[Ponte Alto] FW: Wal-Mart Superstore Threatens Wilderness Battlefield - Take Action Now!

[Sarah Toich]

Wal-Mart Superstore Threatens Wilderness Battlefield
Plans for a Wal-Mart Supercenter within sight of one of the most significant
Civil War battle sites in our nation have been submitted for approval in
Orange County, Virginia.  This 145,000-square foot store is proposed just
one-quarter mile from the main entrance to the National Park which honors
the sacrifice of the Civil War combatants who fought and died at Wilderness
Battlefield in May 1864.  Your help is needed to save Wilderness
Battlefield! 

As part of a growing coalition, the National Trust for Historic Preservation
strongly opposes intensive commercial development at this historic site,
located at the intersection of Route 20 and Route 3, because it would
degrade the rural setting for the battlefield, promote commercial sprawl,
and drastically increase traffic through the heart of the National Park.

In fact, ³big-box² traffic congestion here would dramatically increase
pressure to widen Route 20 from two to four lanes through the battlefield
and National Park a fatal mistake strongly opposed by preservationists.
Route 20 is the historic Orange Turnpike, the scene of fierce fighting
during the battle.  In addition, construction of a Wal-Mart would likely
lead to additional retail development along this corridor, including three
additional ³big-box² stores already in the works.

Wilderness Battlefield is one of our nation¹s most significant Civil War
battlefields.  

More than 2,700 acres of the battlefield are preserved as part of the
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, a key destination
along the newly designated Journey Through Hallowed Ground National Heritage
Area.  There are many potential sites for Wal-Mart, but only one Wilderness
Battlefield.  

It is imperative that Wal-Mart abandon its flawed plan for a massive
Superstore at the gateway to the historic Wilderness Battlefield.

Take action to save our Civil War heritage:
* Sign Our Petition to Stop Wal-Mart
<http://my.preservationnation.org/site/R?i=lYoAT7mN_AjUIiZtEj2EWA..> .
* 
* Learn more about the coalition to preserve Wilderness Battlefield here
<http://my.preservationnation.org/site/R?i=1XYnbkAH-q8aE6N8TLcAKQ..> .
* 
* Help us save all our nation¹s historic places by making a donation today
<http://my.preservationnation.org/site/R?i=401kCVrrQpvoWLoIf78lUA..> .
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
202-588-6000 / 800-315-6847
members at nthp.org / http://www.preservationnation.org/
<http://my.preservationnation.org/site/R?i=k8FMS9ot_xBRVFJprsfRVQ..>

 

 

 

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