Silver Lake is such a rare asset, will the county be able to preserve such a beautiful site, I am not too hopeful. Prince William Conservation Alliance has an excellent post up on their blog. If you care about conservation, parks, government process, and integrity, you should click on this link. Make your voices heard, it does make a difference.
A public hearing is scheduled for 7:30 pm tonight strong at the Prince William County Park Authority’s headquarters, at Hellwig Park. It is the first, and perhaps the only, opportunity to comment to the Park Authority Board on the three alternatives developed by county staff for developing recreational facilities at Silver Lake.
Proposed new trails, parking lots, and campgrounds might damage environmentally-sensitive areas – but the maps show only the facilities to be constructed. The three alternatives never identify the environmental assets to be protected. The staff has proposed a standard county park development plan without the ballfields, adding in a fishing pier but ignoring the special character of the Silver Lake site.
Failure to inventory the natural areas at Silver Lake before locating new facilities on a map is an amazing omission. It demonstrates that the Park Authority is locked into its active recreation mindset, and has no clue about managing natural resources.
The staff measures success by how many new things they can build, how much they can change a site. That failure to consider the resources at a site is why the historical places owned by the county were transferred away from the Park Authority, and moved to Public Works.
Silver Lake is indeed a treasure. My son has sometimes taken his little boys down there just to let them experience nature without all the frills of civilization. All you PWC residents who love nature, please go hard after this one. These gems can disappear in a twinkling of the eye, and they are never given back to us.
About twenty years ago, some of us in Loudoun County saved a large segment of woodland about to be sold to developers in contravention of the wishes of the deceased elderly owner, who had asked in his will that it be preserved forever for the citizens. We went down to a BOS meeting and pleaded for the preservation. One guy even got up before the BOS and started to do bird calls as an example of what we would lose. The BOS responded and bought the place from the developers. So far so good. But over the years something else happened. The area grew and the demand for athletic fields grew with it. We became outvoted by newcomers. So now part of the preserved land contains multiple baseball fields and an aquatic center. And, just yesterday, the deer which one would find ordinarily in that park, I could see trying to conceal themselves in the thin layer of woods behind my house, surrounded by houses and having to try to cross several busy roads just to get home. Go for it, you guys, and make sure the Silver Lake deal is cast in bronze forever.
I went to Silver Lake for the first time last fall and it is very beautiful.
I’m not sure about these changes they’d like to make to it – I’ll have to read the other website in detail. In general though the Park Authority seems to ignore the wishes of the residents. Near my neighborhood on the Wiita tract they want to build this huge soccer complex consisting of 7 soccer fields plus a huge soccer stadium, despite the wishes of most of the residents that live right near it, and it also doesn’t seem to be what the owners of that tract intended when they gave it over to the county.
I hope Silver Lake stays beautiful like it was when I went there on day last fall. I’m looking forward to going back there now that the weather is getting nice – as I’ve only been there the one time so far but really enjoyed it that time.
I also have a thin layer of woods behind my house – that separates my neighborhood from the one next to it. There are houses on the other side of that thin layer of woods. I see deer all the time back there – lately there is this family of 3 deer that live in there and venture out into my backyard quite often. The deer are more and more being forced to live in the small areas of woods that are left, it seems.
Well, there’s something we can agree on. I’ve seen them too.
Elena, could you provide us with a little recent Silver Lake history? Weren’t there some land use issues last year?
Wolverine, I hope you and Mrs. Wolverine and a couple of the Wolverine cubs will come up from the big city and join us. Yes, Silver Lake is great place. I hope it stays simple without horse rings and waterslides. It is a great place just to take a box of chicken and sit outside and enjoy nature.
Thanks Starry. Thumbs up.
ARRRGGGHHHHH !!! this is – once again – like arguing against mom, apple pie and health care – but – it also has the flavor of another endless liberal money pit, where demands for more and more services, public facilities and tree hugging knows no bounds. As a former park employee, and with family our west, I use the wilderness more that most of you. The problem is balance– the need to balance those desires with the economic support needed -to include facilties for the handicapped, parking, restrooms, security, etc. I get very nervous about advocates of pristine wilderness areas who are also abutting land owers.
Does it have to be all or nothing? PWC is broke. We need to cover costs. Where is middle ground here?
I would vote for leaving it alone. That costs the least.
I would put in some raccoon proof trash cans in if they haven’t already. I would not allow horse rings and the horses would stay on the trails. Bikes would be welcome.
Tax-man, you do understand that using words like ‘liberal money pit,’ are offensive? I think you can make your point without using inflammatory labels.
Fair enough. I calls’em likes I sees em. Just for fun, give me a couple of social expenses or public quality of life investments that you have opposed or would consider under a joint venture arrangement – rather than demand more public resources for.
Yet in another thread, some conservatives are being called terrorists, being compared to the KKK, etc. and I don’t see a lot of action being taken there. This blog is in danger of being thought of as having a double standard – it should disavow any remarks like these no matter who they are targeted at. I’ve noticed lately some conservative posters on here have elected to leave because of this perceived double standard. That’s really too bad – as the blog is in danger of losing the perspective those posters had to offer.
