It's conceivable that some in this forum would want to see this update 
message that I circulated on Thursday to the e-mailing list of Citizens for 
a Fort Monroe National Park (www.CFMNP.org). As I've said, in my view the 
fate of Fort Monroe is an enormously important practical question at this 
moment for all who follow Virginia history, and for that matter American 
history. If you agree, I think you want to see this message. Thanks very 
much.
Steven T. (Steve) Corneliussen
Poquoson, Virginia


FORT MONROE: PLEASE COMMENT TO THE FORT MONROE AUTHORITY

Please help Fort Monroe by commenting online to the Fort Monroe Authority 
about its new Fort Monroe Reuse Plan. They're accepting comments through 
Sunday, June 15. If you're in hurry -- or even if you're not -- you might 
want to skip down and use the "QUICK, HOW-TO CHECKLIST" below the second 
dashed line. It would be great to have lots of people studying the reuse 
plan and then commenting, but if need be, you can help Fort Monroe in under 
five minutes total. Either way, your voice matters.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

WHAT'S THIS ALL ABOUT?

The reuse plan is available online in the left-hand column at 
www.FMFADA.com, the home page of the Fort Monroe Authority. At Citizens for 
a Fort Monroe National Park (CFMNP.org), we appreciate the hard work that 
has gone into this plan, and we like much that's in it.

But we also believe that the plan doesn't fully adhere to the spirit of 
Virginia's Fort Monroe law, which stipulates that in "formulating a reuse 
plan for Fort Monroe, the Authority shall give due regard to (i) the site's 
400 years of public ownership, (ii) its status as a National Historic 
Landmark, and (iii) its unique natural resources and outdoor recreational 
opportunities." That law also requires serious evaluation of "whether Fort 
Monroe should become affiliated with the National Park System" in some 
way -- yet the plan never even mentions national parks.

Although this reuse plan is not final, it's important. So we urge Fort 
Monroe's actual owners -- American citizens -- to comment online using the 
public comment form linked from the bottom right side of the FMFADA.com home 
page. For a quick, how-to checklist of what we think it's important to say 
to the Fort Monroe Authority about the reuse plan, please see below the next 
dashed line. For more perspective on the reuse plan, we recommend two brief 
documents linked from our CFMNP.org "What's New" page:

1. Our own reuse-plan comments, available via a CFMNP.org "What's New" page 
listing that begins "NEW (6/3) CITIZENS FOR A FORT MONROE NATIONAL PARK 
COMMENTS ON THE FORT MONROE AUTHORITY'S DRAFT REUSE PLAN." The direct URL 
might require copy-and-paste into your browser address line:
http://www.cfmnp.com/comments_on_the_reuse_plan.htm

2. The Virginian-Pilot's new editorial, available via a CFMNP.org "What's 
New" page listing that begins "NEW (6/8) NORFOLK VIRGINIAN-PILOT CALLS FOR 
CREATING FORT MONROE NATIONAL PARK." The direct URL might require 
copy-and-paste into your browser address line:
http://www.cfmnp.com/vp_a_national_park_for_fort_monroe.htm

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

QUICK, HOW-TO CHECKLIST for commenting on the Fort Monroe Reuse Plan:
* Go to www.FMFADA.com.
* Click on the link near the bottom right that says
  "Fort Monroe Reuse Plan - Comment Form."
* Fill in the required personal information. (Note:
   the authority will protect your privacy.)
* Select "Section 1: Introduction" (a good
   way to submit general comments).
In the comment box, say what you will and then press "Submit" -- but please 
know that we think it's important to say that the plan must:
* Call for a full-scale Special Resource Study by the
   National Park Service.
* Stipulate that any new construction should only answer
   carefully established economic necessity for Fort
   Monroe's self-sustenance.
* Definitively preclude sell-offs of any land.
* Declare the Wherry Quarter (at the center of the
   post) crucial as green space necessary for
   respecting and enhancing the character of
   the place.
* Affirm that it is the Freedom Story -- the Contraband
   story -- that makes Fort Monroe not just nationally
   but internationally important.

THE FORT MONROE AUTHORITY IS ACCEPTING COMMENTS THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 15. 
THANKS FOR PARTICIPATING!

P.S.:
Please also vote for the national park option in About.com's informal Fort 
Monroe poll that's linked from our CFMNP.org "What's New" page -- and then 
maybe also contribute to the related online Fort Monroe discussion. You can 
also get to both of those via the following direct URLs, though the URLs 
might require copying-and-pasting into your browser address line.
For the online Fort Monroe poll:
http://hamptonroads.about.com/b/2008/06/07/last-chance-to-comment-on-fort-monroe-future.htm
For the Fort Monroe discussion:
http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ab-hamptonroads&tid=58

If you should not be receiving e-mail updates from us, please notify me by 
reply e-mail. Thanks.
Steve Corneliussen
Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park (CFMNP.org) 

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