John King became the sixth superintendent of the Virgin Islands National Park earlier this month, taking over the reins from retired Superintendent Russ Berry.
"It's an honor and privilege to be serving in the Virgin Islands," the superintendent told a Rotary Club meeting last week, after a week on the job he started Dec. 4.
A veteran of 31 years with the National Park Service, King comes to the Virgin Islands from Denver where he was deputy regional director of the Interstate Mountain Region, spanning eight states and some of the nation's most popular parks. King supervised the southern half of four states, consisting of 35 parks.
"One of my goals here in St John is to continue the progress made in the past," the superintendent told Rotarians. To do that he plans to adopt a business plan for the Park, to communicate needs and to market those needs both within and outside the Park.
"I want the Park to be a part of the community. To be good neighbors it's important to work closely with the local government to get initiatives moving," King said.
King noted that visitation to the Virgin Islands National Park has increased to one million yearly. The challenge, he said, is to manage visitations in such a way as to protect the natural and cultural resources while simultaneously ensuring a quality and meaningful experience for visitors and residents.