Letter to Governor Mark Warner:

To: Honorable Mark R. Warner, Governor of Virginia

I am sure that you are aware the vote on the master plan for Occoneechee State Park was very close, with the tie-breaking vote coming from the Clarksville mayor.  

 

Clearly neither the vote nor the decision is in alignment with what the citizens of Mecklenburg County nor Virginia nor the United States think regarding the issue.  The public input to the DCR was 6 to 1 (3675 to 650) opposed to the golf course or 83% of citizens opposed to the golf course.  The figures from the Mecklenburg County Citizens for Democracy shows that 80 to 90% of local citizens oppose the golf course.  Within one five hour period over 1,000 signatures we collected in Boydton Virginia and Occoneechee State Park resides in the Boydton.   The Virginia Outdoors Plan showed that 85% of citizens are opposed to similar ventures in state parks.  In addition the citizens just voted to approve the recent state parks bond referendum to purchase millions of dollars worth of state park land and this would be a give away of $2,000,000 of state park land.  We are supposed to live in a democracy where the majority rules and the majority has spoken!!!

 

There are many reasons why the vast majority of Mecklenburg County citizens, Virginia Citizens and United States Citizens do not want the golf course on federal lands in Occoneechee State Park.  There are also many reasons why the recommendation of the Board of Conservation and Recreation should be rejected.  Below are some reasons why golf should be taken out of the master plan.

  • State Park Precedent and Change in State Park Philosophy.  Privatizing 23 acres of Occoneechee State Park for a business sets a precedent for private businesses taking land in all Virginia state parks.   This clearly is not what the public wants based upon the recent bond vote.  We risk losing the best state park system in the country by allowing businesses to take control of state park land.  If we are going to change the way we operate state parks we should not do it in a piece-meal fashion one park at a time.  We should step back and decide where we want to go with our state park system and then make changes consistent with this decision.

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  • Sacred Native American Land:  The land in Occoneechee State Park is sacred to Siouan Native Americans. People of Siouan ancestry have come from all over the country to Occoneechee State Park because of their connection to this land.  Some day the Occoneechee, Saponi and Tutelo burial remains that were taken from Siouan land in Clarksville and Boydton will have to be repatriated back into Occoneechee State Park.  A golf course and the development that it brings is not an appropriate use for this sacred land with the memorial that one day will be placed here.  Out of hundreds of Indians asked about this issue, 100% are opposed to the golf course in Occoneechee State Park.    

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  • Virginia Council on Indians Excluded:  The official governmental body representing Virginia Indians to the state of Virginia, the Virginia Council on Indians, was NOT consulted regarding this project on Occoneechee land.  Now that the Virginia Council on Indians have been notified they are strongly opposed to the golf course in Occoneechee State Park as documented in the October 25, 2002 letter to DCR Board Chairperson W. Bruce Wingo and the Virginia Council on Indians comments in the November 7, 2002 to the DCR board.

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  • Pollution run-off into Kerr Lake:  If the 23 areas in Occoneechee State Park are used as part of the golf course there will no woodland buffer and tons of pesticide, herbicide and fertilizer run off will go directly into the lake.

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  • 100 Year Old Hardwood Trees Clear Cut:  To create the golf course a 23 acre forest of mature hard wood trees will need to be mostly clear cut and virgin rolling hills bulldozed.  See for yourself.    

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  • Split the Park:  The golf course would split the park in half.  The DCR has stated if the golf course goes in they do not want to be involved.  Hence Occoneechee State Park could lose the 23 acres.  Even if the land is leased by the DCR, the park will still be split in half.  In addition, if the lease is changed the Corp could elect not to renew the lease on the pan handle area and the state could lose over one thousand of acres of state park land.

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  • Invalid Clarksville Archaeological Study:  The phase 1 town of Clarksville archaeological evaluation is NOT valid.  The report said that there are only four sites on the 23 acres.  All four of these sites were found at the shoreline where the water had eroded away the soil and no other sites were found on the 23 acres. The only reason that these four sites were discovered is that the soil was eroded away.  Since the lake was not there 500 years ago the location of the shoreline and the specific sites are random locations relative to the river and the 23 acres.  Speaking from a scientific and statistical perspective, the probability of there being ONLY four sites exactly on the shoreline and no other sites is impossible.  Random events do not occur like this.  For more detail please see:  http://winwinworld.net/golfcourse/archeologicalsurvey.htm

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  • The Precedent of the Corp land on Kerr Lake being Privatized:  The golf course on Corp land will set precedence for Corp land on Kerr Lake being privatized. This is not something that the public desires based upon our petition and survey and the Virginia outdoors plan.  In addition all around Kerr Lake is Eastern Siouan homelands and should not be developed.   

