Quantico Pushes for Land Preservation
Fresh Off Conserving 300 Acres, Base Looks to Prevent Other Encroachment

By Jennifer Buske
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 11, 2009

Marine Corps Base Quantico officials have one conservation success story under their belt, and they are hoping for another.

After partnering with public and private entities last year to conserve the 300-acre Merrimac Farm tract next to the base, Quantico officials are again reaching out to Prince William, Stafford and Fauquier counties to protect more land from development that might harm the viability of Quantico.

"Merrimac Farm was very successful, and I would support future conservation efforts," said Prince William Supervisor Maureen S. Caddigan (R-Dumfries). "I support the Marine Corps, and we're happy to have them here. They want to protect the area around the base, and I'm all for that. We'd be happy to see all those green trees and open space stay."

Caddigan and the other members of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors were briefed by Quantico officials in November, hearing about concerns of encroachment on the base and the tools available to stop it. Officials also made a similar presentation to Stafford County supervisors Tuesday and plan to reach out to Fauquier County officials soon.

Although there are no immediate developments threatening the base, Quantico Facilities Director Chuck Rushing said, much of the land around it could be developed as Northern Virginia continues to grow.

Because the Marines discharge weapons and make a lot of noise, having densely populated subdivisions or office parks near Quantico is not ideal and could interfere with the base's training mission, he said.

"Almost every military base will have operations that have the potential to annoy folks outside the gate," Rushing said. "Development next to the base is considered incompatible because if it takes place, there could be objections to the noise we create, which could ultimately lead to people pressuring us to stop our operations."

To protect the military training environment at Quantico, Rushing said, the base is looking to partner with neighboring jurisdictions, conservation groups or the state through the Department of Defense's encroachment partnering program.

The program, begun in 2003, lets the military and such partners work together to purchase development rights or place easements on land around the base to mitigate development that might impede military training or operations, Rushing said. The Marine Corps has identified "several hundred" acres of land around the base that would be eligible for the program.

The program does not transfer more property into the hands of the military, Rushing said, and the property owner must be willing to sell the land and be given fair market value for the transaction to take place.

"We can't conduct any activity on the [acquired] property, and that's important for the people to understand because the public is naturally skeptical about government acquisition of real estate," Rushing said. "We aren't adding land to the base but just acquiring the development interest so we have the assurance that what we do on our land won't be limited by incompatible development."

In the case of Merrimac Farm, in Prince William, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the Prince William Conservation Alliance and the Marine Corps purchased the property early last year for $2.8 million. The Marine Corps has the development rights, and the game and fisheries department owns the land, which is open to the public for hunting and fishing.

"We think this effort is positive and a win for both sides," said Kim Hosen, executive director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance. "It protects Quantico's capacity to meet its mission and benefits the community."

The land eligible for the program, most of which is in Stafford, lies within five miles of the four sites on the base where explosives are discharged, Rushing said.

Residents within that radius could hear noise from the base, he said, noting that the frequency and pitch of sound depends on many factors, including the time of year and atmospheric conditions, which affect how far sound travels.

"We worked successfully with them on Merrimac Farm, and if we can replicate that again, that would be great," said Prince William board Chairman Corey A. Stewart (R-At Large). "The beauty of this is that the county's interest in preserving more open space is completely in line with the Marine Corps' interest in expanding the buffer around the base."

Because the majority of the land within the five-mile radius is in Stafford, Quantico officials have taken the encroachment issue one step further there. During Tuesday's presentation to the board, they recommended that supervisors consider rezoning to reduce the number of houses allowed near the base.

Stafford Supervisor Paul Milde (R-Aquia) said that 50,000 to 60,000 people live within the five-mile radius and that most of the land is zoned for one house per three acres. Quantico officials recommended changing the zoning to one house per 10 acres.

In Prince William, much of the land in the targeted area is already zoned one house per 10 acres or is part of Prince William Forest Park.

"They are asking us to downzone, and that's a huge property rights issue," Milde said. "The Marines are good neighbors, and I think it's a worthy cause to keep the density low close to the base, but they would have to make the landowners whole if they devalue the property. . . . If they can come up with something like at Merrimac Farm, then we would have something to talk about."

Stafford supervisors Mark Dudenhefer (R-Garrisonville) -- an ex-Marine -- and Cord Sterling (R-Rock Hill), whose districts touch Quantico, said that they see merit in what the Marine Corps is trying to do but that a lot of issues and questions have not been addressed.

One question Sterling raised is why the Marine Corps just built military housing within the five-mile radius when it is asking Stafford to minimize development in that area.

"The general concept they presented I agree with," Sterling said, adding he would prefer to have an entity purchase the development rights rather than rezone a large portion of the county. "We need to know what actions would or wouldn't encroach on their training, but at the same time, they need to understand the various details of what goes on in the county."

Rushing said about 1,100 units were just built on base. In relation to rezoning, he said the Marines aren't forcing Stafford to do anything but are merely informing the county about the noise issue.

"Our fundamental interest here is to work with the community to ensure we can continue our military operations and do so in a way that is compatible with the entities' long-term development plans," Rushing said. "The land-use decisions are up to the community to make."

Although Quantico officials want to keep development near the base at a minimum to avoid noise complaints, supervisors in Prince William and Stafford counties said their constituents rarely protest the noise at the base.

"We call it the sound of freedom," Stewart said. "The reality is, the base has been here longer than probably any living resident. We support the Marine Corps, and they have to do what they have to do to protect us, and we understand that."