Keep Valley Forge sacred

By Bill Wade

Two hundred thirty years ago, Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army suffered, struggled, and ultimately persevered at Valley Forge. At the dedication of Valley Forge National Historical Park in 1976, President Gerald R. Ford properly described Valley Forge by saying "Here the vein of iron in our national character was forged."

But now a private organization, the American Revolution Center, has proposed building an oversize, commercialized museum complex inside the boundaries of the park - threatening the future of this important icon and, potentially, national parks across the country.

While the proponents of this project are well-intentioned, this proposal merits a national outcry.

On July 4, 1976, on the Bicentennial of the Declaration of Independence, Congress established Valley Forge National Historic Park "to preserve and commemorate for the people of the United States" the area associated with Gen. Washington's encampment at Valley Forge in 1777-78. The Continental Army encamped here after leaving its fortifications farther to the south and before departing the area in June 1778 to engage and defeat the British Army in Monmouth, N.J.

Congress acknowledged Valley Forge as "one of the major historical resources of our Nation." In 1980, Congress expanded the park's boundaries to include the parcel now in question specifically to protect it from development that was encroaching on the park.

Our country needs a museum to tell the story of the American Revolutionary War - but not one built right on top of the very history it seeks to protect and interpret. Many historians believe the land on which the museum complex would be built was part of George Washington's commissary, an innovation at the time that helped end the troops' starvation by regulating the dispersion of food and other supplies. Developing on land with great historical significance is simply inappropriate, and puts our national heritage at risk.

Such a development project within the park's boundaries, even on privately owned land, is certain to interfere with the National Park Service's mandated responsibility to manage the park and the experience of visitors. For example, the museum complex as proposed would include a hotel, conference center, campground, and other incompatible development on land that is now enjoyed by park visitors.

While nearby trails are used by those seeking solitude, quiet and natural surroundings, a group of buildings just above those trails would forever change the tranquil environment. Many visitors use the surrounding parkland for evening horseback riding and star gazing, but once built the complex would exude light 24 hours a day through its glass walls. Still others come to enjoy watching birds and other wildlife that use the wetlands near the parcel in question. Sediment from the large complex would inevitably damage the park's sensitive wetlands and drive wildlife away.

When the Lower Providence Board of Supervisors voted in September to adopt a new zoning ordinance that would allow this outsized development on private land within Valley Forge, its members made a decision that affects each and every American, because our national parks belong to the entire nation. And so, the nation needs to join the Pennsylvania residents who have been raising concerns about this development proposal.

What happens here would not only harm Valley Forge, it may also change the landscapes of national parks nationwide by sending a message that no place is sacred - not even a national shrine such as Valley Forge.

There are about five million acres inside the boundaries of national parks nationwide that are not yet managed by the National Park Service. That means similar outsized or poorly sited development projects could potentially be a reality throughout the park system. This would forever change the national parks as we know them, and as they were intended to be protected.