Friends of Upton Hill

Read the report -- Preserve the Park at Upton Hill - by Friends of Upton Hill, March 2018

June 2018 Power Points and Letters

Other power-points

What the People Want in their Parks: According to a National Parks and Recreation Association survey, as of 2017: Americans agree that local government should set aside land for the sheer purpose of preserving the natural landscape. This support crosses people of all ages, genders, regions, household size, and parental status.

Key Findings:

    • Eighty-two percent of Americans agree it is important that their local government sets aside land for the sheer purpose of preserving the natural landscape.

    • Two in three people believe that setting aside land for the sheer purpose of preserving the natural environment is very or extremely important.

    • Nearly seven in 10 Millennials feel it is very or extremely important for local governments should set aside land for the sheer purpose of preserving the natural environment.

NOVA Parks' plan goes against County environmental policies for preservation of greenspace and promotion of alternate modes of transportation. Arlington County's Master Transportation Plan has a Transportation Vision that says: Arlington’s vision of transportation is a system that provides equity and access to all users. It involves concentrating investment in ways that yield the greatest good not only from a transportation standpoint, but also for overall quality of life of Arlington residents and workers. Arlington’s vision for its transportation system also supports community efforts to improve our natural environment and achieve better public health and fitness. Goal 6 -- Advance Environmental Sustainability -- calls for reducing: "the impact of travel on community resources including air and water quality, and increase energy efficiency. A strategy for this is: "Minimize the creation of impervious surface area for streets and other transportation facilities, and manage the collection and release of runoff in an effective and environmentally sensitive manner." Arlington County also seeks to promote a car free diet.

Protecting the Chesapeake Bay: Preserving park land in the park -- and not putting down more concrete and asphalt -- is good for those of us who visit it, but also for the Cheasepeake Bay. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation notes, "According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urban and suburban stormwater is the source of about 15 percent of the total nitrogen entering the Bay, and is the only source that is still increasing. In some rivers it makes up an even higher percentage of the problem. It is one of the major reasons that the Bay remains on EPA's "dirty waters" list and is now subject to the Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint. (Polluted Runoff -- The Gray Funnel of the Chesapeake). For more on protecting the Cheasepeake Bay see: The Chesapeake Legal Alliance and Chesapeake Bay Program. See CBF's critically acclaimed 10 minute short film: The Incredible Oyster Reef.

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