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) ______________________________________ To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html