Please Help our Trail Bridge Its Two Remaining Gaps in Fairfax County

1. Please Help our Trail Bridge Its Two Remaining Gaps in Fairfax County Madeira School Gap Fort Belvoir Gap Bill Niedringhaus Potomac Heritage Trail Association

2. Seneca Park • Riverbend Park • Great Falls Park 2. Scotts Run Nature Preserve FAIRFAX COUNTY Madeira School Gap 3. PATC’s Pot. Herit. Trail Cross County Trail 4. Mt Vernon Trail 5. Noman Cole/Lorton Town Ctr Trail 6. Laurel Hill Greenway Fort Belvoir Gap Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail: Existing Segments: in Green GAPS in RED

3. Background • One of only 8 National Scenic Trails in US • Only one to go through an urban area • Established 1984 by Congress • Intended to follow Potomac shoreline as much as possible • Fairfax County Comprehensive Trails Plan • Includes trail along entire Potomac shoreline • Includes trail along Georgetown Pike

4. Wide Fairfax Co. Support for Trails • Fairfax County Park Authority Study: Overwhelmingly favorite Park Use: Trails • Very broad support for trails in Fairfax Co. • Cross County Trail Opening Ceremony, 2006 thousands of people participated • W&OD • Huge public outpouring of support to prevent tree-cutting, additional power lines • Volunteer Trail Advocacy on all

5. Madeira School Gap

6. Seneca Park • Riverbend Park • Great Falls Park 2. Scotts Run Nature Preserve FAIRFAX COUNTY Madeira School Gap 3. PATC’s Pot. Herit. Trail Cross County Trail 4. Mt Vernon Trail 5. Noman Cole/Lorton Town Ctr Trail 6. Laurel Hill Greenway Fort Belvoir Gap Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail: Existing Segments: in Green GAPS in RED

7. Madeira School Gap • Fairfax County Comprehensive Trails Plan • Includes trail along entire Potomac shoreline • Includes trail along Georgetown Pike • Madeira School needs permit from county to upgrade infrastructure • Must comply with Comprehensive Plan, so • Must grant trail easement • For decades, the school has successfully fought to waive this requirement. No more!

8. Great Falls NP Alternative route avoids a sensitive ecosystem Southwest (SW) Route Madeira School Northeast (NE) Route Trail Routes on Comprehensive Trails Plan --------------------- Egress at SE corner of school trail will continue to Scotts Run Nature Preserve by any of several routes from here

9. Northeast (NE) Route Trail exists from here to Fort Belvoir 30 miles away Madeira School Madeira School Gap The Northern VA Regional Commission is conducting a study with NPS funding to determine a feasible trail route across this gap Scotts Run Nature Prsv. Southwest (SW) Route Kimber- wicke Rd Spring Hill Rd Georgetown Pike Bullneck Run Beltway Old Dominion Dr Swinks Mill Rd

10. Trail A Good Neighbor for Madeira • Trail Will Be Clearly Marked: • “Private Property please stay on trail” • Daytime only • No nearby parking • Security • Remoteness from School Facilities • Minimize impact on neighbors • Recreational Use Statute • Health and Fitness

11. Schools, Trails and Security: p1 • Madeira High School claims trail “unsafe” • They organized a “Not in our backyard” political campaign • 21 Schools in Fairfax County abut public parks • Including trails open to public • Trails come closer to schools than anything proposed at Madeira • These are kids of all ages, not just high school • Fairfax Cross-County Trail, 40 miles long • Goes past hundreds more families with little kids • Does Madeira think these kids less important?

12. Schools, Trails and Security: p2 • No one is advocating to close these trails • Parents who live near trails know the truth • Who should Fairfax County officials believe? • The parents that know about trails • Their thunderous silence is testimony that public trails in parks near schools is not a significant threat • Or the parents who don’t?

13. Fort Belvoir Gap

14. Seneca Park • Riverbend Park • Great Falls Park 2. Scotts Run Nature Preserve FAIRFAX COUNTY Madeira School Gap 3. PATC’s Pot. Herit. Trail Cross County Trail 4. Mt Vernon Trail 5. Noman Cole/Lorton Town Ctr Trail 6. Laurel Hill Greenway Fort Belvoir Gap Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail: Existing Segments: in Green GAPS in RED

15. Connects To Laurel Hill Greenway Mt. Vernon Trail 17 miles Lorton Town Center Trail Along Pohick Creek East of Tulley Gate Good Route for Trail Belvoir, PHTA agree Army’s Poor Proposal along Busy Route 1 Tulley Gate Wildlife Refuge Trails Already Open to Public Noman Cole Trail Fort Belvoir Main Base Pohick Creek Ft. Belvoir’s Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge Ideal Route for PHNST No Va Regional Park Land Accotink Bay

16. The Trail’s Route at Ft. Belvoir • A National Scenic Trail • Should not follow a 6-lane highway for 3 miles • Should instead go through the spectacular Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge (ABWR) • Through some of most remote land in Fx Co • Claim: security concerns trump ABWR trail • But, it main use is bow hunting for R&R • The route we propose is far from secure area

17. The Two Routes • Along Route 1 • Army estimates cost $6 million • Army will pay nothing • No money is available in foreseeable future • Accotink Bay Wildlife Refuge • Trail is usable NOW • Rep. Davis, Moran, and Chairman Connolly support it; their staff have hiked it; • Volunteers could improve it for very low cost

18. Security Mitigation • If Military needs to close trail occasionally • There is a precedent at Eglin Air Force Base. • The 1300-mile Florida Trail crosses Eglin AFB • Trail has gate at both ends • Trail users register • Occasionally trail is closed temporarily to public • Has worked well for many years. • Lets work together and make it happen!

19. What You Can DoMadeira School GapFort Belvoir Gap

20. What You Can Do • E-mail County Supervisors • John Foust, Dranesville: dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov • Gerry Connolly, Chairman: chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov • Gerry Hyland, Mt. Vernon: mtvernon@fairfaxcouty.gov • Fairfax Co Planning Commission: plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov • Say “Please support a continuous, scenic route along the Potomac and its tributaries for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail at Madeira School and at Fort Belvoir”. • Add why you care about our Trail!