Sept. 17, 2003 — To honor National Public Lands Day, the V.I. National Park has declared Saturday, Sept. 20, a fee free day.
User fees at Trunk Bay Beach and Annaberg Sugar Mill will be waived, said a release.
National Public Lands Day is celebrated annually on the fourth Saturday of September. More than 70,000 volunteers across the United States last year pitched in to improve habitats on public lands, building nests for least terns, raking fire-ravaged forest areas and planting seedlings, and removing invasive algae which threaten corals.
This year volunteers will take part in projects in all 50 states according to the Day's Web site. While the Virgin Islands is included in the pull-down states list of volunteer opportunities, a click gets to an empty site.
This year's signature event will be at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., where hundreds of volunteers will lend a hand with cherry blossom trees, the U.S. Grant Memorial and the Potomac River shoreline.
In the states, "this year's activities will focus on improving and preserving the nation's habitats – the forests, mountains, prairies, plains, rivers, wetlands, and urban places that are home to a rich diversity of animals, birds, and plants," according to the Web site.
In the Virgin Islands, residents are invited to relish the natural beauty of St. John protected by the National Park Service on this National Public Lands Day, fee free.

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