National Parks Conservation Association Supports Wal-Mart Lawsuit

The National Parks Conservation Association supports the lawsuit filed today challenging the approval of a Special Use Permit that would allow a Wal-Mart Supercenter to be built at the border of the Wilderness Battlefield, one of America's treasured national parklands. The lawsuit was filed in the Orange County, Virginia, court on behalf of plaintiffs the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Friends of Wilderness Battlefield, and six individual landowners whose rights would be negatively impacted by the Wal-Mart development.

NPCA has been active in the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition, joining the National Trust and the Friends group in opposition to construction of a new Wal-Mart at this site, and offering to assist in responsible historic site planning that would relocate the Wal-Mart development to a preferable site nearby, while protecting the integrity of the national park.

"This week, millions of Americans will focus on the glory of our national parks, as profiled in Ken Burns's new documentary, and be inspired to protect our most special places," said NPCA Virginia Program Manager Catharine Gilliam. "We're hopeful Wal-Mart will be, too. We remain confident that Wal-Mart will walk its talk of sustainability by moving its proposed Supercenter to an alternative site--thereby sustaining local tourism jobs and preserving our national heritage, while also creating new retail-sector jobs."

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