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Charlotte Amalie
Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesMONUMENT FALLOUT AND FINGER POINTING BEGINS

MONUMENT FALLOUT AND FINGER POINTING BEGINS

The fallout is settling a day after the Clinton administration created and expanded national monuments in the territory.
V.I. Sens. Norman Jn Baptiste and Alicia Hansen on Thursday posted their objections to President Clinton's ordering of the 18,000-acre expansion of the Buck Island Reef National Monument off of St. Croix and the creation of the 12,700-acre Virgin Islands Reef National Monument off St. John. Both senators said the designations should be repealed because the interests of local fishermen were not protected.
They also contend that if the monument designations stand, the people of the Virgin Islands should be compensated.
"I’m drafting a letter to President-elect Bush today asking him to immediately repeal this executive order upon taking office this weekend," Baptiste said. "If it is not repealed, the federal government must compensate Virgin Islands fishermen for the negative impact this designation would have on the local fishing industry."
Hansen will be in Washington, D.C., this weekend for the Bush-Cheney inauguration. While she is there, Hansen said she would press the issue with Bush’s nominee for secretary of Interior, Gale Norton. Hansen also called for the federal government to make monetary amends if the monuments remain.
"If this is not repealed . . . then there must be a way to compensate the people of the Virgin Islands," she said.
Baptiste, who has been derided by fellow Democrats for siding with the 24th Legislature’s majority bloc, blasted V.I. Delegate to Congress Donna Christian Christensen, also a Democrat, for "dropping the ball" on the monument issue.
"Her town meeting Jan. 10 was too little, too late when it comes to local fishermen’s concerns. And if she doesn’t get on the ball to get the new Bush administration to repeal this order, local fishermen could end up paying with their livelihoods.
"And the irony of the situation is certainly not lost on me of all people, because our Democratic delegate to Congress will now have to petition a Republican president because our outgoing Democratic president acted with little or no regard for the Virgin Islands people."
Meanwhile, on Thursday Christensen attended the Senate confirmation hearing of Norton, who if approved will have oversight of federal territorial issues as secretary of the Interior.
"I think it is important to hear Ms. Norton first hand, as she winds her way through the nomination process, to get a good handle on her stance on issues that may relate to the territories," Christensen said.
In light of the monument issue, Christensen said she was encouraged by Norton's comments during her testimony where she indicated that some environmental preservation decisions were made from the top down without consulting the people they affect the most.
"Our fight to defend the livelihood of our fishermen will continue," Christensen said. "I will continue to pursue the mitigation of the effects on our fishing community, if not the overturning of the monument designation on a whole."

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