ASSATEAGUE ISLAND N.S.- Could Assateague Island, the mid-Atlantic's only national seashore, known for its serenity and wild horses, one day look like Atlantic City?
Some concerned citizens posed that question after hearing that the Park Service was considering handing over 12 aging buildings, including the Coast Guard Station-considered the park's most valuable cultural resource-to commercial groups to pay for their upkeep. Critics decried the plan as one that would open the door to development on the island and eventually leave it looking like the ultra-developed beach towns up north.
"Critics talk about commercial development, but that's a loaded word," said Superintendent Mike Hill. "All we're talking about is preserving these historical structures" including several buildings once used for duck hunting. "The word development brings to mind subdivisions and high-rises and things we're not talking about here," he said.
Among the uses for the buildings that a marketing firm suggested were an education and research center, campsites, a vacation rental center, or a bed-and-breakfast. Each use could financially sustain itself and pay for the upkeep of the structures, said Hill. The park is now studying whether the buildings are historically significant.
"If they are, the question becomes what can we do to preserve them, and how do we pay for it?" he said. "If they aren't, then the question is how will we dispose of them properly.
"Hopefully, we'll complete these studies before the buildings fall down," said Hill. "The deterioration of the structures is getting ahead of us," he added, "so we're trying to figure out how to preserve them. We're in a race against time."
One local group, the Assateague Coastal Trust, opposes any commercial activities or new construction on the island. A vocal critic of the park's planning is the recently formed "Citizens for the Preservation of Assateague." The group fears the precedent that would be established by allowing a commercial interest to control park resources and the effect that redevelopment could have on the endangered piping plover, which nests near the Coast Guard station.
"If they can put commercial activity in an area set aside for protecting threatened species, the whole island could be opened up to it," said Jay Cherrix, a local kayak guide. "We are fighting the redevelopment of these buildings, because human activity in these sensitive areas will hurt Assateague's resources."
Hill concedes that, in a perfect world, the Park Service would maintain control of the structures. But he said the park is cash-strapped and under an executive order to try adaptive partnerships to preserve aging resources.
"So the goal is to find a group or cooperator to use the Coast Guard station in an environmentally responsible way and pay for its upkeep," said Hill, "which would be wonderful."
Assateague's dilemma is not unique. National parks throughout the country must preserve cultural resources on a shoestring budget, and the situation is encouraging many park units to examine potentially harmful commercial partnerships.
"On average, for every dollar a park needs for daily operations, it gets only 65 cents," said Joy Oakes, NPCA's Mid-Atlantic regional director.
"Parks are forced to preside over mediocrity and decay or look for helping hands. Until Congress is willing to fully fund the parks, the Park Service will have to look for ways to bridge the gap," said Oakes.
"Some partnerships will be seamless, but other proposals will be controversial and even inappropriate," she said.
