The Virgin Islands Consortium writes that in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. announced a “historic acquisition of 2,469 acres at Maroon Ridge and Annaly Bay, the largest land purchase in Virgin Islands history. The land, once a refuge for enslaved people seeking freedom, will now form part of the park system.”
[. . .] “This is about ensuring that Virgin Islanders have open access to these lands, not as bystanders, but as rightful stewards, beneficiaries and owners of their heritage,” Mr. Bryan said, announcing the acquisition of 2,469 acres of land at Maroon Ridge and Annaly Bay on St. Croix.
Calling the acquisition “meaningful” and the land “sacred ground,” Governor Bryan noted that historically, Maroon Ridge “was a place of refuge for those who broke the chains of slavery and sought freedom in its cliffs and forests.” The land, he continued, “carries the spirit of resistance and the strength of our ancestors.”
The Government of the Virgin Islands was not willing to leave the land “unprotected and vulnerable to development,” the governor said. Funds for the acquisition came from the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts Initiative, a program under the Inflation Reduction Act, awarded the Virgin Islands $69 million last July to fund the acquisition of four properties at risk from development. The money will also be used to create “a working group to guide the implementation of nature-based solutions,” and to train local youth “to provide increased local capacity for conducting restoration products,” according to a July 2024 announcement from NOAA.
Kristina Edwards, director of the Division of Territorial Parks and Protected Areas in the Department of Planning and Natural Resources, noted that the Maroon Ridge acquisition has been “decades in the making.” She acknowledged the support and the efforts of a myriad of community organizations to bring the idea to fruition. “It has been truly remarkable to see this be accomplished,” Ms. Edwards noted. “I hope that everybody realizes how important this is.” [. . .]
[Many thanks to Peter Jordens for bringing this item to our attention.]
For full article, visit https://viconsortium.com/vi-government/virgin-islands-governor-bryan-announces-historic-2-469-acre-land-acquisition-at-maroon-ridge-and-annaly-bay
Also see the USVI Government press release at https://www.vi.gov/bryan-administration-secures-more-than-2000-acres-in-historic-parkland-expansion
[Photo above: Annaly Bay.]
The Virgin Islands Consortium writes that in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Governor Albert Bryan Jr. announced a “historic acquisition of 2,469 acres at Maroon Ridge and Annaly Bay, the largest land purchase in Virgin Islands history. The land, once a refuge for enslaved people seeking freedom, will now form part of the park system.” [.
