The Congress finds that the Salt River Bay area of the north central coast of St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands—

(1) has been inhabited, possibly as far back as 2000 B.C., and encompasses all major cultural periods in the United States Virgin Islands;

(2) contains the only ceremonial ball court ever discovered in the Lesser Antilles, village middens, and burial grounds which can provide evidence for the interpretation of Caribbean life prior to Columbus;

(3) is the only known site where members of the Columbus expeditions set foot on what is now United States territory;

(4) was a focal point of various European attempts to colonize the area during the post-Columbian period and contains sites of Spanish, French, Dutch, English, and Danish settlements, including Fort Sale, one of the few remaining earthwork fortifications in the Western Hemisphere;

(5) presents an outstanding opportunity to preserve and interpret Caribbean history and culture, including the impact of European exploration and settlement;

(6) has been a national natural landmark since February 1980 and has been nominated for acquisition as a nationally significant wildlife habitat;

(7) contains the largest remaining mangrove forest in the United States Virgin Islands and a variety of tropical marine and terrestrial ecosystems which should be preserved and kept unimpaired for the benefit of present and future generations; and

(8) is worthy of a comprehensive preservation effort that should be carried out in partnership between the Federal Government and the Government of the United States Virgin Islands.

(Pub. L. 102–247, title I, § 102, Feb. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 33.)