Fwd: VA help needed to protect C&O Canal

Tue Jan 18 18:15:01 CST 2005

The proposed Georgetown University boathouse would most degrade the
trailhead of the Capital Crescent Trail.--Allen Muchnick

-----Original Message-----
From: "Parklines" <parklines at npca.org>
Subject: VA help needed to protect C&O Canal
Date: Tue, 18 Jan 2005 16:25:21 -0600

The C&O Canal National Historical Park is threatened by a proposal to take
parkland near its Washington, D.C. gateway for a private waterfront club.

Georgetown University seeks to build an outsized structure for rowing,
parties, and other uses on national parkland just upstream of Key Bridge
in the Georgetown neighborhood in DC.  The university would trade
unbuildable land it owns upstream for the park parcel adjacent to the
historic canal and to a popular bike path.

While this proposal has been around for several years, The University has
been increasing its activity to push this proposal through. Only now, in
response to a lawsuit brought by park advocates, is the National Park
Service conducting an environmental assessment (EA) on the impacts of this
proposal. We need your help to identify all the related issues, and to
urge analysis of alternatives to the proposal.

Please email NCR_Georgetownboathouse at nps.gov or fax the National Park
Service (NPS) at 202-401-0017 today and ask them to analyze this proposal
carefully and thoroughly. 

COMMENT DEADLINE: 4:00 pm, Friday, January 21.

Please feel free to edit the below letter to send. Also, help us track the
number of messages sent by copying us on your letter at
takeaction at npca.org.

Many thanks
Joy Oakes
Mid-Atlantic Regional Director

SAMPLE LETTER

                                        January 2005

Office of Lands, Resources, and Planning
National Capital Region
National Park Service
Washington, DC

Email - NCR_Georgetownboathouse at nps.gov 
Fax - 202-401-0017

Dear Sir/Madam:

As one of the 3 million visitors who enjoy the C&O Canal National
Historical Park each year, I am deeply concerned about a proposal to take
part of the park for private use. The C&O Canal NHP provides the public
with the opportunity to explore the best remaining example of the canals
that once were used extensively.  The park is also a great place to bird,
hike, bike, and watch wildlife.   This proposal jeopardizes those
experiences.  

In conjunction with the Defenders of the Potomac, the National Parks
Conservation Association and the many other preservation and conservation
organizations involved in trying to protect this public treasure I would
like to add my questions, concerns, and comments for your assessment.
Please include the following as part of the public record for the
Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for the proposed private Georgetown
University Boathouse in the C&O Canal NHP:                                

My questions regarding the proposal include:

- How would the public benefit from the loss of public parkland at the
eastern gateway of the C&O Canal National Historical Park for the private
use by Georgetown University?

- What precedent would approving this project set for future private
development proposals in the Park?

- What would be the impacts on the experience of the park's approximately
3,000,000 yearly visitors from construction of the structure, and from
loss of parkland at the park's eastern gateway?  Please include analysis
of potential traffic and public safety impacts, especially during
construction but also during its operation throughout the year.

- What would be the potential impacts to nearby historic properties
including the historic canal? What would be the direct, indirect, and
cumulative impacts to the park and nearby historic structures from
building a road to access this somewhat inaccessible site for
construction, maintenance and servicing of the boathouse, as well as for
access of the rowing hulls and boat trailers?

- What would be the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts to the
natural resources, floodplain and wetlands at the site of the proposed
boathouse?

- On average, the Potomac River floods every 12 years.  What would be the
potential impacts on the river including depth, flows, and riverbed
contours; potential for riverbed changes due to deposition and scour of
sediment and the need for dredging?  How would this structure potentially
influence potential flood damage to the canal and other park resources?

- What is the value of the national parkland at gateway site relative to
land that Georgetown proposes to exchange?

C&O Canal NHP will become more valuable as multi-use public parkland with
the passage of time.  Proposals to transfer parkland for private use
deserve the highest scrutiny.  I respectfully request that instead of the
limited-scope EA that has been proposed by Park Service, instead the Park
Service complete a full Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the
proposed project. 

As a member of the interested public, I do not see any public benefit from
the proposal.  I fully support leaving the parkland in the park, and
encouraging Georgetown University to look elsewhere in the region for an
appropriate site.

Sincerely,

....................................................
Thank you for your time and dedication to helping enhance and protect our
national parks for present and future generations,
NPCA Grassroots Staff

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