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Contact: Autumn Cook, 202-619-7158
WASHINGTON — Future visitors to Buzzard Point Park can look forward to an extension of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail (ART) and a welcoming community waterfront.
The National Park Service has approved a plan to improve the park along the Anacostia River. Once completed, Buzzard Point Park will have an accessible waterfront, more open space and recreational opportunities for neighbors and visitors.
The approved plan allows the following improvements:
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Extending the ART through the park as a multi-use trail for walking, running and cycling.
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Repurposing the Matthew Henson Center as a community gathering space.
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Creating a play area for children and elevated lawns to view the river and Capitol and a dock for visitors who wish to access the park from the river.
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Removing overgrown vegetation and remnant concrete or asphalt pads.
The alternatives presented in the Environmental Assessment (EA) for the project looked at two different options for the shoreline. The selected option includes stone riprap along the length of the seawall in the Anacostia River. The stones reinforce and protect the seawall from erosion and storm surge while beautifying the shoreline and providing access to the river. On the landward side of the seawall, a walking trail follows along the edge of the wall in the central section of the park.
Park managers plan to continue with design and implement these improvements as funding becomes available through a combination of appropriated funds and philanthropic partnerships.
A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the EA for improvements to Buzzard Point Park was signed on January 31, 2020 by the Acting Director, Region 1 - National Capital Area. The FONSI is the decision-making document for the project, and it determined that the project will have no significant impacts. The FONSI and the EA are available online at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/BuzzardPointPark_EA.
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Last updated: February 3, 2020