Thursday, Sep 22, 2005
Public Comments Sought Regarding a New Visitor Contact Station and Maintenance Facility near the Five Forks Battlefield in Dinwiddie
In accordance with the Petersburg National Battlefield’s recently completed General Management Plan, efforts are underway to develop a new visitor contact station and maintenance facility at Five Forks Battlefield, a unit of Petersburg National Battlefield.
Several conceptual alternatives have been created for this important infrastructure upgrade to this unit of the park. Consequently, a DRAFT Environmental Assessment (EA) evaluating these alternatives is now available for your review and comment. The document has been developed to identify and assess the various management alternatives and related environmental impacts relative to park operations, visitor use and access, natural and cultural resources management, and general development on the Five Forks Battlefield.
Obtained in 1990 by donation from the Mellon Foundation, Five Forks is a junction of five county roads in Dinwiddie County and site of one of the last major battles of the Civil War. The site is composed of 1116 acres with a protective scenic easement of 435 acres and is registered as a National Historic Landmark. The site is composed of dense woods, open fields and exists much as it did on the day of the battle.
All but the No-Action alternative of the General Management Plan seek to construct a multi-use facility and associated infrastructure to provide improved public access at the battlefield. Work to be performed will include construction of utilities, roads, trails, parking, signage, interpretive exhibits, audio/visual space, restrooms, staff offices, and space for the maintenance and storage of equipment. Included with this project is the demolition of existing non-historic structures, site restoration, landscaping and the rehabilitation of interpretive waysides on adjacent county roads. The intent of the project is to provide both visitor and maintenance services to the site and establish a hub for park operations for many of the outlying sites within Dinwiddie County.
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Public participation is very important to the successful development of this site. Copies of the plan are available for review on the Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website available via www.nps.gov/pete, follow the links. It is also available on CD ROM or in hardcopy at the following local libraries in the Petersburg vicinity:
A.P. Hill Branch Dinwiddie Library 1237 Halifax Street 14103 Boydton Plank Road Petersburg, VA 23803 Dinwiddie, VA 23841 (804) 733-2391 804-469-9450
Disputanta Library Hopewell Public Library 10010 County Drive Appomattox Regional Library Disputanta, VA 23842 245 E. Cawson St. 804-991-2403 Hopewell, VA 23860 804-458-6329
McKenney Library Petersburg Public Library 20707 First Street 137 S. Sycamore St. McKenney, VA 23872 Petersburg, VA 23803 804-478-4866 804-733-2387
Prince George Library Rodof Sholom Library 6402 Courthouse Road 1865 South Sycamore St. Prince George, VA 23875 Petersburg, VA 23803 804-732-0652 804-733-2393
Rohoic Library 7301 Boydton Plank Road Petersburg, VA 23830 804-732-4119
Hard copies will also be available for review at the park’s three visitor contact stations (Eastern Front, Grant’s Headquarters at City Point, and at the Five Forks Battlefield visitor contact station) and in the Superintendent’s office at park headquarters. For your convenience, a CD Rom of the document is available, as well. (Microsoft Windows© users may see files named “Desktop DB” & “Desktop DF” on the CD ROM. These are system files created during CD production and should be ignored). A few hardcopies will be available for those without access to one of the local libraries, the Internet or a computer. Written requests for a hardcopy should be mailed to Superintendent, Petersburg National Battlefield, 1539 Hickory Hill Road, Petersburg, VA 23803-4721. Adobe Reader© will be required to read both the Internet version and CD Rom version of the document. You may obtain a free copy of Adobe Reader© by downloading it from the following website:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
We respectfully request your thoughtful evaluation and comments. Public comments will be accepted until close of business, October 28, 2005. You may submit your comments using any one of the methods indicated in this advisory. Please address your surface mail comments to Superintendent, Petersburg National Battlefield, 1539 Hickory Hill Road, Petersburg, VA 23803-4721 or via the Internet at PEPC www.nps.gov/pete or via e-mail to pete_superintendent@nps.gov.
Comments, including names and home addresses of respondents, will be available for public review at park headquarters during regular business hours. Individual respondents may request that we withhold their home address from the record, which we will honor to the extent allowable by law. There also may be circumstances in which we would withhold from the record a respondent’s identity, as allowable by law. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this prominently at the beginning of your comment. We will make all submissions from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, available for public inspection in their entirety.
For more information or questions concerning the Draft EA, please contact Chris Calkins at (804) 732-3531, ext. 201.
Petersburg National Battlefield was created in order to commemorate the campaign and siege and defense of Petersburg, Virginia, in 1864 and 1865. The park staff is committed to preserving and protecting the historical, cultural, and natural resources within the park in a manner that will provide interpretation, education, and enjoyment for the visitors. |
