In an effort to save Maho Bay Camps on St. John, the Trust for Public Land has started a fund and is seeking donations to help purchase the property.

John Garrison, the local field office director for the Trust for Public Lands, said the process is just beginning and the trust is currently in negotiations with the landowners.

The 14 acres occupied by the camp does not belong to the camp's founder, Stanley Selengut. Garrison said Selengut has held a long-term lease on the property for the past 37 years. That lease is set to expire in 2012. Maho Bay Camps is planning to close July 31, 2011, to have enough time to dismantle the structures and vacate the property.

Once the lease expires, the landowners will sell the property, which is already on the market, according to Maho Bay officials. Garrison said the land is zoned W-1, waterfront pleasure, which encompasses commercial and residential uses. It is beachfront property that would be ideal for a large resort or condominium complex, the type of development the Trust for Public Lands seeks to prevent.

"It could be a pretty big development there and it's right in the middle of the National Park," Garrison said.

Selengut and the V.I. National Park approached the Trust for Public Lands to see if the nonprofit organization could help. The trust uses donations from individuals, foundations and businesses to purchase land for conservation and public use.

"We are in discussions with the landowners and we'll see how that goes," Garrison said. "the negotiations are confidential, so I can't discuss it, but it is our goal to acquire it."

Garrison said the new fund will help finance the land appraisals and negotiations needed to finalize a purchase. He said it is uncertain who the new landowner would be if the trust is successful in purchasing the property.

Ideally, a third-party trust would be created so that Maho Bay Camps could continue to operate and lease the property and the revenues would stay in the Virgin Islands. If the property ends up with the National Park, any revenues would go to the federal Treasury.

"There's no guarantees, but we'll give it our best shot," he said. "Usually we succeed because we never give up."

The new fund established by Trust for Public Land is not connected to the recent 400-acre purchase of Estate Maho Bay, the property directly above the eco-campground.

The Trust for Public Lands has conserved nine sites in the Virgin Islands since it started working in the territory in 1999. Some of the sites include the donation of Nanny Point to the V.I. National Park on St. John, three additions to the Salt River Bay National Park and Ecological Preserve on St. Croix and the renovation of Roosevelt Park on St. Thomas.

To make a tax-deductible donation in support of the Maho Bay Camps acquisition efforts, e-mail john.garrison@tpl.org or visit www.tpl.org/caribbean.

To make a contribution by check - payable to The Trust for Public Land - mail to The Trust for Public Land, Maho Bay Camps Campaign, 116 New Montgomery St., 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94105. Indicate on the check that it is for the Maho Bay Camps Campaign.