Our Mission
The Trust for Virgin Islands Lands (TVIL) is a non-profit, community-based conservation organization.
Our mission is to protect tracts of agricultural and natural landscapes that provide significant benefits to the citizens of the Virgin Islands.
Efforts to achieve this goal include:
1. purchasing and holding threatened lands for transfer to conservation-minded ownership,
2. providing assistance to landowners wanting to limit future development through conservation easements,
3. advocating sound land use policy, and
4. fostering increased appreciation and understanding of our territory’s natural resources.
Our Accomplishments
Since 2006, TVIL has protected 184 acres of land of high conservation value across the islands of St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. 42 acres of land are protected through conservation easements granted to TVIL by three private landowners, and TVIL owns outright six properties totaling 142 acres. These lands include dense native gallery forests, towering waterfalls, ephemeral freshwater ponds, dry semi-deciduous forests, open grassland and scrub, and coastal cliffs.
Support Land Acquisition
TVIL maintains an Acquisition Fund that is earmarked for purchasing land or easements for conservation. Often land with significant historical, cultural and ecological value comes up for sale at short notice, and the land trust has to act fast to make an offer on the land. Having money in our acquisition fund allows us to conserve land that might otherwise be sold for development. You can donate money to the land trust and request that it be directed to the acquisition fund.
Please consider a donation in support of our conservation mission.