United States Department of the InteriorNATIONAL PARK SERVICE Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure Of Reservation 497 for Rehabilitation
Rock Creek Park will close a portion of Reservation 497, at 5700 South Dakota Avenue, NE, on or about September 30, 2022, to address public safety concerns, and to remove an encampment and clean up the parcel. It will remain closed until December 31, 2022, unless the NPS determines rehabilitation measures are completed before that date.
The on-going encampment at this location is in violation of the camping regulations outlined in 36 Code of Federal Register Section 7.96 (36 C.F.R. § 7.96). Trash and human refuse from the encampment are being dumped into the woodland areas, causing impairment to the natural resources. Furthermore, U.S. Park Police have received multiple complaints of increased illicit activity in the area. 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 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, must 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). United States Department of the Interior NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rock Creek Park 3545 Williamsburg Lane, NW Washington, D.C. 20008 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. Julia Washburn Superintendent, Rock Creek Park |
Last updated: September 28, 2022