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Matt Hourihan
Potomac News
Sunday, June 27, 2004
While large-scale wetlands preservation in Prince William County has been spearheaded by private business, government has gotten involved as well. The National Park Service, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, recently announced completion of a 106-acre land restoration project at Manassas National Battlefield Park, 45 acres of which are wetlands.
In addition to restoring wetlands near Groveton Road south of U.S. 29, the project returned the contours of the land to 1862 conditions.
"History and nature is being served, and this opens a respectful and truthful window into a time and place in our nation's past," said National Park Service Director Fran P. Mainella.
The stretch of restored land had originally been part of the larger Stuart's Hill Tract, where portions of the Second Battle of Manassas were fought in 1862. The 558-acre tract was acquired by Manassas National Battlefield Park in 1988 after Congress authorized a legislative taking to protect it from development.
But by the time the park acquired the land, development had already left its mark on one bulldozed 100-acre section, which had been planned for housing.
"What we came out to was a mess," said park Superintendent Robert Sutton. "There were open manholes and piping, and the elevation had been changed."
The park service contracted with designers at the University of Georgia shortly thereafter, to study the site and develop a restoration plan. Fortunately, the land's physical features had been recorded in an 1878 survey, for use in a military trial stemming from the Second Battle of Manassas.
The Smithsonian Institution became involved in 1997, during the planning stages for the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. The museum plan showed destruction of seven acres of wetlands. Since federal law requires the replacement of destroyed wetlands, Smithsonian officials approached the park to inquire about a possible wetlands project.
As it turned out, the park's needs and the museum's needs were a perfect fit. Construction began in June 2003 with help from private consultants and the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the result is over 100 acres of land that now appear much as they did in late 1862.
Sutton said the next step will be construction of trails throughout the restored tract.
s/f
DJM
Potomac News
Sunday, June 27, 2004
While large-scale wetlands preservation in Prince William County has been spearheaded by private business, government has gotten involved as well. The National Park Service, in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution, recently announced completion of a 106-acre land restoration project at Manassas National Battlefield Park, 45 acres of which are wetlands.
In addition to restoring wetlands near Groveton Road south of U.S. 29, the project returned the contours of the land to 1862 conditions.
"History and nature is being served, and this opens a respectful and truthful window into a time and place in our nation's past," said National Park Service Director Fran P. Mainella.
The stretch of restored land had originally been part of the larger Stuart's Hill Tract, where portions of the Second Battle of Manassas were fought in 1862. The 558-acre tract was acquired by Manassas National Battlefield Park in 1988 after Congress authorized a legislative taking to protect it from development.
But by the time the park acquired the land, development had already left its mark on one bulldozed 100-acre section, which had been planned for housing.
"What we came out to was a mess," said park Superintendent Robert Sutton. "There were open manholes and piping, and the elevation had been changed."
The park service contracted with designers at the University of Georgia shortly thereafter, to study the site and develop a restoration plan. Fortunately, the land's physical features had been recorded in an 1878 survey, for use in a military trial stemming from the Second Battle of Manassas.
The Smithsonian Institution became involved in 1997, during the planning stages for the Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport. The museum plan showed destruction of seven acres of wetlands. Since federal law requires the replacement of destroyed wetlands, Smithsonian officials approached the park to inquire about a possible wetlands project.
As it turned out, the park's needs and the museum's needs were a perfect fit. Construction began in June 2003 with help from private consultants and the Virginia Department of Transportation, and the result is over 100 acres of land that now appear much as they did in late 1862.
Sutton said the next step will be construction of trails throughout the restored tract.
s/f
DJM