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Musings From Virgin Islands National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 5, 2009 - 6:07am
Floating face down in the Caribbean, with snorkel clenched in your mouth, lacks the structure, the regimentation, of observing the natural world in the way we’ve grown up to accept while walking through a forest, strolling through a meadow, or hiking up a mountain. Clouds of neon blue tangs drift by while black-and-yellow striped sergeant majors flit about, lacking the tangs’ regimented approach to life in the ocean.

Trails I've Hiked: Reef Bay Trail, Virgin Islands National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 5, 2009 - 2:47am
Mango trees, lime trees, and one of the best preserved ruins of a sugar plantation in Virgin Islands National Park are among the payoffs of the Reef Bay Trail.

Trust For Public Land Leverages Land Purchase for Virgin Islands National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 1, 2009 - 5:37am
For roughly 47 cents on the dollar, Virgin Islands National Park is growing by more than 400 acres thanks to the efforts of the Trust for Public Land.

Climate Change and Coral Bleaching: Changing the Seascape of Virgin Islands National Park

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on April 1, 2009 - 2:30am
Forget what you might have heard about polar bears being the first species to gain Endangered Species Act protection due to climate change. Two species of coral lay claim to that unfortunate distinction.

Update: Virgin Islands National Park Takes a Swipe, not a Direct Hit, from Hurricane Omar

Submitted by Jim Burnett on October 17, 2008 - 10:56am
Damage surveys and cleanup work are underway at Virgin Islands National Park after Hurricane Omar passed thorough the islands on Thursday. It appears that main park facilities on St. John escaped a major hit.

Virgin Islands National Park: Another Park Threatened By Inbounds Development

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 26, 2008 - 4:50pm
Valley Forge National Historical Park isn't the only unit of the national park system threatened by development on private lands that fall within its borders. Far from it. The latest case involves Virgin Islands National Park, where development on roughly 1,400 privately owned acres within the park's borders is harming the park's resources.

Despite All the Talk About A Bountiful NPS Budget, Not All National Parks Doing Well

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on January 29, 2008 - 3:30am
We've heard lots about how bountiful the National Park Service's 2008 budget is thanks to the Bush administration. Well, don't let that talk make you think all is great across the park system.

If You Have to Ask the Price, The Ahwahnee And Jenny Lake Lodge Are Probably Out of Reach

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on September 15, 2007 - 6:00am
Earlier this summer we ran a list of the Top 10 Lodges in the park system. Admittedly it's a "soft" list, one that definitely is not objective. But what some might find objectionable are the nightly costs for staying in some of these places.