And remember, it is a favorite saying of some posters here (some of those making the very remarks I’ve mentioned) that “perception is reality”. I and others are starting to perceive this blog has a different set of rules for conservatives than liberals, and if you really do say “perception is reality” – then people should start thinking about how conservatives are starting to perceive this blog.
Sorry to hijack this thread – as otherwise I agree with a lot of the discussion on Silver Lake. I’m just said to see a conservative called out this way – when lately some liberal posters have said some very nasty things and I haven’t seen them called out in a public way like that on this blog.
I meant to say in the last paragraph – “I’m just said to see…” – as otherwise that sentence doesn’t make any sense. That’s my last comment on that topic, but I hope some people think about it and take it to heart. I don’t see how lately it can be said that conservative and liberals are being treated equally on this blog.
One more time – I meant to say “I’m just SAD to see” – I don’t know how I made the same typo twice….
To get back on topic (and I take the blame for veering off of it) I’d like to see Silver Park remain very largely like it was when I saw it last November. It already had nice picnic areas set up, etc. Not that there can’t continue to be some more improvements in those areas, but I wouldn’t want to see major development going on there. It looked very nice already the way they had developed it at that point. I’m guessing it hasn’t changed much since then, due to the winter. I hope to get back there soon now that the weather is nice. It really is a great asset to the county, and I hope it doesn’t get ruined by overdevelopment. And, at a time where the county budget is tight, it makes even less sense to pour a lot of extra unnecessary money into it.
PWC, were you on the county or federal side of the Park System?
I took my neices to a county park yesterday and noticed a PWC police cruiser and Park Ranger vehicle driving around ‘looking for someone’. Figured it might be me since I was open carrying a pistol. Park ranger came over to our picnic table, greeted us, and had a nice conversation with my family and he mentioned that he was ‘looking for someone’. I asked who he was looking for (I was seated away from him so he could not see that I was armed) and he mentioned that he was looking for a tall, black male that was intoxicated. I told him we passed him on the way into the park about 15 minutes before. He thanked me and went to go look for him.
Do you have to deal with a lot of those ‘calls’? People being drunk in the park? I also noticed the ranger wasn’t armed – I guess they call PWCPD for assistance. Just seemed odd to me. Any insight would be great.
yesterday should be changed to Sunday. Typo, my bad.
@Gainesville Resident
GR, CONSERVATIVES are not being compared to the KKK from me. VIOLENT, THREATENING people are. Please make the distinction. I am a moderate Independent and don’t care about who is causing the trouble. Please don’t make me keep repeating this.
I think we should have walking trails, horse trails, moterless boats, fishing and swimming. Don’t cut down the trees. Put in a gravel parking lot. And yes…raccoon and squirrel-proof trash cans.
If people need to pee, they can go to an outhouse in the parking lot.
Well, you mentioned the Tea Party in the same sentence and implied they are like the KKK. Anyway, fine, I’m glad you are making that distinction in this particular case and appreciate your clarification. Still, I disagree – the KKK was all about walking around – rounding people (mainly black people) up, lynching them, etc.
Anyway, we’ll just have to agree to disagree on this. I think these comparisons to the KKK and terrorists are inaccurate.
That’s good, GR, as I said on the other thread. No problem : )
And now back to Silver Lake…the Powers should have accepted that partnership. It would have been less expensive and provided more care for the park than the county possibly can.
Silver Lake should have been turned over to Bull Run Conservancy.
It doesn’t get any better than that.
I also support the national parks. Does that make me a bad person? I think the national parks are one of the best things that has happened to this country.
Pick it up, copy it and bring it here. I don’t have any idea what comment is even being discussed.
I agree with Pinko’s suggested uses for Silver Lake. It’s a small lake. Let’s not overdevelop everything in this county.
And I think it should have been turned over to the Bull Run Conservancy as well. It’s not as though we have spare money to throw around in this economy.
Nevermind, it’s not important – and I’m sorry I got this thread off track.
I was referring to MH’s comment #25 – me and Censored posted at the same time and I was expecting mine to immediately follow MH’s – so was lazy and didn’t both to use the Reply or Quote feature.
I dont know what the terrorist comment even is.
It’s been made several times in the past few days, on several very active threads. Whatever, it is just interesting that no one seemed to notice it or care about it. If a conservative had made it, I know it would have been noticed asap. Guess it doesn’t matter at this point.
Maybe I’ll discuss it with you offline. It’s not worth wasting time on here and this thread isn’t about that – I don’t wish to derail the thread further.
@marinm
Yeah, actually my reference is miss-leading as I re-read it. I was a private concession employee in Teton and have spent a lot of time out there from Rocky Mountain and Yellowstone to Bryce and Moab.
