Land in U.S. Parks at Risk, Report Says

Private property in or near 55 national parks is at risk of being sold and developed, including a parcel in Loudoun County that is part of the scenic river view from Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, according to a report released last week.

The study by the National Parks Conservation Association, "America's Heritage for Sale," focuses on more than 65,000 acres within the congressionally designated boundaries of America's national parks that either are, or could be, on the market. That acreage could be subject to development if the National Park Service does not get funds to buy the land.

About 65 acres at Harpers Ferry falls into that category, including the 50-acre Loudoun parcel that represents "an essential piece of the view" from Jefferson Rock, the report said. The rock is named for Thomas Jefferson, who stood there in 1783 and later wrote that the junction of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers against the backdrop of the Blue Ridge mountains was a scene "worth a voyage across the Atlantic."

Other privately owned parcels at Harpers Ferry are essential to preserving historic views across Bolivar Heights and School House Ridge, according to the study.

Also listed in the report are 10 acres at the Manassas National Battlefield and 180 acres in Prince William Forest Park.

"Congress set aside these lands for the American people," said Catharine Gilliam, Virginia program manager for the conservation group. "Each park has a different mission, but they are all greatly valued by the people. We don't want the character and qualities the parks were established for to be harmed or diminished because of failure of funding to acquire the land."

In the report, the conservation group asks Congress to provide the National Park Service with $100 million from the Land and Water Conservation Fund in fiscal 2009. This is only a portion of the $1.9 billion the Park Service would need to acquire the 2 million acres on its "priority list."

Dennis E. Frye, the Park Service's chief historian at Harpers Ferry, said he concurred with the report's finding about the threat to the park's river vista. He called the Loudoun tract, which is adjacent to the park and just south of Route 340, the agency's "number-one land acquisition priority" at Harpers Ferry.

"It is in the bull's-eye of the Jefferson view of the Potomac River gorge," Frye said. "It is the last unprotected property in that view-shed."

Frye said the Park Service has been in talks with the owners of the property since April 2007 through an intermediary. He said the organization serving as intermediary, which he declined to name, is seeking a federal appropriation so it can buy the land and then convey it to the Park Service.

Current zoning would allow construction of as many as 10 homes on the property, he said. But he called the Park Service's relationship with the property's owners "very positive."

"They are very dedicated to preserving the site and ensuring the integrity of the view," he said.