Gov. Charles Turnbull on Thursday said he didn’t "open any door" to the Clinton administration’s establishment of controversial national monuments in the territory by signing a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Interior in 1999.
In a release Thursday, the governor was apparently responding to criticism from the Senate majority and his own lieutenant governor, Gerard Luz James II, about how the monuments came to be.
Turnbull said nothing in the memorandum, which he signed with former Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt in October 1999, gave the federal government the unilateral right to establish monuments including submerged lands and coral reefs.
On Jan. 17, former President Clinton ordered the creation of the 12,700-acre Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument off St. John and the 18,000-acre expansion of the Buck Island Reef National Monument off St. Croix. The monument plans were recommended to Clinton by Babbitt.
"The amount of acreage claimed by the federal government appears to be too large and was apparently done without due consideration of the input by the local population and the needs of local fishermen," Turnbull said.
Along with economic guidelines aimed at helping the territory climb out of its financial hole, the memorandum contained extensive language aimed at preserving the islands’ natural and cultural resources. In order to stimulate local economic growth through sustainable tourism, the memorandum committed the administration and Interior to a program of preserving and enhancing the territory’s natural, cultural and historic resources.
Under the memorandum, the governments were to work jointly to identify and map submerged land and reefs, ensure their long-term protection, and establish what the memorandum called the V.I. Conservation Trust, which would maintain and manage resources by creating a network of local parks and recreation trails.
The memorandum states that the Secretary of Interior will do the following:
— Work on obtaining funding and assets for the V.I. Conservation Trust.
— Work with the V.I. government to draft an additional memorandum of understanding that would implement joint planning and management of the Salt River Marine and Ecological Park.
— With the University of the Virgin Islands, create a consortium to promote understanding of the marine environment, including coral reef ecosystems, and promote marine education and public awareness within the Caribbean.
— Work with the V.I. government and UVI to provide opportunities for students to learn about the stewardship of resources by working with National Park Service experts through a park mentorship program, funded at up to $50,000 per year for fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, subject to the availability of funds.
Meanwhile, despite his boss’s assertions to the contrary, Lt. Gov. James said the memorandum "had the initial language in it" that allowed the monuments to be declared.
"What I think he did with the national monuments shouldn’t be news to anyone," James said on Wednesday.
Still, Turnbull was unrepentant. "In sum, this governor did not open any door for the federal government to create monuments. Any action according to the memorandum of understanding had to be done jointly. This was not the case."
