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I lifted this from another forum. I emailed the NPS director. It's the least I can do.
Dear Friend,
You may already be aware that Maho Bay is being seriously threatened and requires the urgent attention of everyone who enjoys the easy access to the beautiful beach at Maho Bay and values the crystal-clear waters of that bay. The property bordered by the road at Maho Beach and encompassing virtually the entire basin as one looks inland, right up to Centerline Road, Mamey Peak and Ajax Peak is a beautiful and pristine area, rich in botanical wonders and historic treasures, that appears to be parkland - but is not -- and is now facing a significant threat. This land is owned in common by the NPS, Trust for Public Land and seven of the heirs of the original owner.
A private individual is now attempting to purchase the seven shares from the heirs to build an "institute", return a few acres to each of these heirs, develop a significant personal compound and possibly develop additional land for residential home sites. He is insisting that the NPS and the Trust for Public Land sell their four shares, as well as other contiguous properties, to him and agree to a number of other conditions.
The land transactions in question are between willing sellers and a willing buyer. They are perfectly legal and, as distressing as the thought may be, they may well be the best current alternative to protecting at least part of Maho Bay and the surrounding lands from rampant development. However, the conditions he is insisting upon:
NPS and TPL to sell their four shares, as well as other contiguous properties, to him;
Permission to reroute the road and thereby impede access to Maho beach;
Permission to build a 120' x 60' dock in the bay; and,
Permission to drain the wetlands and open a permanent channel to the bay
are egregious and will cause significant environmental damage to the bay and wetlands, as well as hamper the free and easy access to Maho beach that we have always enjoyed.
I encourage you to contact National Park Service Director Fran Mainella and express your concern about Maho Bay. Specifically, I suggest that you ask her to:
Protect the integrity of Virgin Islands National Park and the National Park Service by not entering into any agreement that sells NPS land or sells NPS shares in land held in common.
Protect the fragile marine resources of Maho Bay by not allowing the construction of a dock in the bay or allowing the wetlands to be drained and a permanent channel to be opened into the bay.
Protect the right of the residents of St. John and the millions of visitors to this island and VI National Park to enjoy, unimpaired, the spectacular natural beauty of, and easy access to, the beach at Maho Bay.
To learn more about the threat to Maho Bay, please go to:
http://www.friendsvinp.org/maho_action.htm
To send an e-mail or Fax to NPS Director, Fran Mainella, please go to: http://www.friendsvinp.org/maho_action.htm#do.
While you are certainly welcome to send your message using the text provided, you are encouraged to personalize and customize the message to best reflect your personal views. Also, please forward this message to your friends, family and associates who you think would share your concern and would want to help Protect Maho Bay.
Thank you for your concern and support regarding this important matter -- together we will make a difference. Feel free to contact me should you have additional questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Joe Kessler, President
Friends of Virgin Islands National Park
[email protected]
340-779-4940
Nick
I had to take a break from CNN and saw your posting, thankfully something to the good as opposed to the idiots above! I'm so frustated with the direction this country is taking , everything is about GREED!! This is something I can respond to, maybe we can make a difference! Google James Simons , pretty interesting. Good Luck!
Thanks for your vigilance and the posting.
Just to let others know, I just went on this site and it was very, very easy to pull up the letter, add a few lines of my own and send it off. Took under 5 minutes!!!! This is too beautiful an area to let it go the route of development.
Email Sent!
I have stayed at the maho bay camps for 10 days. Developement of this area would be detrimental to say the least.
I'd like to put this back up front as we just got an online newsletter from Maho Bay camps with the same website connection for action. In light of all the recent news of environmental damage in the Gulf Coast and ongoing VINOW message board controversies over environmental issues, here is one very easy way to help protect a lovely, relatively pristine section of STJ, next to the Maho Bay Camps area, near Cinnamon Bay. Activism is sometimes "easy" when you live thousands of miles away- its just a couple of clicks of the mouse, a sentence or two of your own feelings to add to the letter and Shizamm- your voice has been heard!!! The islands aren't protected with money, they are protected from further damage by your voice in opposition to more "development"- don't 'ya just love that word "development"???
I e-mailed mine to her.
She has a bio here: http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/pugsley/Mainella.htm
Here's an article that appeared in "News of St. John" by Frank Barnako a local person on STJ.
Park Friends warn of Maho threat
A wealthy New York couple is trying to create a "think tank" on 441 acres of land at Estate Maho Bay. The president of the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park is angrily fighting.
The land stretches from Maho Bay Beach to Centerline Road, Mamey peak and Ajax peak, the Friends' president, Joe Kessler, wrote in his organization's Fall 2005 newsletter. Kessler said the potential buyers are in "secret negotiations" with heirs of the land's original owners and are, at the same time, trying to force the National Park Service to sell its share of the property in return for the designation of 80 acres as a conservation area. Kessler said the developer is also planning to divert North Shore Road in such a way as to make Maho Bay beach access more difficult and to build a private dock at Maho.
The developers were identified as James and Marilyn Simons. A Google search identified a Dr. James Simons, a successful hedge fund investor, who with his wife, Marilyn, has donated more than $15 for research into autism. They are also sponsors of the Simons Foundation which has many charitable interests including a network of hospital and community projects in Nepal named in memory of their son.
Kessler said the development plans include 44 acres for the think tank (now called Maho Bay Institute) in the lowlands near the beach, 42 acres for the heirs’ residential sites and 89 acres for the family compound and (presumably) other residential sites. "Any prospect of developing this spectacular area within the Park is extremely distressing as it will destroy the integrity of the Park," Kessler warned. "These demands ... by the developer will have extreme, long-term detrimental impact on the Park." The Friends have more information on the web.
ac
The way I understand it, however, is that the sale case has to go to court, as there is one shareholder that refuses to sell.
And in regard to the dock and road, it will never happen. The road is owned jointly by the VI government as welk as the park. I don't think the VI government would go along with that, and the reef prohibits a dock fom going there. This guys has a bigger fight on his hands that the likes of us.
RL
Good to know, Ron. Just hope it works out that way.
