Estate Maho Bay, St. John

Beginning in 2009, Trust for Public Land led a multiyear effort to acquire and protect as much of the remaining privately held land in the heart of Virgin Islands National Park as possible. This was the largest conservation project on St. John since the creation of the national park in 1956, which makes up roughly 56 percent of the land area on the island of St. John and sees 600,000 visitors per year.

One of the key acquisitions in this effort is Estate Maho Bay. The property is part of the Maho Bay watershed, which empties into Little Maho Bay, home to fragile coral reef and seagrass beds. Had Estate Maho Bay been developed, the national park would be split in half. Instead, leveraging public and private funds for the acquisitions, TPL added 228 acres of land to the national park—ensuring long-term protection and setting a precedent for these precious lands in the future.