park photo
Valley Forge National Historical Park
still needs our help!

Development threats  
   - Privately held land inside the park boundary remains at risk from potential development.  Some officials support constructing a new cemetery in the park.

Traffic threats  
   - Through-traffic conflicts with more leisurely transportation by park visitors.

Natural resources at risk 
   - Invasive and non-native species put native species at risk.

Chronic funding shortfalls 
   - An annual $2 million shortfall for daily operations means fewer ranger programs; out-of-control invasive species; and few buildings routinely open to the public.

Join us to discuss solutions and strategies
Saturday, November 8, 2003
Valley Forge National Historical Park Education Center
(behind the Welcome Center at the park)


9:45 am       Registration

10:00 am - 12:30 pm    Welcome, and briefings on status of Toll Brothers, proposed veterans cemetery, future directions under consideration at the park

12:30 - 1:00 pm        lunch on-site

1:00 - 3:00 pm        Strategies and tactics as we work together to advocate on the park's behalf
                       Wrap -up and next steps

3:00        Park hike

Invited speakers include Rep. Jim Gerlach and National Park Service staff.


By November 5, please let us know whether you will attend so we can provide your lunch.  Space is limited.   
Call Rick Wolf, Sierra Club, 610-933-6414, [email protected], 
or Joy Oakes, NPCA, 1-800-628-7275 x 260, or 202-454-3386, [email protected].

Sponsored by the members and donors of National Parks Conservation Association and the Sierra Club.

Wednesday, July 23, 2003

Two public workshops: 3:00 - 5:00 pm; 7:00 - 9:00 pm.

Valley Forge National Historical Park
Education Center (next to Welcome Center)
This meeting will focus on three HOT issues:
  • transportation in and around the park;
  • recreation in and around the park;
  • & use of the park north of the river.
Agenda:
Overview of general management planning process, Break into workgroups on transportation in & around the park, Recreation in and around the park, Development of and uses of the north side of the park

Valley Forge Park Development Updates

ATTEND THE VALLEY FORGE NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK TOWN HALL MEETING
Our national parks are woefully under-funded, and Valley Forge is no exception. For example, only the visitor center and General Washington's Headquarters are open to the public year round, while other historic buildings on this site are threatened.
In addition, although Valley Forge possesses thousands of museum artifacts, only a small percentage is on display. As a result, park resources are suffering and visitor experiences are not what they could be.
Please join us to discuss some of the problems facing national parks today and learn what you can do to make a difference.
What:
Hear from organizations working to protect the future of Valley Forge National Historical Park, and all of our national parks, and talk with Pennsylvania's 44th state senate candidates, and 7th and 16th district congressional candidates or their representatives.

Sept 2002 Update: Call-in day 9/30;

The last I heard, Toll Bros. had, in fact, quietly taken title to the Schwoebel tract last month; however, they're still open to selling it to the Park Service if Congress can approve the funds. The update below concerns encouraging Congress to do that.

As negotiations between Toll Brothers and the National Park Service (NPS) reach a critical point, Senator Specter, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee,
and Representatives Hoeffel and Weldon, have been very actively rallying support for Congressional appropriation of the funds to buy the land for the park.
We need to show our support for their efforts, and your very important phone calls will convey that support! As part of the National Call-in Day scheduled by Americans for National Parks for SEPTEMBER 30TH, please call the offices of:
  • Senator Specter, 215-597-7200
  • Rep. Hoeffel, 215-225-6111 and
  • Rep. Weldon, 610-259-0700

Message: "I strongly support your efforts to secure the funds to purchase the vulnerable land within Valley Forge NHP. Please ensure that Valley Forge and all of our national parks also have the operating funds they badly need."

WHEN YOU HAVE MADE YOUR CALLS, PLEASE LET US KNOW BY SENDING AN EMAIL TO: [email protected]. We need to know how many calls our legislators received.

