MAJOR BREAKING NEWS! Ken Burns, nationally renowned documentarian and historian has joined our rising voices in opposition to the Data Center Development in the rural crescent that threatens our natural resources, including our coveted Manassas National Battlefield Park. See our press release below.
On Friday, Chair Wheeler notified everyone in the county that “Our COVID-19 community transmission rate and positivity rate are staggering.” In spite of this, she has scheduled two community meetings this month on data center plans: County announces 2 community meetings later this month on data center plans | News | princewilliamtimes.com
These meetings must not be held until residents can safely participate. Send your email now demanding common sense and good choices.
You can sign up to participate remotely at tomorrow’s 2 pm Citizen Time during the Supervisor’s Board meeting to share your thoughts on their process (Register by 5 pm Monday Jan. 10).
The list of organizations and agencies opposed to the industrializing the Rural Crescent along Pageland continues to grow:
Manassas National Battlefield
State of Virginia Forestry Department
Watershed Management
PWC Historical Commission
Prince William Conservation Alliance
Piedmont Environmental Council
Great Fall Sierra Club
National Parks Conservation Association
Coalition for Smarter Growth
Virginia Native Plant Society
American Battlefield Trust
Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area
Va. Delegate Danica Roem
Va. Senator Dan Helmer
InsideNoVa: HIGH-POWERED BATTLE Data center proposal pits Pageland residents against neighbors
Letter: Rising COVID-19 cases should delay rural crescent meetings, decisions – Prince William Times
OPINION: Supervisor Candland Has Not Been Candid About Land Use | Bristow Beat
Letter: Tony Virgilio, Leesburg – Loudoun Now
PRESS RELEASE:
Ken Burns, “The Civil War” Filmmaker, Joins Battle for Battlefield
Executive director says: “Ken Burns knows history. Industrial sprawl is on the wrong side.”
Haymarket, Virginia (January 10, 2022) – Ken Burns, award-winning filmmaker and creator of “The Civil War,” has voiced his opposition to the PW Digital Gateway Data Center Application which threatens the Manassas National Battlefield Park with over 2,000 acres of nearby industrial development.
“Ken Burns is an American legend – and a man grounded in documented facts. He probably knows more than any other person about the Civil War and our national parks, having produced documentaries on both,” Coalition executive director Elena Schlossberg said. “He certainly leaves no doubt about the threat the PW Digital Gateway application presents to what he rightly calls ‘this hallowed ground’.”
Schlossberg continued, “Burns wrote last week to County Board Chair, Ann Wheeler, imploring her to ‘seek more appropriate options for this planned development.’ So far, Wheeler has dismissed citizen concerns. I sincerely hope she shows more regard for someone who has spent more than four decades as a student and chronicler of history.”
“And what threat does Ken Burns see?,” Schlossberg asked. “The same threats that citizens and the Coalition have seen – and opposed – for years. The threat that so-called progress – really industrial sprawl and naked speculation – can have on our precious historical and environmental heritage.”
“The citizens of this County have made their will known again, and again, rallying against efforts to inject industrial sprawl into the Rural Crescent. And with good reason. The Rural Crescent is our County’s best environmental and fiscal tool, ever,” Schlossberg added. “Burns takes an even longer view, drawing on his experience making The Civil War documentary in the late 1980’s and 2009’s history of the national parks. He knows, ‘how crucial the preservation of our historic landscapes is’ and how ‘devastating the impact the development of up to 2,133 acres of data centers’ would be. He knows preserving our past helps protect our future.”
“Burns, as we’d expect from a documentarian who has won sixteen Emmy’s, draws on the deep expertise of others,’ Schlossberg noted. “Burns reminds Chair Wheeler that the Superintendent of the Manassas National Battlefield has stated in two letters that the proposed 2,133 acres of data centers constitute – and he quotes – ‘the single greatest threat to Manassas National Battlefield Park in nearly three decades.’ Past threats have included proposals for a 500+ acre shopping mall and the widely condemned “Disney America” flop. I hope Chair Wheeler reads – and heeds – these words.”
Schlossberg concluded, “When it comes to the Civil War and our national parks, Ken Burns knows history. And he knows that industrial sprawl is on the wrong side of history. I hope our elected officials get on the right side, too.”