Federal and state parks need to develop working relationships with business to minimize operating costs and maximize public access. It takes work to balance those requirements while protecting the asset – some more than others. Wilderness areas developed by the USDA are doing the same. No, we don’t need to put a ferris wheel or a water slide next to Old Faithful, but the hotel has been rebuilt with private funds. The Lake Ridge park is a good example of working a golf course, boating and play-grounds into the largrer wilderness buffers/trails. It sounds to me that there are some opportunities to more fully develop and balance those issues at Silver Lake too.
You have just named my favorites parks. Well I lied. I have never been to Arches, Canyonlands, or Rocky Mountain. If I could chose 4 new ones to go to those three and Yosemite would be it.
I have been to Teton and Yellowstone, Bryce, Zion, and Capital Reef. How long were you out there?
The biggest problem with Teton is Jackson Hole. Not my favorite rich people place.
Most of those hotels in the west were put in by the railroads weren’t they?
If it is something that affects the blog, GR, then we all need to be aware of it. I would just as soon address remarks made publically with the entire blog. If there is something inappropriate, we need to call it such and say why.
Was not always so – and its getting worse. Does not feel like “home” much anymore. Only good thing about it is that I met my wife there – well Teton and my kids can recognize an Elk bugle.
Moon – add to you must do list — Alaska out to Talkeetna, Denali and Mt. McKinnley, another good example of a great public-private partnership.
Please do not talk about issues you clearly do not understand. Silver Lake was proffered as public land when Toll Brothers wanted develop more houses. Their initial plan was to build around silver lake, but Sean Connaughton negotiated to save the lake. Its interesting that you, a supposed conservative and fiscal hawk, knows very little about this saga. BRMC not only offered to take care of the land, but was willing to add an additional 270 acres to make the public park 500 acres. This partnership not only would have cost NOTHING to the PWC Taxpayers, but it would have SAVED us money because they were willing to invest the first 500 thousand dollars to make improvements and get it accessable to the public. If you really want to learn more, go to http://www.pwconserve.org and do some research. I have been very involved with Silver Lake and its fate for several years@PWC Taxpayer
I think I’ve beaten it to death in other threads. I understand what you are saying but you can find my comments about it in some other very recent threads (and most are still active ones actually).
Done. I would love to take one of those Alaskan Cruises with the national park off the ship time.
Now did you live in Jackson Hole? I like West Yellowstone. I do not like Gardiner. I do love that ride up to Livingston though. Talk about drop dead gorgeous.
So how long were you out there? Did you retire from there? Is your wife a Wyoming native?
GR, if it is the terrorist remark I am thinking of, it was directed at violent people.
Do you mean the West Gate of Yellowstone – yes, but I don’t think Mammoth or Old Faithfull were. Teton is all Rockefeller Resorts, built since thre 1920s. But, those old RR rights of way are the absolute best way to hike or ATV to – not in – the park, most of which is through USDA National Forrest.
actually I was thinking of Grand Canyon and Glacier for the grand hotels.
I thought the Mammoth might have been but I am probably wrong.
http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/OldFaithfulcam.htm
Where do we put the water slide? (just kidding just kidding)
Tax-man I have never stayed in the hotels except at Skyline Drive. I stay off campus 😉
Oh I was just talking about the towns I like. I like the town of West Yellowstone. I don’t like the Mammoth town of Gardiner? Is that how you spell it? But I loved Paradise Valley.
WHOA M-H, the BRMC deal wasn’t quite as simple and win-win as you presented it. Connaughton may have “negotiated” the ultimage proffer package but his intent certainly wasn’t simply to save the lake. There were a lot of backroom machinations there and when the rezoning and proffers were approved there were no guarantees to the BRMC despite the efforts of Sean and Kiefer. Although ultimately the lake was “saved” there were precious few innocents involved in the machinations that got us to this point and there were several downsides to the BRMC proposal.
If
If you say so – but here it is word for word without any editing on my part, and without further comment on my part:
“As this latest event illustrates, these Tea Party people are terrorists, just like Osama Bin Laden. They have declared jihadi war upon our constitutional way of government.”
tell me where it is and what number it is.
It doesn’t look like it means ALL Tea party people. It means those who were doing vandalism.
I would be saying that those people aren’t Republicans or TPP and that they were vandals. but that’s just me.
Tell me where it is. I believe Elena did duty on that one.
@Elena
I get the proffer. I get the protection from McMansions and private piers on the lake a.la Lake Jackson. I get that BRMC offered to take care of the land for free, but was willing to add an additional 270 acres to make the public park 500 acres. Something happened in between that killed the deal and also made the additional $500 K investment financially not feasible — what did BRMC want /need?
I went to the site and its not helpful other than to sugggest that somebody tried to require very restrictive passive use – so my sense here is that that is why the deal fell through – and that would be a shame. And now I understand that the park authority is trying to bring in some developmet in order to increase use and (I hope) revenues. Is that righ?
We see this time and time again. The NPS model is to sweep up all the private land they can and then they come back with unbelievable newly discovered requirements and budget demands — or they will have to close the Washignton Monument – and the ones getting bleed to death are the ones M-H & I were discussing. We need new and a diverse sources of revenues to the County to off-set reasonable costs – or is this just another argument about public borrowing and spending priorities – I really cannot tell?