A few days ago, the National Park Service released their recommendation regarding the National Memorial Arboretum’s application to designate the site as a National Monument. It has taken some time to get this recommendation, and a lot of back and forth between the Friends of Arboretum (the group that wants the National Memorial Arboretum designated as a National Monument), and the Arboretum’s supporters (the group that wants to keep the site as a National Park).
It appears now, that the National Memorial Arboretum may soon be a National Monument. It will take a 60% super majority vote to approve the designation, so if the support is there, this could be happening very soon.
The National Memorial Arboretum is located in Fairfax, Virginia just outside of the city limits of Falls Church, in a protected land area within the Arboretum Park District’s land area. The site is bounded on the south by the National Capital Area Pathway Metro Station, on the north by the U.S. 220 power line, on the east by the Falls Church River Parkway, and on the west by the Fairfax city limits.
The site has an area of 18.82 acres with a high water line elevation of 3306 feet and an arboriculturist prediction of good vegetative propagation conditions.
The National Memorial Arboretum was first proposed back in 2005, and it appears that the NPS is moving forward with it’s recommendation. This recommendation had originally been submitted back in 1992. It is unknown if this recommendation will be voted on this year or next year, but the site is moving closer to being a National Monument.
If the NPS approves the designation of the site as a National Monument, it will make the property available for disposal of National Park Service sites.
The National Memorial Arboretum is also a part of the U.S. National Priorities List and it appears on the list alongside the Dakota Access Pipeline and the Bureau of Land Management site. These sites will also be turned into National Monuments.
The proposed sites are currently being reviewed and studied by a subcommittee within the National Park Service.
It appears that there are some sites that have not yet been submitted for review by the subcommittee. I am unsure if these sites will be approved, or if they will be added to the NPS National Priorities List.
This has been a process that is dragging on for quite some time. Hopefully, this will become a speedy process. One thing is for sure, the properties that would be designated as National Monuments are already underway, and they will be approved in the future. These properties have already been offered to the private sector to purchase.
The proposed sites are available for public viewing. This can be done at the visitor center or through the official website.
This should help shed some light on the future of the Montana property, and it’s place in the National Priorities List. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
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