Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure of a Portion of the National Mall for Turf Restoration

The National Mall and Memorial Parks is temporarily closing certain parklands on the National Mall for turf maintenance and restoration in order to prevent and mitigate potential damages caused by unpermitted athletic play in areas otherwise unsuitable for such uses. The following closures of center turf panels along the National Mall between 3^rd Street NW and 14^th Street NW will occur:

• July 8, 2021 through July 21, 2021 for Mall Panels 28 and 29.
• July 22, 2021 through August 22, 2021 for Mall Panels 20 and 22.
• August 23, 2021 through September 23, 2021 for Mall Panels 18 and 24.
• September 24, 2021 through October 24, 2021 for Mall Panels 16 and 26.

The identified areas will be closed to organized sports play but not to other low impact uses such as picnics, casual play and small gatherings that do not create wear patterns or cause significant damage from cleat usage. The areas would also remain open to permitted special events and demonstrations as these activities are required to follow very strict turf protection guidelines, often at considerable expense to the organizer. The National Park Service spends more than $650,000 annually and is forced to close approximately 20 acres of the Mall to all uses – including free speech demonstrations, events, and casual use – each year, to remediate turf damage from the sports leagues.

In addition to the closures above, the National Park Service will implement temporary closures of additional turf panels as well as portions of the Washington Monument grounds to organized athletic league play if the fields designated for athletic play are not fully utilized. The park provides 25 acres of dedicated athletic fields and courts (35 total sites) for activities such as softball, volleyball, soccer, cricket, and rugby, located mostly within West and East Potomac parks. More than 264 reservable spaces are available each day. The National Park Service has made considerable investments in these fields that are designed for organized sports and include backstops, infields, and turf that permits the wearing of cleats.

This temporary park closure is necessary for the protection of natural and cultural resources, as well as the environmental and scenic values. Less restrictive measures will not suffice as the turf needs to be properly protected from high impact uses such as athletic play. Increased use of the turf panels as athletic fields, particularly by organized athletic users wearing cleats, negatively affects the health and quality of turf areas. Turf areas will not recover without prescribed rest periods for restoration and prevention of further damage. Preemptive closures of these areas to organized sports leagues will ensure greater public access to the National Mall turf panels and avoid larger reactionary closures necessitated by turf damage associated with athletic uses.

In addition to these closures, The National Mall and Memorial Parks will employ a signage plan to notify the public and relevant stakeholders of preexisting rules and regulations; particularly those surrounding the use of cleats, and organized athletic play in areas not permitted for such types of use. Signage on Mall Panels not closed will emphasize restrictions on cleat use, while signage for closed Mall Panels will emphasize both the prohibited activity and cleat restrictions.

The National Mall and Memorial Parks will evaluate the efficacy of the measures annually and adjust this record as needed.

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”. Indeed, other nearby park areas will remain open to the public. The closure will not adversely affect the park's natural, aesthetic or cultural values; nor require significant modification to the resource management objections; nor is it of a highly controversial nature. Accordingly, the National Park Service 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. Lulan, 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 area. 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

July 7, 2021

 

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