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Park Fee-Free Weekends Coming Up

June 15, 2009 — If a shortage of funds kept you from visiting V.I. National Park's Trunk Bay on St. John or Christiansted National Historic Site on St. Croix, three fee-free weekends may help. Fees are waived Saturday and Sunday and the weekends of July 18 and 19, as well as Aug. 15 and 16.
The Christiansted fee waiver is the result of a move by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar to provide an economic stimulus to parks across the country.
"National Parks also serve as powerful economic engines for local communities, and we hope that promoting visitation will give a small shot in the arm to businesses in the area," Salazar said in a news release.
Christiansted Superintendent Joel Tutein said that the site's bookstore will also offer discounts on the fee-free day.
Tutein urged residents to take advantage of the fee-free weekends to see St. Croix history up close.
"It's part of our heritage, our history," he said.
Park research indicates that Buddhoe was incarcerated at the site's Fort Christiansvaern after the 1848 slave uprising. Tutein said that Alexander Hamilton's mother, Rachel Lavien, also spent time in the fort's jail. According to Ron Chernow's book Alexander Hamilton, she was jailed for adultery.
And the views from the top of the fort are beautiful, Tutein said.
Christiansted's $3 admission charge is the same as 147 other parks around the country that have an entry fee, but the Trunk Bay $4 charge is part of a user-fee program that was not included in Salazar's proclamation. However, park Superintendent Mark Hardgove decided to join in.
"The park can use discretionary powers," park spokesman Paul Thomas said.
These fee-free weekends at St. John's park are in addition to fee-free days on National Public Lands Day, observed Sept. 26, and Veterans Day on Nov. 11.
Hardgrove said in a news release that Trunk Bay is one of the most visited beaches on St. John, and is home to an underwater trail that lures snorkelers over the reef. Plaques identify coral and fish along the trail.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy our national treasures free of charge," Hardgrove said.
Hardgrove encouraged visitors to Trunk Bay during the fee-free days to ride safari taxis and avoid overcrowding in the Trunk Bay parking lot.
The Christiansted site and Trunk Bay are the only park facilities in the Virgin Islands that charge an entrance fee. Other parks include Coral Reef National Monument on St. John and Buck Island Reef National Monument and Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, both on St. Croix.
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