In 1976, there was no such thing as ecotourism, and "Being Green" was just a song by Kermit the Frog. The sustainable living movement was only in its early stages when a small cluster of tent-cottages peeked out of the brush on the tiny Caribbean island of St. John.
Maho Bay Camps in the U.S. Virgin Islands was the pioneer in eco-tourism, opening up its mesh and wood "doors" in 1976 with a non-renewable 36-year lease.
35 years later, the day they've been dreading is fast approaching.
The eco-resort was created by New Yorker Stanley Selengut after he came to a deal with one of the landowners of the property, which sits on the edge of the Virgin Islands National Park on St John. There, he was faced with the challenge of developing an economically viable resort facility compatible with National Park mandates. The project grew into the 114-unit Maho Bay Camps, which was ostensibly the world's first eco-resort. On land adjacent to Maho Bay Camps, Selengut later developed the Harmony Studios, luxury units formed from recycled building materials and energized by photovoltaic (solar) cells.
Selengut created Maho Bay back before the words green and eco-friendly became a part of the vernacular. Eco-resorts didn't exist - they didn't have labels for what he was doing.
Follow us
35 years later, just as the ecotourism movement reaches its apex, Maho Bay Camps' lease is set to expire. On July 31, 2012, Selengut's lease on the land is up. Worse, he's been refused the extension that he was anxiously awaiting.
In September 2007, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) purchased and permanently protected the majority of a 419-acre site known as Estate Maho Bay, located in the heart of St. John. Ultimately, the property will be added to Virgin Islands National Park, making it the largest preservation project on St. John since the national park was created through a gift from Laurence Rockefeller in 1956.
Soon after, TPL took interest in the resort's privately owned property and set up a fund to save Maho Bay. However, talks between the land owners and TPL have since faltered as TPL is only legally permitted to buy the land at fair market value.
"That's when we knew everything was coming to an end," said Maho Bay Camps' general manager Scott Drennan.
The land is on the market for 23 million dollars and no further negotiations will take place.
"If we could just get 23 million people to donate a dollar each," joked Drennan, "then we'd be fine!"
There is a silver lining. Should the property remain unsold by April 30, 2012, the lease will automatically renew for one year. However, they won't know until that date if operations can resume and, while this sounds hopeful, it's a double edge sword for the live-in staff who must deal with the uncertainty of the resort's closure, a loss of job, and a loss of housing. For now, they are planning to close their doors effective June 1, 2012 and have ceased taking reservations past May 31, 2011.
Drennan remarked that he is fielding a lot of emails from upset and concerned guests.
"It's really sad," he said. "This is a very special part of every year in some of our guest's lives. There's just nothing to replace it. People are asking, 'Well, now what?' I've been on island for six years myself and Maho has been a large part of that. I'm asking the same thing."
