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Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument

National Parks Traveler Podcast Episode 253 | An Underwater Ecological Disaster

Who wouldn’t like to visit a tropical paradise? Virgin Islands National Park in the Caribbean is one such paradise. It resides on the island of St. John, and features beaches sparkling white and lined with palm trees and other tropical vegetation. Those beaches are washed by warm, turquoise waters that provide habitat for sea turtles the size of trunks, colorful fishes like blue tang and parrot fish, and even menacing barracuda. 

Sunday On National Parks Traveler's Podcast: Coral Disaster At Virgin Islands National Park

While Virgin Islands National Park might seem idyllic from above water, beneath the surface of the Caribbean Sea the once vibrant coral reefs rimming the park have been impacted by a bleaching caused by abnormally high ocean temperatures and by a disease that combined could have devastating consequences.

2nd Annual Threatened and Endangered Parks: America’s Reeling Reefs

The first standardized national assessment of coral reefs in all U.S. states and territories finds that conditions in vital marine ecosystems are fair but vulnerable and declining. “We’re buying time,” one NOAA marine biologist says of reef conservation efforts in the face of climate change.

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