David McCarthy, President of the Friends of Banshee Reeks, sent over this email and I wanted to share it with you here. The Friends of Banshee Reeks is an important organization in making sure this incredible nature preserve is protected into the future.

The note from David:

Follow-up to the Public Meeting of July 29

I would like to thank all of you who were able to attend the public meeting Wednesday evening to address the issues related to The Woods Road.  It is unfortunate that an understandably frustrated group from Courtland dominated the question period, as the majority of people in the audience did not get to raise their questions about the status of a road that appears on the earliest maps of the county; that runs through an area that reflects the human ecology of man’s interaction with the natural habitat in Loudoun from 4,000 BC through the 1970’s; and is the only publicly owned collection of traditional Piedmont habitats that exists in the county on a scale which keeps them viable.

The good news is that Lewis Rauch, Director of the Office of Capital Construction attended the meeting and has offered to head up a Woods Road Stakeholders Group that would meet regularly this year and next to address the safety concerns of the road, the county’s solid waste disposal needs, and the need to protect irreplaceable natural resources and the conservation easements that protect them. Mr. Rauch has earned a reputation of bringing an open, positive and professional approach to problem solving, and he understands that all the issues related to The Woods Road need to be seen within the larger context. I believe that someone who can look at this situation with fresh eyes and knows how to listen can help take us beyond the stale rhetoric we have been subjected to before.

As always, Supervisor Sally Kurtz played the key role in seeing that the process of public participation promised in April 2008 was not allowed to die. The Woods Road presents a striking example of the constant pressure that the county’s diminishing resources are under from competing demands. The Friends of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve will be pleased to enter into a transparent and participative process at the front end of the decision making, rather than having to react to the damage caused by decisions made without consideration of the consequences.

Loudoun County has been the victim of a risky and speculative development process that has been driven by the short term possibilities of monetary gain. It is recognized that the economic situation the county finds itself in now is the result of this kind of approach. We all know now that we need a new way forward based on an informed and engaged citizenry. The decisions made about The Woods Road will send a clear message of how Loudoun County will approach the future. We all agree that business as usual is not the answer. Let’s help shape a new one.

David McCarthy, President
Friends of Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve  

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