![]() The state witnesses remained firm onthe issue, contending that Assateague State Park's intensive usefacilities would complement the lowerprofile developmentelsewhere. "We are doing our very best to hold the line but Idon't know how long we can prevail." Subcommittee Chairman Alan Biblepressed Tawes and other Maryland officials to justify the unusualretention of a state park within a unit of the National Park System,which Interior had been forced to support as a price for Maryland'sadvocacy of the national seashore. "We in Maryland are doing everything legallypossible to prevent residential and commercial development on theisland.," he stated. Amongthe first day's witnesses was Governor Tawes, who stressed the urgencyof congressional action in the face of the pending court suits to forceprivate building permits. The Senate hearings ran for four days, indicative ofthe widespread and intense interest in the Assateague legislation. ![]() The Interior response argued that theseashore, for reasons of public safety, should not be precluded fromclosure (as during storms) that a specific requirement for grazingareas could conflict with wildlife habitat protection and wasunnecessary that overnight public accommodations in the refuge would beincompatible and that a connecting road through the refuge "would allbut eliminate the fine waterfowl habitat which the Department hasdeveloped through the years at considerable expense." Senator Robertson (andRepresentative Downing), reflecting Virginia interests, would requirethe national seashore to be kept open at all times (a reaction to localcomplaints that Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge was often closed),designation of sufficient grazing areas for the wild ponies onAssateague, establishment of a concession accommodations area comparableto that proposed in Maryland, and a road down the island linking theMaryland and Virginia bridges. 20 and opposing S 1121,pointed up the key differences in the bills. Secretary Udall's report to ChairmanHenry M. The Interior Department was asked for its position onthe Senate bills before resumption of the Interior and Insular Affairssubcommittee hearings in March. 1121, which matched Representative Downing's H.R.4426 in the House.Other House bills with other differences were submitted byRepresentatives Morton (H.R. Willis Robertson of Virginia introduced a different version,S. 20, introducedJanuary 6, 1965, by Senator Brewster with the cosponsorship of Joseph D.Tydings, Maryland's new junior senator, and 14 others. Interior's proposal was consistent with S. The Park Service promotional brochure was preceded bythe reintroduction of national seashore legislation in the new 89thCongress. Recreationalactivities would include swimming, surfing, sunbathing, skin diving,water skiing, boating, clamming, crabbing, fishing, and hunting, thelast to be permitted under applicable Federal and state laws in theMaryland portion of the seashore. The road down the island wouldextend to "within a few miles" of the wildlife refuge it was stressedthat it would not connect with the Virginia bridge. In additionto the facilities suggested earlier, the 600acre concession areawas now envisioned to include a pavilion with a large restaurant andsnack bar, a gift shop, a saltwater pool and bathhouse, and a500unit motel in 20 buildings. Maryland would be assured the right of acquiring additional landfor its state park from the Federal Government at the north end of theisland.Īssateague would be developed for "maximum publicrecreation use," with the Federal portion generally augmenting thehighdensity use facilities planned for the state park. The Government would acquire theChincoteague≺ssateague bridge and compensate Maryland forconstruction of the Sandy Point bridge if the state operated it free oftolls. The proposal called for the national seashore toencompass 39,630 acres, including all of Assateague Island, the smalladjoining bayside islands, marshes, and submerged lands, a1000foot strip of the Atlantic, and the 10acre headquarterstract on the mainland. Three million visitors were predicted annually by 1975. Itpublicized the endorsement of national seashore status by the Secretaryof the Interior's Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites,Buildings, and Monuments in September 1963 and Assateague's compliancewith the criteria for national recreation areas established by thePresident's Recreation Advisory Council. The brochure described Assateague as thelargest undeveloped seashore between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras. Early in 1965 the National Park Service published an attractive24page promotional brochure, Assateague Island NationalSeashore: A Proposal. With this renewal of private development pressure,there was no time to lose if Assateague were to be acquired for publicuse. ![]()
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