit here with his fleet in 1493.

The Christiansted National Historic Site features impressive 18th century Danish brick masonry architecture. This island was owned by the Danish West India Company that had bought the island from France in 1733. St. Croix enjoyed tremendous wealth from growing sugar cane, then a valuable commodity, and the five buildings, beautifully maintained, reflect that wealth: Fort Christiansvaern as defense, the Old Custom House for collecting duties and fees, the Old Scale House for weighing all imports and exports, the Danish West India and Guinea Company Warehouse for storing barrels and sacks of sugar and rum, the latter a biproduct of cane. Also included is The Steeple Building, the first Danish Lutheran church. These sites all impacted from the hurricanes, was what met new Superintendent Angelita Alvino as she took office October 2021. An experienced NPS professional born in Puerto Rico, she had a good background for our location and has tackled the many challenges facing her and her staff, greatly assisted in her position by Crucian longtime NPS Interpreter Benito Vegas. Alvino was also met by ongoing replacement of the bulwark protection of the downtown harbor. Delays in shipping and discovery of major deterioration of the former bulkhead that had to be repaired plus COVID-19 restrictions led to a prolonged closing of parts of the site.

But Fort Christiansvaern, after repairs under a cyclic maintenance plan supervised by local experts from NPS Historic Preservation Training Center, has reopened to the public. Still pending is reopening of the upstairs exhibit space awaiting scheduled repairs to a damaged historic wooden beam. Admission is now $10 for adults, and much to the chagrin of many, the parking lot will no longer be free, but we could be thankful that we were given a long reprieve! At present, only 13 employees handle the large task that includes maintenance of all the old structures. NPS is eager to hire local help and can provide training workshops for potential employees. Their Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is a creative summer program for high school students to work alongside NPS staff to learn a variety of skills. Several major projects will be starting in the next six months, including a restoration of the ravelin entrance courtyard. Various outdoor events for the public on the site will also be on the calendar.

A local construction company oversees the major project of a new Visitor Center at Salt River Bay. This will be a much larger facility than the one before and will have a bookstore. Completion of construction is scheduled for August and opening of the center for January 2024.

Buck Island Reef National Monument is open to the public for swimming, snorkeling, and hiking, and the NPS teams up with The Nature Conservancy and V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources to continue coral reef research and restoration and combatting Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease. Nearly 10,000 new corals have been grown and replaced.

A long-awaited reopening of the Old Scale House bookstore, operated by Eastern National Park Stores will have happened when you read this, offering island books, maps, games, NPS pins and shirts, and souvenirs that represent the Virgin Islands. NPS gets a portion of the proceeds, and 80% is targeted for local projects.

National Park Service | 340-773-1460

Christiansted, www.nps.gov/chri

Salt River, www.nps.gov/sari

Buck Island, www.nps.gov/buis