March 25, 2004 — Delegate to Congress Donna M. Christensen announced that the House National Parks and Public Lands Subcommittee, on which she serves as the senior Democrat, held a hearing today on her bill to study the feasibility of designating the Castle Nugent Farms as a unit of the National Park System.
A unique 1,350-acre property located on the southeastern shore of St. Croix, Castle Nugent Farms contains natural and cultural resources which can provide an unparalleled insight into the plantation period of the Virgin Islands.
"I want to thank my friend, Subcommittee Chairman George Radanovich as well as the full Resources Committee Chairman Pombo for scheduling the hearing today," Christensen said.
"This bill would not have been introduced except for the full support and encouragement of the owners of the Castle Nugent Farms, in particular Caroline Gasperi, who wanted to see her family's property preserved as a part of Virgin Islands history, as well as to be a possible catalyst for tourism growth on St. Croix," Christensen added.
Castle Nugent Farms is presently operated as a cattle ranch and contains more than four miles of pristine oceanfront with a large and healthy fringing coral reef. The interior of the property consists of Caribbean dry forest and pasture lands with cultural resources from both pre-Columbian and post-European settlements. A large Danish estate house, dating back to the 1730s, sits on the property. The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Its current use as a cattle ranch involves raising unique Senepol cattle, a breed well suited to the climate and vegetation of the area.
"I want to also thank the Department of Interior and the National Park Service for expressing their support for passage of the bill and for pointing out that while they currently manage three other national park units on the island of St. Croix, none of them focus on this aspect of Virgin Islands history as the Castle Nugent Farm would," Christensen said.
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