16 U.S.C. § 410tt: Findings

Summary

Congress says Salt River Bay on north‑central St. Croix must be preserved. It has sites possibly dating to 2000 B.C., including the only ceremonial ball court in the Lesser Antilles, village middens, and burial grounds. It is the only known place where members of Columbus’s expeditions landed on present U.S. territory. The area also includes European colonial sites like Fort Sale, was named a national natural landmark in February 1980 and nominated as a significant wildlife habitat, and has the largest mangrove forest and other tropical ecosystems. Congress calls for a joint federal–USVI preservation effort.

Title 16, §410tt

Conservation, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Congress finds that the Salt River Bay area of the north central coast of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands—

(1)has been inhabited, possibly as far back as 2000 B.C., and encompasses all major cultural periods in the United States Virgin Islands;

(2)contains the only ceremonial ball court ever discovered in the Lesser Antilles, village middens, and burial grounds which can provide evidence for the interpretation of Caribbean life prior to Columbus;

(3)is the only known site where members of the Columbus expeditions set foot on what is now United States territory;

(4)was a focal point of various European attempts to colonize the area during the post-Columbian period and contains sites of Spanish, French, Dutch, English, and Danish settlements, including Fort Sale, one of the few remaining earthwork fortifications in the Western Hemisphere;

(5)presents an outstanding opportunity to preserve and interpret Caribbean history and culture, including the impact of European exploration and settlement;

(6)has been a national natural landmark since February 1980 and has been nominated for acquisition as a nationally significant wildlife habitat;

(7)contains the largest remaining mangrove forest in the United States Virgin Islands and a variety of tropical marine and terrestrial ecosystems which should be preserved and kept unimpaired for the benefit of present and future generations; and

(8)is worthy of a comprehensive preservation effort that should be carried out in partnership between the Federal Government and the Government of the United States Virgin Islands.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 102–247, § 1, Feb. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 33, provided that: “This Act [enacting this subchapter, sections 5204 to 5204c of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and section 1469e and 1973 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, amending section 5122 of Title 42 and section 1903 of Title 48, enacting provisions set out as a note under this section, and amending provisions set out as a note under section 301 of Title 7, Agriculture] may be cited as the ‘Omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1992’.” Pub. L. 102–247, title I, § 101, Feb. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 33, provided that: “This title [enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the ‘Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve at St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Act of 1992’.”

§410tt Findings

Summary

Title 16, §410tt

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

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