PRELIMINARY CONCEPTS AVAILABLE FOR PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT

Drawing from the ideas and recommendations you shared with us during the past year, the National Park Service has developed three preliminary design concepts for the Chalmette Battlefield and National Cemetery. Just to be sure we’re on the right track, the NPS would like to share these concepts with you and ask for any additional advice and recommendations you might have to improve them.

Use this link to view a color illustration of the three concepts. Please note that this is a large file and could take several minutes to download depending on the speed of your internet connection.

Please refer to the April 2005 Newsletter for a more detailed discussion of the concepts and the planning process used to develop them.

The following paragraphs provide a brief summary of the preliminary concepts:

Preliminary Concept A
Concept A embraces the rich continuum of national, regional, and local history at the park. While maintaining its focus on the Battle of New Orleans, the NPS would also introduce visitors to the broader historical contexts of battle and non-battle related resources at the site. The NPS would work in close partnership with local and regional managers of related historic resources to promote cross visitation and improve access by all visitors to more historic resources than can be provided in the park alone.

Preliminary Concept B
Concept B creates an active and dynamic interpretive environment that engages visitors both intellectually and physically. The concept significantly upgrades visitor service facilities and provides multiple opportunities for participation in self-guided and ranger or volunteer-led interpretive programs.

Preliminary Concept C
Concept C substantially enlarges the contiguous battlefield by modifying the existing vehicle and pedestrian circulation systems. The historic drainage patterns are rehabilitated and new interpretive opportunities created by reconnecting the battlefield landscape to the Mississippi River, River Road, and levee.

TWO OPEN HOUSE MEETINGS SET FOR MAY 5, 2005 IN CHALMETTE

Two public meetings will be held on May 5th, 2005 in Chalmette. The first meeting will take place from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chalmette Battlefield Visitor Center and the second from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Council Chamber of the St. Bernard Parish Government Complex.

The early meeting at the Battlefield Visitor Center will use the open house meeting format. Open house meetings are designed to promote informal information sharing and dialogue among park stakeholders and NPS planners and do not generally include a prepared presentation. Instead, a series of information stations will be set up in the multi-purpose room where visitors may view large scale drawings of the concepts and share their ideas, questions, and concerns directly with NPS representatives. Meeting participants may come and go at their leisure anytime during the session.

The 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. meeting at the Parish Government Complex will include a 30 minute presentation of the concepts by NPS representatives. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note that the formal presentation will begin promptly at 6:15 so please plan to arrive early.

Meeting Locations:

• 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. -- Chalmette Battlefield Visitor Center, 6806 St. Bernard Hwy, Chalmette LA 70043.
• 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. -- Council Chamber, St. Bernard Parish Government Complex, 8425 W Judge Perez Drive, Chalmette LA 70043.

CHALMETTE BATTLEFIELD TASK FORCE SUBMITS RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

It is our pleasure to announce that the Chalmette Battlefield Task Force has completed its work. The Task Force's final report as well as the NPS Action Plan which describes how the Task Force's recommendations will be incorporated into the General Management and Development Concept Plan are available for downloading on the Newsletters page of this website.