To the editor:
I have been to the meetings, have heard the National Park presentations and heard vehement objections. Before I go any further, I will say that Mr.
Donahue may not be the right person to lead this project. The information he has provided has lacked any real detail or plan. That being said, there is a lot of possibility here, maybe we need to rethink the idea. One of the big objections I heard was fear of no hunting. Mr. Donahue did have a map that showed plenty of hunting with a much smaller restricted area along the river for recreational use. As a hiker who prefers the fall and winter, that is a real positive for me and many other outdoor folks. Another huge argument against it was the influx of people. According to the National Public Lands website, we got 4.3 million visitors last year. a drop from 3rd on the list to 15th, so we probably would see an increase in traffic.
Here’s my question; wouldn’t it be better to have a few hundred passenger cars over a week than the possibility of a couple hundred tractor trailers a day from these potential warehouses they are trying to install above Apple Valley? Those passenger vehicles would provide customers to our restaurants, shops, hotels, and airbnb’s. All of which we are in need of.
But inside the park there are over 700 plus standing structures, many of which could be rehabilitated and used for visitor centers, lodges, cafes.
These types of things have been done in other parks through alliances between the National Park Foundation and National Park Friends Alliances.
Please review Zion’s friends site https://zionpark.org/ or The Yellowstone Forever site https://www.yellowstone.org/. These are great examples of how surrounding communities work with their national park to do things like organize volunteers, staff ancillary positions, procure funding and grants.
At a separate function Chief Strongwalker indicated he had not been consulted on the Lenape Preserve Mr. Donahue presented as part of the National Park, and while he was not thrilled with the Name (Preserve) would not be opposed to the discussion of including the Lenape people in this National Park which could result in the native people to the land we are all occupying having access to and maybe the returning of some of their land as well as giving us all access to their rich cultural history. All of these things offer such wonderful opportunities to preserve and protect what we all love about this area, what we are known for, and isn’t it a hugely better option than mega warehouses and strip malls and things like that? Community development doesn’t have to mean industrial construction, does it?
Lisa Jenkins
Milford Resident