Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge

Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge occupies the southwest corner of Saint Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and is one of the island’s key protected beaches for vulnerable wildlife. Managed for threatened and endangered species, it is especially important for leatherback sea turtles, whose nesting depends on its two miles of sandy shore. The refuge also contains the Aklis Archeological Site, a four-acre prehistoric coastal shell midden dating to around 400, with evidence of more than 200 years of human occupation. Excavations uncovered pottery, stone tool fragments, and human remains, and the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.