On a hot, humid New York City day in September 1983, Laurance S. Rockefeller signed away, for $1, a beautiful sweeping parcel of ocean-front land on the Caribbean island of St. John to the United States government for inclusion in Virgin Islands National Park. While he held back a resort complex on that land, he fully intended to transfer it to the park 40 years later. U.S. Rep. Stacy Plaskett is working to void Mr. Rockefeller's desire, for reasons she won't explain.

An idyllic, 170-acre setting inside Virgin Islands National Park is home to the Caneel Bay Resort, a high-end luxury resort with waterside rooms, massage services, weekly cocktail parties, fitness center, tennis courts, and several restaurants. Now in shambles following last fall's hurricanes, the resort's future could hinge on an eight-year-old law passed by Congress and current legislation that would circumvent that law.

Four months after hurricanes Irma and Maria raked Virgin Islands National Park, some boat owners have yet to remove their storm anchor gear from Hurricane Hole, which didn't avoid the wrath of Hurricane Irma. If they don't remove it by the end of January, the National Park Service will do it for them.

Bit by bit, Virgin Islands National Park is reopening its beaches after taking back-to-back punches in September from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which left people without power, blew the roofs off buildings, and snapped trees in half.