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  • Bald Eagles:  There is at least one bald eagle that uses the 23 acres as part of its habitat.  There are witnesses and pictures of this.  The destruction of these 23 acres will disrupt this bald eagle’s habitat.  In addition, the recovering population of Bald Eagles is threatened, as the precedent is set of land around the lake being privatized.  See the bald eagle:  http://winwinworld.net/golfcourse/archeologicalsurvey.htm

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  • Hidden Agendas:  The officials of the town of Clarksville have not been forthcoming with the public from the beginning regarding the golf course.  We were first told that there was a plan with Sam Snead Group and now we are told that the golf course is merely a concept.  There was no mention of a housing development around the golf course until town leaders were pushed with letters to the editor.  First the golf course was to be a tourist attraction.  Once the weakness in the golf industry was exposed with the NY Times article the golf course became a drawing card for businesses in the industrial park.  Neither the public nor DCR knows what else is being hidden but we do know that not all of the facts are on the table.

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  • Occoneechee is Not a Clarksville Park:  The Park is a state park. In fact Occoneechee State Park is located in Boydton and not Clarksville.  See for yourself.  Too much emphasis has been placed on what Clarksville wants.  The fact that this is a state park on federal land and this must be put first.

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  • Poor Management:  When a manager in a company fails to achieve desired results he or she is not given more capital resources.  The town leadership in Clarksville has lost thousands of jobs.  They have failed in their responsibilities.  This administration having a proven track record of failure should not be given more state, federal and Indian resources, especially when so many local, state and national citizens are opposed to it.

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  • Conflict of Interest:  Clarksville Mayor Benjy Burnette should not have voted on the Occoneechee State Park master plan on November 7, 2002 and by doing so he breached the public trust and his actions were at a minimum an “ethical” conflict of interest. Being the mayor of Clarksville, and having presided over the loss of thousands of Clarksville jobs, he should not have voted on whether $2,000,000 worth of Occoneechee State Park (ON FEDERAL LANDS) will be used in a poor attempt to bail him out.  Due to his bias he cannot represent both Clarksville’s and Occoneechee State Park’s best interests at the same time and thus by voting created a “policy” conflict of interest.  In addition, with the golf course being a real estate development and with Burnette Reality, of Clarksville, being owned by Mayor Benjy Burnette’s brother and his wife, Mayor Burnette’s vote will put money directly into his own families pocket and thus at a minimum represents an “ethical” conflict of interest.  Reject the golf course in the master plan for Occoneechee State Park.

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  • Unethical Conduct and Poor Judgment:  If the golf course is built, the 23 acres will be leased to the town of Clarksville.  Will the leaders of Clarksville be effective stewards of the land? The unethical conduct, conflicts of interest, poor judgment and poor management by Clarksville leaders should be taken into account in deciding whether to lease the land to Clarksville including: poor administration of Clarksville’s economy, racial stereotyping, name calling, referring to a Native American as a “dumb Indian,” personal attacks, withholding information regarding the golf course, ethical and policy conflicts of interest, subtle threats to put a hog slaughter plant next to the park if the golf course is declined.  Based upon their track record they likely will not be good stewards of these 23 acres of state park and federal land.

Clarksville has many options for economic development.  Like most managers who fail they need to look outside of the box.  Subsidizing a failed administration, with a poor plan, is pouring good money after bad.  And a golf course in Occoneechee State Park is a bad plan according to the citizens of Virginia and Mecklenburg County and the country.  

The bottom line is that the DCR and US Army Corp of Engineers are the stewards of this land and the citizens of Virginia and the United States do not want this land privatized.  Please support the citizens of Virginia and the United States. 

 

Sincerely  

 

 

Barry Carter

 

Copy: 
Tayloe Murphy, Secretary of Natural Resources
Joe Maroon, Director, Department of Conservation and Recreation 
Colonel Charles R Alexander, US Army Corp of Engineers