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Admission Free at Trunk Bay This Weekend

Sept. 26, 2008 — In honor of National Public Lands Day, V.I. National Park won't charge the usual $4 admission at Trunk Bay on Saturday, and it will waive the fee Sunday to recognize newly naturalized citizens.
Trunk Bay is St. John's most popular beach and the only beach on St. John with an admission charge.
"It's free admission to the most beautiful beach in the world," said Audrey Penn, Friends of the Park program manager.
Saturday's fee-free day also includes face painting for kids, guided snorkel trips and general information about the park.
"People will get a chance to learn about the marine environment," said Paul Thomas, the park's chief of interpretation.
The Friends also plan a Saturday cleanup of various areas on the park in conjunction with Coast Weeks, now being observed around the territory. Volunteers should meet at the park's maintenance building, adjacent to Mongoose Junction Shopping Center, at 10 a.m., Penn said. Buses will take the volunteers to the cleanup locations.
Thanks to a partnership among the park, the Friends group and Caneel Bay Resort, volunteers who participate in the cleanup are invited to a picnic lunch Saturday at Trunk Bay. It begins at 1 p.m. Volunteers will get a ticket to redeem at the Trunk Bay concession stand for food prepared by Caneel Bay.
The St. John events are part of the 15th annual nationwide fee-free weekend at all national park facilities.
"The fee-free weekend provides a great opportunity for people to explore their public lands, including the 391 units of the National Park Service," said National Park Service Director Mary A. Bomar in a news release. "The men and women of the National Park Service are proud to preserve 84 million acres of this nation for the enjoyment of the American people."
Each park is a special place set aside to tell a part of the country's story, Bomar said.
"I feel it is important that every American, no matter how long his or her family has lived in the United States, connects firsthand with the heritage preserved in National Park Service sites," said Bomar, a British-born naturalized citizen.
Ordinarily 147 of the country's 391 National Park Service sites charge entrance fees, ranging from $3 to $25. The other 244 areas do not have entrance fees.
Even Gov. John deJongh Jr. got into the act. He sent out a news release proclaiming Saturday Public Lands Day in the territory to highlight the importance of protecting the natural and cultural resources.
America's system of public lands includes parks, unique landscapes, forests, wildlife refuges, historic trails, natural streams and wetlands, nature centers, gardens and other landmark areas throughout the nation and the territory that individually and collectively represent irreplaceable national resources, according to the governor's news release.
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