Draft environmental statement including general management plan

Denver Service Center, National Park Service

Topics discussed in this report include description of proposal, description of environment, environmental impacts of the proposed action, mitigating measures included in the proposed action, adverse effects, local short term uses, maintenance of long term productivity, alternatives, and consultation. Brief Description of Action: The National Park Service proposes to adopt a new general management plan for the overall use, preservation, management, and development of Buck Island Reef National Monument (St. Croix, Virgin Islands). The plan, in accordance with National Park Service Management Policies, classifies the monument's 176 acres of land and 704 acres of sea into the natural zone with three subzones: natural environment (160 acres land, 160 acres sea), protected natural area (16 acres land, no sea}, and outstanding natural (no land, 544 acres sea). The plan's main thrust is to devise methods of accommodating increasing numbers of visits to the marine gardens in such ways as to minimize destruction of the very resource that attracts the visitors. It does this by limiting the number of boats able to enter the popular southern lagoon and moor at the East End Underwater Trail; providing an additional underwater experience zone (with appropriate facilities and access) off the island's northern shore; and furnishing swimming, sunbathing, hiking, and picnicking opportunities through improvement of existing visitor facilities and development of minimal new facilities. It also proposes that both visitor activity and natural phenomena be increasingly monitored by park staff and that research be conducted on both natural and man-influenced processes of the reef and island. Summary of Environmental Impacts: The plan will provide long-term protection of land and aquatic ecosystems of Buck Island Reef National Monument. Visitors will experience stricter controls over recreational use of the beaches and reefs during periods of peak visitation. The portion of the tour boat industry dependent on the monument will be held to an economic level about as at present, restricting opportunity for growth. Alternatives Considered: No action; Install pier and transfer dock off southern shore; Provide government transportation; Develop visitor-use area off the northwest end of the island; Develop visitor-use area off the island's southern shore.