The Nature Conservancy has purchased 301 acres of land on the southeastern tip of St. Croix, including some of the island’s most pristine sections of coast at Jack and Isaac Bays.
Carol Mayes, local director for The Nature Conservancy's Virgin Islands and Eastern Caribbean program, confirmed Thursday the Conservancy had taken out a loan to purchase the $2.5 million property and establish a $750,000 fund for on-going management expenses.
"We hold the deed to the property but must still raise $1.5 million to pay off the loan," she said.
The conservation group raised most of the purchase money from local and winter residents as well as grants, Mayes said. The Conservancy’s goals are to raise the $1.5 million balance through tax deductible donations by the spring of 2000, then officially dedicate the preserve.
The 301 acres are designated as an Area of Particular Concern by the V.I. Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Jack and Isaac Bays are critical nesting areas for hawksbill and green sea turtles as well as habitat for migrant and nesting seabirds. The Nature Conservancy will also conserve the area for human use, Mayes said.
"It’s incredibly exciting. It’s a globally significant, biodiverse area," she said. "This area ranks high on our international list of priorities."
A founding member of the local Conservancy board, Dr. LaVerne Ragster, said the Conservancy will continue traditional community uses on the land, including educational hikes, lectures, sea turtle conservation and research.
"This is an important community issue for St. Croix. We continue to seek local support because $1.5 million in funds are still needed to repay the loan for the land purchase," Ragster said. "This purchase enhances the chances that the East End of St. Croix will remain forever wild for the pleasure and use of Virgin Islanders and visitors and ensure the biological conservation of forests, reefs and the globally significant species residing here."
In the early and mid 1990s, Jack and Isaac Bays were slated for housing development by the Caribank Financial Group. The original development proposal was opposed by the St. Croix Environmental Association and a later plan didn’t gain needed permits by DPNR and the Coastal Zone Management committee.
Mayes said the Conservancy tried to purchase the acreage from Caribank, but after the company defaulted on a loan for the land ownership returned to the Farleigh Dickinson Family Trust. The Conservancy purchased the property from the trust.
The 301 acres now owned by the Conservancy neighbors 600 acres of land on the northeast shore owned by the V.I. government under a 50-year conservation restriction. A portion of that land was deeded to the V.I. government by the Farleigh Dickinson Family.
In effect, said Mayes, the combination of these two properties creates one of the largest conservation areas in the Virgin Islands.
Robin Freeman, project consultant for SEA, said development of the area would have been detrimental to the east end’s fragile ecosystem.
"The reef system out there is very vulnerable," she said. "To leave the area in its natural state is very, very important."
Mayes said that The Nature Conservancy’s fund raising work and international exposure will help support St. Croix’s effort to establish itself as an eco-destination. The Nature Conservancy, an international non-profit organization dedicated to conservation, has its local headquarters in Estate Little Princess on St. Croix.
