The Northen Virginia Gun Club in King George VA needs your help! The "Rails to Trails" railbed that is discussed in this article runs along the top of the backstop for the pistol and rifle range.
Quoted from the club president...
Last weeks King George Journal had an article about the RROW being used as a trail again. The article is included below. Attached is a Power Point presentation by Fred Kolbrener about this issue.
John LoBuglio would like everyone who can to attend the King George Board of Supervisors meeting this Tuesday (March 21) to voice their opposition. The meeting starts at 6:00 pm and public comment starts at about 6:15 pm. You need to be in line in order to be guaranteed a chance to speak.
One last point is that King George County is under a fire watch. Conditions are excellent for brush fires. Please make sure when you are at the range or anytime for that matter that you make sure that you do noting that could start a brush fire.
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The Journal Press Inc. " P. O. Box 409 " King George " VA " 22485 " Phone: 540-775-2024 " Fax 540-775-4099 Serving King George County, Westmoreland County and the Town of Colonial Beach in Virginia
Rails-to-trail project underway in King George
Phyllis Cook 15.MAR.06
Efforts are underway in King George to use a former CSX railroad bed as a recreational trail for hiking and biking.
The trail will be 15.7 miles long, beginning at Route 605 in Sealston and running northeast throughout most of the length of the northern portion of King George County, nearly to US 301.
The CSX railroad right-of-way was obtained by the federal government for use during World War II as an access to the Dahlgren Naval base.
Its use as such was abandoned decades ago, and the former railroad bed was purchased in December 1997 by county resident Joe Williams.
David Brickley, former Director of the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, is in the process of acquiring the trail from Williams.
Though no longer director, Brickley remains a committed conservationist and serves on the Virginia Board of Conservation and Recreation.
He is an attorney who represented Prince William County for 22 years as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. Prior to that, he worked as assistant county executive for Prince William.
Brickley also served in the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1973 and received the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam as an intelligence officer.
He has obtained the rights for use of the railroad bed property and is proceeding with plans for its conversion to a hiking and biking trail.
No major construction is anticipated. Brickley said, Because it was originally constructed as a railroad bed, it was fortified and raised up. It just needs some cleaning up and needs identification.
He is developing signage to be posted to identify the trail that can be used to provide hikers and bikers with a safe, quiet, off-road pathway for exercise, bird-watching or to simply enjoy the outdoors.
Brickley is serious about the trail establishment. Earlier this year, he formed the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail Association, Inc., to develop the railroad bed as a rails-to-trail for the enjoyment and use by present and future generations.
That association is endorsed by both BikeWalk Virginia and the East Coast Greenway Alliance.
The East Coast Greenway is a proposed 2,600-mile off-road trail system taking shape from Maine to Florida. In 2003, the East Coast Greenway Alliance designated the 17-mile Mount Vernon Trail as one of its sections in Virginia.
The Alliances state committee for Virginia was reconstituted under Brickleys leadership.
Brickley is experienced in his efforts to establish safe recreational facilities. In 1992, he helped get Leesylvania State Park established in Prince William County, as chief sponsor of legislation to create the park, one of the most popular and most-used state parks in Virginia.
Brickley told The Journal that foresight is needed. My goal as a private property rights advocate is to do what is best for King George and Virginia. Once its cut up, it can never by put back together again.
Brickleys efforts to establish the Dahlgren Railroad Heritage Trail are also expected to provide a major missing link in the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trial which runs from Pittsburgh to Fredericksburg.
He also would like to see the trail lengthened to go east-west from Dahlgren to Culpeper. Brickley said, I think this is something that is needed for Virginia, not just for King George, but the entire state. He added, It can also be a tremendous project or facility for the rest of the country.
Brickley said this type of trail development is a great economic generator of tourist dollars.
Its the kind of tourism that communities across the state are dying for, Brickley said. I think its the kind of tourism that can be very beneficial to King George.
Brickley said, that as a courtesy to the local governing body, he recently contacted Board of Supervisors chairman Steve Wolfe to inform the county of his plan for the trail.
Wolfe urged Brickley to get in touch with representatives of Little Ark Baptist Church, through whose cemetery the rail bed runs. Brickley said he spoke with church reps, adding that he will work with the church to reroute the trail around its property.
" NO APPROVALS NEEDED Brickley also said he said he would be pleased to make a presentation to the Board of Supervisors later this spring to inform the county of his plans and progress.
But I am not asking the Board of Supervisors or the county for anything. No approvals are necessary. I just hope that they will see this as a darn good thing for King George and for Virginia. Brickley said.
Brickley said his efforts have been met with enthusiasm by many both in and outside King George.
I cant tell you how many people have contacted me positively to ask how they can help, he said.
But Brickley is also aware that there will be some opposition to the trail in King George.
Prior to approval of the countys existing Comprehensive Plan, a public hearing in February 2000 drew over 100 people, with many stating their opposition to the plans proposal for development of the railroad right-of-way for any of several stated uses, including recreation, utilities, or for a roadway.
There were a few who spoke in favor of the right-of-way being used as a trail, but most of the 30 speakers were against any use of the right-of-way. Many of those in opposition had in the last few years purchased 10-acre lots through which the right-of-way runs.
At that meeting in 2, Supervisors voted to delete all references for the county to develop the railroad right-of-way, and thats how it stands today.
But that deletion in the Comprehensive Plan poses no bar to the use of the private property as Brickley intends.
Brickley said it is a myth that trails near housing developments pose safety or security problems. It is completely safe, Brickley said. I want the quietest and most passive use possible.
Brickley cited the successful establishment a few years ago of the 56-mile New River Valley Trail, which runs through three jurisdictions in southwest Virginia.
That trail had opposition groups. But now the citizens love it and local legislators love it, Brickley said. You wont find a single person who remembers saying anything bad about it at all.
In addition, since that trail was established several years ago, many businesses have sprung up to provide services to those coming to the area to enjoy it. These include hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfasts and bicycle rental services.
The citizens will find that having a trail next to them will be safe and enjoyable. It will also increase their property values and they will fall in love with it, Brickley said.
A major tenet of the current Comprehensive Plan, and a proposed revision, which comes up for hearing by the Board of Supervisors next Tuesday, is to preserve the rural character of the county.
Though by-right use of the property is not required to conform to the Comprehensive Plan, dedicating the nearly 16-mile swath though the county as a trail would help support that goal.
Phyllis Cook
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