SPEAKING OUT:
MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT CROW'S NEST
(back to "Crow's Nest in Words
and Pictures")
Over the years, the support for preserving Crow's Nest has been overwhelming. The following is a sampling of quotes about Crow's Nest from citizens, scientists, elected officials and others. The views expressed here, of course, are those of the authors alone.
"We
believe Crow's Nest is a tremendous site and it should be protected."
—Andrew
French, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
(Free Lance-Star, September 28, 2001)
"Such a rare and beautiful place should and must be protected from
development. We need more open wild spaces like [Crow’s Nest] to protect
endangered and rare animal and plants species. And to maintain and improve
our water quality with these valuable wetland areas. And Crows Nest has
such important historical sites as well."
—Donna
Finnegan
(letter to DEQ, October 13, 2004)
"No
one will be homeless if Crow's Nest is not developed. This property is not owned
by an individual trying to leave something for his or her children."
—Jane
Obert
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, January 29, 2004)
"It's
a beautiful piece of property that should be preserved."
—Ferris
Belman, then-Chair, Stafford County Board of Supervisors
(Free Lance-Star, September 28, 2001)
"[Crow’s
Nest], if protected, will leave a legacy for the citizens of both Stafford
County and the state of Virginia…Hopefully, we, the citizens of this fine
county, will be able to pass something on to our future generations.”
—James
M. Clark
(letter to DEQ, October 13, 2004)
"Stafford
County’s Comprehensive Plan states that 45.5% of Stafford’s soils are
classified as severely limited for the building homes. The soils of
Crow’s Nest fall into this category. The Comprehensive Plan also notes
that practically the entire peninsula has slopes which are greater than 25%.
Much of the remaining area is Resource Protection Area. The marshes in
both Accokeek and Potomac Creeks are irreplaceable resources. Without even
addressing the natural heritage resources of the peninsula, it is clear to us
that permanent protection is essential to guard water quality in our two creeks,
the Potomac River, and the Chesapeake Bay."
—Patricia
G. Kurpiel, Project Coordinator, Stafford Creeks Water Quality Monitoring Project
(letter to DEQ, October 14, 2004)
"Personally
I would love to see [Crow’s Nest] saved in its entirety, simply because the
whole peninsula has historic and prehistoric sites. Then there's the ecological
part. You have some very rare species, and some of the last virgin timber. Do
you want to just put some houses on it? Are you going to pave over everything in
the county? The county could use it for an environmental teaching area. It also
could be used for limited hunting. There are all kinds of things that can be
done with the property that doesn't include new houses."
—Barbara
Kirby, Stafford County Planning Commission
(Free Lance-Star, May 7, 2004)
"If
the residents of Stafford fail to protect their birthrights, no one else will.
There will always be outside interests wanting to make a quick buck and ready to
roll over every pristine piece of land left."
—L.B.
Gschwandtner
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, March 5, 2004)
"[Crow’s Nest] is a gorgeous piece of land and needs to be preserved and protected from development once and for all."
—Christopher
W. Reed
(letter to DEQ, October 13, 2004)
"It's
the desire of the Stafford Board of Supervisors to preserve [Crow’s Nest] for
a natural area and not develop it."
—C.M.
Williams, Stafford County Administrator
(Free Lance-Star, July 4, 2002)
"[Crow’s
Nest] is a treasure and its use as a wildlife preserve plus hiking trails for
wildlife, historical, and prehistorical lectures / research will be a great plus
for the future generations of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It will assist
in establishing a much needed addition to wildlife habitat in the Stafford
County area."
—Dr.
Richard D. Lewis
(letter to DEQ, October 13, 2004)
"The
preservation of Crow's Nest is possible. Other communities have found ways to
preserve important properties. We can, too."
—Anne
Little
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, March 8, 2004)
"As
one of the largest unfragmented deciduous forests in the Chesapeake Bay
watershed, Crow's Nest is very important to neotropical birds migrating along
the East Coast."
—Dr.
Mamie Parker, acting Northeast Regional Director, US Fish & Wildlife Service
(Press release, September 5, 2000, http://northeast.fws.gov/newsrel/accokeek.html)
"Crows
Nest is a unique natural asset…As Stafford County continues to develop, future
generations can look back at this point in time and say that their predecessors
had the foresight to do the right thing for all time by capturing this
opportunity [to save Crow’s Nest]."
—Patrick
Coady, founding board member of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust
(letter to DEQ, October 15, 2004)
"We
can find a way to save this land, and in doing so, save ourselves."
—Archer
Di Peppe
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, January 31, 2004)
"Having
had the pleasure to visit the Crow's Nest property several years ago, I saw
firsthand how beautiful it is. It would be a travesty for any builder to carve
it up, destroying all the natural beauty in order to make their megabucks.
What do they care? They won't be forced to live with the results of their
actions."
—Judy
Humphrey
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, December 21, 2004)
"Biologists
from the Division of Natural Heritage in Virginia's Department of Conservation
and Recreation and from U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service characterize the
[Crow’s Nest] peninsula as nearly pristine. The area also has a very rich
cultural history with Native American, Colonial, and Civil War importance."
—US
Fish & Wildlife Service
(Press release, September 5, 2000,
http://northeast.fws.gov/newsrel/accokeek.html)
"[Crow’s
Nest] is a very important part of Virginia's land mass. Its preservation will
place a break in what is otherwise a dismal string of over developed parcels in
the corridor between Washington D. C. and Fredericksburg….Preserving large
areas of land to break up that dismal continuity is a step towards creating a
truly pleasing environment."
