Virgin Islands National Park has installed eight new barbeque grills and five new picnic tables at Francis and Lameshur Bays. Five tables and three grills were installed at Francis Bay; three tables and two grills were installed at Lameshur.

Virgin Islands National Park Superintendent Mark Hardgrove has announced that Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 14 and 15, have been declared “Fee Free Days” at Trunk Bay Beach, a popular tourist attraction.

Virgin Islands Nation Park Superintendent Art Frederick has announced that registration for storm refuge in Hurricane Hole will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 4.

The Friends of the V.I. National Park is sponsoring a hike to Brown Bay led by historian Chuck Pisko.

After a year-long public review process, the V.I. National Park has put into place its plan to reduce significantly the goat and sheep populations within the park's St. John boundaries. The multi-year program is part of a wider plan to eliminate or reduce all non-native species of animals in the park.

The Friends of Virgin Islands National Park Beach-to-Beach Power Swim is Sunday, May 30. More than 50 volunteers are needed to fill positions the day of the event.

There's time to work on your strokes. Here's information about the Friends of the V.I. National Park Beach-to-Beach Power Swim on May 30. A short course, a longer course, for competitive and recreational swimmers, for individuals and three-person relay teams -- something for everyone in National Park waters.

V.I. National Park officials do not plan wholesale eradication of invasive non-native plant species, the park's resource management chief, Rafe Boulon, said at a meeting Monday, March 1, on St. John that will be followed by three others on St. Croix. Rather, officials said, the park will target problem areas.

For the third year in a row, the Friends of V.I. National Park are offering scholarships to students studying in fields related to natural resource management or protection.

A Maryland boater wanting to pay his $15 nightly fee to moor in V.I. National Park waters couldn't find the pay station supposedly somewhere on the beach at Hawksnest Bay. And for good reason: Park officials had removed it because of swells -- as part of an overall fine tuning of the mooring fee operations expected to take about a year.