PRESS RELEASE
For more Information contact:
Elena Schlossberg
Executive Director, Coalition to Protect Prince William County
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.”
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