May 24, 2002 Proposed veterans' cemetery at Valley Forge
The Dept of Veterans Affairs report to Congress to identify areas in greatest need of new veterans cemeteries is not yet on the website, but you can review the 2000 and 2001 reports at www.cem.va.gov
The bottom line: eastern PA shows up in about the middle of a list of 31 locations listed in order of population unserved by a veterans cemetery. The VA analysis defines eastern PA as served until 2010 by Beverly National Cemetery (closed to casket burials, open to cremains), after which 151,000 veterans will not be served by a national cemetery within 75 miles. The threshold is 170,000 veterans unserved to be considered for a new veterans cemetery.
2. June 15 March Out, 10-4 www.2nj.org
This event commemorates when Gen. Washington and the Continental Army left Valley Forge. The event will start in the Artillery Park at 10, at which time the living history regiments including the 2nd NJ will conduct firing and drill demonstrations pretty much on the hour.
3. June 25 transportation public meeting The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission will host a public meeting at Valley Forge NHP on Tuesday, June 25, at 7 pm to unveil the results of months of meetings and discussions among area planners as to how to improve area transportation and reduce traffic impacts on Valley Forge NHP.
Please attend, learn, and ask questions about the alternatives that will be presented publicly for the first time at this meeting.
March News Lower Providence Township: While the Toll Bros. development is *not* on the agenda for the upcoming township meeting April 4,
if you are interested in attending and expressing your support for increasing the power of local decision makers to protect sensitive lands and direct growth to appropriate sites,
contact Robin Mann with the Sierra Club, 610-527-4598, or [email protected].

April 15,2002 11:00 am A company will announce the donation of significant funds to the museum at Valley Forge Park at a news conference at the park.
To attend the press conference, park at the upper level parking lot going into the Vistor's Center.
Please email Linda Riley, Communications Director for the Valley Forge Visitors Bureau, if you can attend.
Her email address is [email protected] . If you have a Revolutionary War ancestor, and are willing for her to use their names in her press releases..."Descendants of ???? will be attending...." please let her know.

General Management Plan revisions begin soon: In mid-June the Park will hold its first public meeting to begin moving forward on revising the park's general management plan.
This is an opportunity to advocate completing land acquisition, protecting historic views, eradicating exotic species, and other values. More when an actual date is announced.

On Monday, March 25, NPCA released its 4th annual 10 Most Endangered National Parks report. This year Valley Forge will appear on the list for the first time due to the threats from chronic underfunding, suburban sprawl including the Toll Brothers development, potential impacts from the proposed train, invasive species, and erosion of archeological sites from stormwater impacts on Valley Creek.

Check out our website on Monday at www.eparks.org for more information.
Joy M. Oakes Mid-Atlantic Regional Director National Parks Conservation Association 1300 19th ST NW, Suite 300 Washington, D.C. 20036 202-454-3386/v 202-659-0722/f

Are any of you already engaged in the details of a proposed commuter rail thru Valley Forge Park to Reading using the existing RR track thru the park?
If not, is anyone able to make the time to do some research and analysis, and circulate the results to this group? The Draft EIS for the proposal is located at the Free Library in Philadelphia: Roxborough branch, Andorra Branch, Falls of Schuylkill branch. Also posted on website www.svmetro.com
The proposal includes building electrical towers and power lines to power electric rail.
The RR follows the river, just south of the river, and travels between Washington's HQ and the Schuylkill. Freight trains now use it.
While commuter rail clearly is a good thing, I have some concerns about impact of siting new power lines/electrical towers potentially within the viewshed of the park's historic core, and would like to know more.
There is an open public comment period ending March 25. Joy Oakes

Here's the word from the Sierra Club website

PROTECT VALLEY FORGE PARK

Lower Providence Supervisors March 7 Vote onToll Bros. project in Valley Forge National Historical Park has been POSTPONED!!! The Supervisors tentatively plan to take up the issue on April 4.

News Flash -- 2/11/02 Press Conference Announcement!!! Sierra Club presents Valley Forge National Historical Park Petitions to Members of Congress.

At the request of the Toll Brothers developers, the Lower Providence Township Supervisors have postponed the vote on final approval of their Valley Forge Overlook subdivision. The vote is tentatively scheduled for April 4.
We are urging that Park supporters contact the offices of Senators Spector and Santorum, and their Representatives, to keep the pressure on our lawmakers to assure that funding to purchase the land is made available.

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