16 U.S.C. § 410tt: Findings

has been inhabited, possibly as far back as 2000 B.C., and encompasses all major cultural periods in the United States Virgin Islands; 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; is the only known site where members of the Columbus expeditions set foot on what is now United States territory; 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; presents an outstanding opportunity to preserve and interpret Caribbean history and culture, including the impact of European exploration and settlement; has been a national natural landmark since February 1980 and has been nominated for acquisition as a nationally significant wildlife habitat; 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 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.