- Location
- Puerto Rico
- Current protection
- Vieques National Wildlife Refuge (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
- Status
- Advocacy by the New National Parks campaign; no bill
- Tier
- Tier 1 · National Park
- In the book
- Not featured in Undiscovered America
Why should it be a National Park?
Off Puerto Rico's east coast, Vieques holds Mosquito Bay, where microscopic organisms light the water blue-green at every stroke of a paddle, one of the brightest bioluminescent bays on Earth. Around it are tropical dry forest, mangroves, coral reefs, and seagrass beds, and some of the finest undeveloped beaches in the Caribbean.
Much of the island was a Navy bombing range for sixty years before protests ended it in 2003. A National Park would honor both the natural wonders and the people of Vieques, and give Puerto Rico its first National Park.
The history of National Park Campaigns
The Navy took most of Vieques in the 1940s and used it for bombing practice until years of protest forced it out in 2003; the land became a national wildlife refuge. In 2021 the New National Parks campaign proposed a 19,000-acre Vieques National Park.
- Distinct National Park attempts
- 1 (2021 New National Parks campaign proposal)
- Other designation attempts
- 2 (1980 natural landmark; wildlife refuge)
Sources
- Michael Kellett, "A Modest Proposal: We Need More National Parks," Sierra (August 17, 2021)
- 1941
The Navy begins acquiring most of Vieques for training and bombing ranges.
- 1980
Mosquito Bay is designated a National Natural Landmark.
- May 1, 2003
After years of protest, the Navy leaves Vieques; its lands become the Vieques National Wildlife Refuge.
- August 17, 2021
The New National Parks campaign proposes a 19,000-acre Vieques National Park.