July 24: VI National Park Strategic Planning Discussion

Contact:  Steve Black, 340.776.6201 ext 240

Dave Worthington, 340.776.6201 ext 237

The public is invited to attend an open house at the Virgin Islands National Park Cruz Bay Visitor Center on July 24th from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm.

Park staff will be available to discuss a proposal to replace park offices and housing that were destroyed by hurricanes Irma and Maria, the construction of new pavilions at Maho Bay, and the Strategic Plan for the Caribbean Parks.

The September 2017, hurricanes resulted in the loss of approximately 7,000 square feet of housing and 6,000 square feet of administrative space. The loss of housing, office, and administrative space has resulted in staff relocations off of the island, and hampers both the ability of the park staff to manage hurricane recovery efforts and the day-to-day business of the park.

The park has prepared a draft Environmental Assessment (EA) that examines alternatives for replacing the housing and administrative spaces that were destroyed due to Hurricanes Irma and Maria with a goal of rebuilding in a smart location that limits the impacts to park resources, represents smart investment of financial resources, is as resilient to future storms as possible, and limits impacts to the local community.

The Environmental Assessment will be available for review beginning July 17^th at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/VINP_Lind_Point_Construction. Comments will be accepted through July 31^st. Copies of the EA will also be available at the open house. Comments can be submitted at the public meeting, via the link above, or they may be mailed to:

ATTN: Lind Point Plan
Virgin Islands National Park
1300 Cruz Bay Creek
St. John, VI 00830