USVI Acquires Maho Bay Property for National Park

Maho Bay St. JohnA 225-acre parcel of land that includes a beach on Maho Bay in St. John has been acquired by the U.S. Virgin Islands for $20 million.

The land has become part of Virgin Islands National Park and will be protected from development.

The national park makes up two-thirds of the island and was created in 1956 from land donated by Laurance Rockefeller.

The recently acquired land, which comprises beach and hillside surrounding the bay on the north side of the island, had been owned since 2008 by the Trust for Public Land. The nonprofit organization bought the land from an individual owner to protect it from development.

"TPL's mission is to protect land. We are not landowners. We acquire land that is threatened and we hold it until the state, federal government or federal agency can purchase it, and then we sell it and deed it over to that body," a Trust for Public Land spokesman said.

The $20 million purchase price matched the price that the Trust for Public Land had paid for it.

The Maho Bay beach had been open to the public prior to the USVI government’s acquisition. New parking areas will replace hazardous parking along the side of the narrow roads leading to the beach.

The beach is noted for its calm waters and abundant marine life, which makes for great snorkeling.

Source: Travel Weekly