May 5, 2001 – If you happen to be hiking the Lind Point Trail or sunning at Salomon Beach next Saturday, expect to encounter a lot of scouts out doing good deeds.
Throughout the national park system, May 12 has been designated a "Kids' Day" within the ongoing Keep America Beautiful/Great American Cleanup Program. For the V.I. National Park's participation, Supt. John King has decided to focus on the trail and beach.
Co-sponsored by the Friends of the National Park and Caneel Bay, the cleanup efforts will be led by members of St. John Cub Scout Pack 30 and the U.S. Customs Cadets.
"This event fits well into the park's ongoing efforts to ensure that Salomon Beach and all other park beaches are clean, accessible and family-friendly," VINP cleanup organizer Shannon Swan said in a release.
In the case of Salomon Beach, it also signals an extension of King's publicly stated determination to discourage the longtime practice of sunbathing in one's birthday suit. He announced in March that he was stepping up park patrols at St. John beaches in general and at Salomon in particular because of "recent complaints about disturbances and inappropriate behavior" from visitors.
At that time, he said the move was not a crackdown on nude sunbathing but was because "We've heard of some contact from adults soliciting children, and we intend to make sure we put a stop to that kind of predatory behavior." Also noting that public nudity is a violation of V.I. law, he said rangers might ask that bare beachgoers clothe themselves in the interest of promoting a safer atmosphere for all visitors.
Any beach frequenters who have personal possessions "stored" in the woods behind the beach should retrieve them before Saturday, or they will be removed as part of the beach cleanup, the release states.
Swan said the cleanup project nationwide aims to provide youth groups an opportunity to become familiar with an area of a particular park and become acquainted with its staff, as well as to help keep the property attractive for visitors.
The following Saturday, May 19, there will be another VINP cleanup — at Hawksnest Beach. It will be held in conjunction with the establishment of a new Lewis Wesselhoft Scholarship that will be available to Virgin Islanders planning to pursue law-enforcement careers. Wesselhoft, a St. Johnian, spent his entire career in V.I. National Park law enforcement.
Anyone wishing more information about the two cleanup projects should telephone Swan at 776-6201.
