Is there no longer a Virgin Islands National Park, or Buck Island Reef National Monument, or Christiansted National Historic Site? Are they now simply known collectively as Caribbean Parks?
No, although there was some media confusion when an online media outlet in the Virgin Islands ran a story to that effect.
The story, by VIConsortium.com, scrolled out beneath a headline claiming that the Trump administration was thinking of changing the name of Virgin Islands National Park to Caribbean National Parks.
"Senate President Myron Jackson on Wednesday encouraged concerned residents to attend a public meeting to discuss the sudden reorganization and name change of the Virgin Islands National Park," read the opening sentence of the story.
That wasn't exactly what was happening, however. What did happen, for the record, was a restructuring of Park Service staff in National Park System units in the Caribbean.
“I was informed about a week-and-a-half ago that the NPS is ‘realigning’ the structure of the national park units in the Caribbean. There will be a general superintendent based in San Juan who will supervise deputies for St. John, St. Croix and San Juan, who in turn will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the park(s) on their islands,” Joe Kessler, president of Friends of Virgin Islands National Park, told the Traveler in an email.
“They will develop a Caribbean management unit in San Juan and centralize certain functions there. There will also be significant changes in the organizational and staffing structure of St. John and St. Croix,” he added. “Their rationalization for all this is to reduce costs and reduce direct reports to the regional director in Atlanta.”
Park Service officials issued a release, largely in response to the VIconsortium article, stating that “(E)ach Caribbean unit of the National Park System is significant to America’s natural and cultural heritage. The Southeast regional director recently realigned the parks’ reporting relationships to push decision-making closer to the field.”
“The superintendents of each Caribbean park will now report to a group superintendent stationed in the Caribbean. This adjustment establishes a working relationship between the parks that breaks down silos and opens access to resources and expertise. There will be no changes to the parks’ names or legal authorities,” added the statement released by Saudia Muwwakkil.
According to the release, "a recent management review of the Caribbean parks — similar to reviews occurring in other parks and regions — was completed in 2017. The review team found we could run each of the Caribbean parks more effectively by sharing resources and expertise."
Specifically, the reorganization is expected to save the Park Service money when it comes to buying equipment, goods, and services, "Strengthen the parks across all divisions; and streamline reporting to the regional office.
Similar structuring can be found in the Outer Banks Group that includes Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Wright Brothers National Memorial, and Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and the Southeast Utah Group that includes Arches and Canyonlands national parks, Natural Bridges National Monument, and Hovenweep National Monument.
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