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National Mall and Memorial Parks will close Reservation 68 (Edmund Burke Park), bound by 11th, 12th, and L Streets NW, and Massachusetts Avenue NW; and Reservation 69 (Samuel Gompers Memorial Park) bound by L Street, 10th and 11th Streets NW, and Massachusetts Avenue NW on or about August 18 to address public safety concerns, removal of a hazardous tree, and to remove encampments and clean up the parks. The parks will remain closed into the fall, while rehabilitation measures are being completed. The closure and restoration are beginning prior the start of the school year on August 30 when students will pass the parks on their way to Thompson Elementary School. The encampments in these parks have grown significantly since March, as have the number of reports to U.S. Park Police of drug activity, threats, violence, and overall unsanitary conditions. The Park Police have recorded an increase in incidents at Burke Park since May. Additionally, the shrubbery at Burke Park show signs of rodent infestation and need to be rehabilitated and sections removed. The trunk of a Japanese Pagoda tree at Samuel Gompers Park has hollowed-out, is unstable, and poses a danger to those that use the park. While camping is prohibited on national parkland in DC, the NPS has adhered to CDC guidelines and allowed the encampments to remain during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is the NPS’ responsibility to consider the overall health and safety of all park users and neighbors and to remove these encampments when they pose a security, health, or safety risk. Any temporary structure used for camping also will be subject to seizure and may be reclaimed by the property owner at U.S. Park Police Division 1 headquarters located at 1200 Ohio Drive, SW, if done within 60 days. Items determined to be trash or a bio-hazard, however, will be disposed of as refuse, so individuals are advised to promptly dispose of any such items. This temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Other nearby park areas will remain open to the public. The closure will not adversely affect the parks’ natural, aesthetic, or cultural values; nor require significant modification to the resource management objectives; nor is it of a highly controversial nature. Accordingly, the NPS determines that publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register, is unwarranted per 36 C.F.R. § l.5(c). This is consistent with hundreds of earlier partial and temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. Picciotto v. United States. No. 99-2113 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. United States, No. 94-1935 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C.); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C.); Spiegel v. Babbitt, 855 F.Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), affld in part w/o op. 56 F.3d 1531 (D.C. Cir. 1995). Pursuant to 36 C.F.R.§ 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made through fencing and posting of signs at conspicuous locations in the affected park areas. Finally, pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 1.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request. Jeffrey P. Reinbold Superintendent, National Mall and Memorial Parks August 11, 2021 |
Last updated: August 11, 2021