Maroon Sanctuary Park Established
St. Croix Permanently Protects 2,400 Acres as Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park
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The event was the annual Maroon Commemorative Day and Tree Planning Ceremony, organized by the Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) to celebrate the park’s establishment.
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The gathering took place beside the new trailhead to Mt. Eagle, where three hand drummers provided a rhythmic backdrop as Olasee Davis spoke.
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Davis opened his remarks by taking the audience back to Ay Ay’s primordial beginnings and the Cretaceous period, connecting the sanctuary’s significance to its deep geological history.
St. Croix has permanently protected nearly 2,400 acres of ancestral Maroon land in its northwest region through the establishment of Maroon Sanctuary Territorial Park. St. Croix Source The $17.5 million acquisition, completed in August 2025, represents the largest land purchase in U.S. Virgin Islands history and honors centuries of African resistance and freedom on the island's rugged mountain terrain.
On September 25, 2026, the Department of Planning and Natural Resources hosted a commemorative ceremony at the new Mt. Eagle trailhead, where environmental advocate Olasee Davis—who spent over 40 years campaigning for the park's protection—reflected on the sanctuary's deep geological and cultural significance. St. Croix Source The celebration included traditional hand drummers and tree planting to honor the ancestors who sought freedom in these forests.
Maroons Built Freedom in Northwest Forests
Starting in 1650, enslaved Africans escaped Caribbean plantations and established independent communities in St. Croix's steep, forested northwest region. St. Croix Source These settlements, known as Maroon Country, rose over 1,000 feet above sea level and became bastions of resistance against Danish colonial rule for more than a century.
By 1791, census records showed over 950 free Africans and more than 12,000 runaways seeking refuge in these mountains—representing 10% of the island's population. St. Croix Source The Maroon people built a society rooted in dignity, self-determination, and ancestral memory in the very lands now formally protected.
Forty Years of Grassroots Activism Secured the Land
For over four decades, Olasee Davis, a UVI professor and ecologist, led the campaign to prevent commercial developers from destroying this sacred landscape. St. Croix Source He testified at legislative hearings, organized educational hikes, and mobilized local communities to fight for permanent protection.
Davis said at the ceremony: 'The people who made Maroon Country their sanctuary and stood for freedom and human dignity have names and identities... connected to the people alive on St. Croix today.' St. Croix Source His decades of work, combined with federal climate funding and territorial leadership, finally made the purchase possible in August 2025.
Protected Forest and Shoreline Now Open to Public
The park encompasses 2,469 acres of St. Croix's largest contiguous forest ecosystem and 1.8 miles of pristine coastline at Annaly Bay. St. Croix Source The protected land safeguards rare species like the Bridled Quail Dove and ensures that future generations have access to wilderness and heritage.
The Department of Planning and Natural Resources is now developing managed trailheads, educational signage, and public gathering spaces. St. Croix Source Governor Albert Bryan Jr. stated: 'This investment is about conservation and about honoring the struggles of those who came before us... It ensures that future generations of Virgin Islanders will have access to lands that tell our story.'
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