# § 410tt. Findings
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.
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**Source Credit**: (Pub. L. 102–247, title I, § 102, Feb. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 33.)
## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
### Short Title
> “This Act [enacting this subchapter, sections 5204 to 5204c of Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare, and sections 1469e and 1973 of Title 48, Territories and Insular Possessions, amending
>
> and
>
> , enacting provisions set out as a note under this section, and amending provisions set out as a note under
>
> , Agriculture] may be cited as the ‘Omnibus Insular Areas Act of 1992’.”
, , , provided that:
> “This title [enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the ‘Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve at St. Croix, Virgin Islands, Act of 1992’.”
, , , provided that: