Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park Supports 36 Programs
By Amy H. Roberts | The Source USVI | Thanks to funding from the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park in 2024, 2,491 turtle hatchings on St. John made it to the sea safely.
Nearly a thousand students from 10 schools spent time in the park learning about history, culture and nature. Three hundred campers from seven camps attended swim lessons and educational sessions, and seven college students were given financial assistance.
These are some of the accomplishments outlined in the Friends VINP annual impact report for 2024, which was distributed at their annual meeting held at the Raintree Restaurant at Cinnamon Bay Saturday.
In all, the Friends VINP is managing 36 programs with a combined budget of more than a million dollars, according to Executive Director Tonia Lovejoy.
“We’re all here because every one of us has a special place in our hearts for this place,” Lovejoy said. She, as well as other speakers, avoided directly addressing the mounting environmental and political challenges to the Virgin Islands National Park and to the other 438 sites within the National Park Service system.
Instead, Lovejoy said she looks up to her role models, to the children in the community, and to her higher power to find hope.
“I look to hope,” she said. “Hope is not passive. It is active. It’s intentionally showing up to protect and preserve the things we love.”
Now in its 38th year, the Friends VINP has made a special effort to engage youth in supporting its mission. This past year it has established a Young Professional Board, and the keynote speaker at the meeting, Ki’Janne´ Alfred, is a member of that board.
Alfred was also the recipient last year of the Friends VINP Noble Samuel Scholarship and is the great-granddaughter of Julius E. Sprauve, who donated land to create the national park on St. John in 1956.
Alfred grew up participating in programs sponsored by the Friends, including working one summer on a trail crew. She said she looks forward to creating opportunities for school children to think of the park not only as a home and a place to cherish but as a place to develop “skills to connect to our land and heritage.” She received a standing ovation.
Friends VINP Board President Audrey Penn expressed her gratitude toward Adrian Davis and Andy Rutnik, two longtime board members who retired at the end of 2024.
Penn also welcomed three new board members: Julice (Harley) Holder, chief of staff at the Virgin Islands Port Authority; Adonis Morton, a retired bank executive who now serves as general manager of Cinnamon Bay campground; and Kim Waddell, Ph.D., director of VI EPSCoR at the University of the Virgin Islands.
After making brief remarks about the park’s efforts to clean up contaminated sites at Caneel Bay and clear trails at Hassel Island on St. Thomas, VINP Superintendent Penny Del Bene opened the floor to questions.
One of the first questions from the audience concerned why the previous owner of the lease for the resort at Caneel Bay, CBI Acquisitions, has so far not been forced to pay for the cleanup at Caneel.
Del Bene declined to say more than, “It’s a very complicated question which our solicitors are working on.” Upon further questioning, she said that the selection of a new developer of the Caneel Bay property was in the Request for Qualifications stage.
Del Bene was also asked about efforts to recruit locals to fill positions within the park. She responded that the VINP does have authority to hire locally for positions up to GS-7 level. She spoke in favor of the Friends VINP’s efforts to establish a Junior Ranger Program, which will serve as a training ground and pipeline for local hiring. She noted that a recent executive order puts a 90-day hold on any federal hiring.
Asked about how other new executive orders might affect the Virgin Islands National Park, Del Bene responded, “It would be inappropriate for me to answer that.”
Del Bene did say that the park faces many challenges and issues, “and we are doing our best to be available to the public.” Although the monthly Wednesday evening public meetings are on hold until May, Del Bene said she has an open-door policy and invited anyone with a concern to set up an appointment with her by calling 340-776-6201.
