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For
Immediate Release
July 31, 2002
CONSERVATION
GROUPS JOIN FORCES TO SAVE CHANCELLORSVILLE BATTLEFIELD
Seven
nonprofit organizations partner to form Coalition to Save
Chancellorsville Battlefield
(Chancellorsville,
Va.) - At a news conference this morning at Old Salem
Church, seven national and local nonprofit conservation groups
announced they have formed the "Coalition to Save Chancellorsville
Battlefield," a partnership of preservation, conservation
and civic organizations determined to protect historic Chancellorsville
battlefield.
"Chancellorsville
is a national treasure," noted James Lighthizer, President
of the Civil War Preservation Trust, a coalition member organization.
"The battlefield's address may be in Virginia, but this
hallowed shrine belongs to the entire country. We invite other
groups to work with us to save this celebrated battlefield."
The
goal of the coalition is to promote the long-term preservation
of Chancellorsville battlefield. This includes prevention
of the most immediate menace to the historic site - an enormous
2,350-house development complete with 2.4 million square feet
of commercial and office space. The development plan is the
brainchild of the Dogwood Development Group, a Reston, Va.
firm.
The
National Trust for Historic Preservation, another coalition
member organization, identified Chancellorsville as one of
the most endangered historic sites in the nation in 1998.
"We believed that the uncontrolled growth in this area
warranted our listing Chancellorsville as one of America's
most endangered historic places in 1998," remarked National
Trust spokesperson Robert Nieweg. "Four years later,
the threat has grown even greater."
Joy
Oakes, spokesperson for the National Parks Conservation Association,
stated: "National parks like Chancellorsville are a tremendous
asset to the local community, both as open space and low-impact
economic engines. However, a community can squander these
assets by failing to plan for the preservation of the park
in their backyard."
If
implemented, the Dogwood proposal will not only destroy significant
portions of the battlefield, but it will also drop a 10,000-person
"city" into the middle of rural Spotsylvania County.
The 790-acre project will serve as a magnet for additional
development, transforming the now pastoral landscape into
tract housing and strip malls.
"This
isn't just about the battlefield," stated local resident
and Central Virginia Battlefields Trust President John D.
Mitchell. "It is also about the kind of place Spotsylvania
County residents want our children to grow up in. If I wanted
my kids to live in crowded neighborhoods and dodge traffic
all day, I'd move to Northern Virginia."
Another
local resident, Spotsylvania Preservation Foundation President
Helen Springer asked, "How much would taxes increase
to provide public services to this new city? How much would
the county and state have to spend to make room for 70,000
or more new car trips each day? These are critical questions
county residents and the board of supervisors need to ask."
The
Coalition to Save Chancellorsville Battlefield is an informal
group of national and local preservation, conservation and
civic groups who share an abiding interest in preserving and
protecting Chancellorsville battlefield. The seven nonprofit
organizations that have joined the coalition are: the Central
Virginia Battlefields Trust; the Civil War Preservation Trust;
Friends of Fredericksburg Area Battlefields; the National
Parks Conservation Association; the National Trust for Historic
Preservation; the Spotsylvania Battlefield Education Association;
and the Spotsylvania Preservation Foundation, Inc.
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Contacts:
Jim Campi (Civil War Preservation Trust) at 202-367-1861
or Hap Connors (National Trust for Historic Preservation)
at 202-588-6324.
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