—John
M. Chinn
(letter to DEQ, October 14, 2004)
"Replacing
[Crow’s Nest] with residential or commercial development would, in my view, be
a travesty. We are already straining from the effects of over development in
Stafford County."
—Kathy
Sampeck
(letter to DEQ, October 14, 2004)
"I
remember going out [to Crow’s Nest] as a young man. I encourage everyone to
see it."
—Gary
Snellings, Stafford Board of Supervisors, Hartwood District
(Free Lance-Star, March 6, 2002)
"I
share the feeling of the late Congressman Herbert Bateman, Stafford officials
and citizens that Crow's Nest should be preserved in its natural state and will
do whatever may be necessary to accomplish that goal."
—Jo
Ann Davis, U.S. Representative (then candidate)
Press release, September 29, 2000 (http://www.joanndavis.com/news0929.htm)
"That
property is too precious, too valuable to lose… I don't want to see any
development on Crow's Nest whatsoever."
—Kandy
Hilliard, Stafford Board of Supervisors, Aquia District
(Free Lance-Star, February 15, 2004)
"The
future quality of Stafford County and the Fredericksburg area depends on holding
onto key pieces of land with historic and natural value, like Crow's Nest.
It is the responsibility of the present generation to make sound decisions that
will preserve these resources, not only for our present pleasure and use but
also for that of future generations. We must be responsible."
—Bob
Dodge
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, March 12, 2004)
"Your
elected officials need to know that you expect them to actually take action to
save Crow's Nest, not to just agree that it should be saved. Your politicians
are not going to do anything else unless you insist."
—Paul
Milde
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, February 15, 2004)
"Throughout
the late 1940s and the 1950s my father took us five siblings to Crow's Nest for
our Nature Walks. We learned lessons in that beautiful, pristine environment
that stood us in unique stead throughout our formal educations [through graduate
degrees]. This cannot be replicated once it is destroyed by development."
—James
and Rebecca Guy
(letter to DEQ, October 15, 2004)
"There
is so much we can do with [Crow’s Nest] to preserve and enjoy it naturally.
But giving up to rich developers so they can make a buck is just plain selling
out on something precious. Please, please, preserve this land for future
generations to enjoy its richness and beauty, just the way it is."
—Lisa
and Jack Sullivan, and family
(letter to DEQ, October 15, 2004)
"Crow's
Nest is unique because it is a forest on limestone ravines surrounded by
freshwater tidal marshes, which create greater biodiversity. Rare plants and
endangered animals inhabit the point. Also the short-nose sturgeon, an
endangered species of fish, come to the marshes."
—“Protecting
the Environment”
(Free Lance-Star, August 20, 2003)
"Too
much land that should have been preserved has instead been developed. I'm truly
hoping this trend stops here."
—Colleen
Quinnell
(letter to DEQ, October 15, 2004)
"Stafford
is rapidly changing from rural agricultural and waterfront to suburb and
commercial. Saving a resource like Crow's Nest for preservation and
appropriate recreational use will be appreciated by future Stafford residents
for hundreds of years and hopefully even longer. We must take advantage of
such opportunities when we can."
—Bob
Dodge
(letter to DEQ, October 15, 2004)
"Crow's
Nest Peninsula is the finest example of mature forest and wildlife habitat left
in this part of Virginia."
—Aimee
DeLach, Defenders of Wildlife
(Washington Post, December 28, 2004)
"The
battle to save Crow's Nest is not just about preserving a gorgeous piece of
land, it is about stopping an out-of-town developer, whose main interest is in
making a profit, from destroying one of our community's natural treasures and
leaving us with more traffic and related woes than we already have in this
rapidly growing community."
—Mary
Becelia
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, March 7, 2004)
"As
a young man, I enjoyed paddling up Potomac Creek to view the wildlife. On any
given trip I would encounter some combination of ducks, geese, black and white
swans, herons, muskrats, deer, and even an occasional red fox. If you want to
see some of the most incredible fish in Virginia waters, you need only to paddle
up into the marsh in the spring to see monstrous shad and thousands of
herring…To develop Crow's Nest would be a loss for posterity, and a gain for
only a few."
—Gordon
Silver
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, March 7, 2004)
"When
developers are opposed, those in opposition are accused of being against change.
On the contrary: The change will be when the people--not the developers--win
one."
—John
Chinn
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, April 1, 2004)
"The
proposed development of Crow's Nest is an outrage that should be opposed by
everyone who is concerned about the region's quality of life… If we let
K&M cut down the trees, pave the roads, and displace the wildlife, we will
have gained another in a long list of unsightly developments--and we will have
lost a unique and irreplaceable regional treasure."
—David
Croteau
(letter to the editor, Free Lance-Star, January 21, 2004)
"For
what it's worth, I have to add my voice to those thousands of others who have
visited Crow's Nest and come away saying: 'Crow's Nest must be saved.'"
—columnist
Paul Sullivan, after a hike on Crow’s Nest
(Free Lance-Star, February 28, 2004)
Note: Quotes referenced as "letter to DEQ" are from letters citizens wrote to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), supporting the County's application for a low-interest loan to purchase Crow's Nest.