Whereas, the lower portion of Four Mile Run provides very limited wildlife habitat or recreational opportunities at present;

Whereas, on October 2, 2004, the Arlington County Board approved a contract to develop a master plan for restoring the lower part of Four Mile Run;

Whereas, the goal of this project is "to restore the habitat and environmental features, recreational opportunities, aesthetics and urban form of the flood control channel";

Whereas, Arlington County, the City of Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are cooperating in this inter-jurisdictional project;

Whereas, the final draft Public Spaces Master Plan (p. 53) lists completion of the Four Mile Run Restoration Master Plan as Priority #3;

Whereas, the plan developed over the past year is nearing completion and will be considered by the Arlington County Board early in 2006;

Therefore, the Arlington County Civic Federation endorses the restoration of lower Four Mile Run.

We received this response from the Arlington County Board

Dear Mr. Smaldore:

On behalf of the County Board, thank you for sharing with us the Arlington County Civic Federation's comments and resolution relating to the Four Mile Run Restoration Master Plan. This multi-year effort of Arlington, Alexandria, the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, and the federal government will create recreational opportunities and restore the beauty of this untapped and largely forgotten resource. As you may know, the Board will hold its public hearing on this matter at our March 14, 2006, meeting. Your letter has been made part of the public record for the hearing and will be before us as we deliberate on this matter. We will be certain to keep your comments in mind at that time.

Again, thank you for bringing the Civic Federation's concerns to the Board's attention.

Sincerely,

Christopher Zimmerman
Chairman

This page was last revised on: March 8, 2006.