MEDIA ALERT: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 8, 2023
A Call for Conscientious Consideration: Prince
William Digital Gateway Threatens Land, Water, Heritage
Woodbridge, Virginia – The United Tribes
of the Shenandoah, alongside a diversity of community faith leaders, will host
a peaceful prayer ceremony on Tuesday, December 12, at 9 AM at the Sean T.
Connaughton Plaza located between the James J. McCoart Building and Development
Services Building at the county government complex in Woodbridge, VA. The prayer vigil will precede the scheduled
public hearing to consider the Prince William Digital Gateway.
Those gathering will plead for
environmental and cultural preservation in response to the imminent threat
posed by the proposed project. If approved, the Prince William Digital Gateway would
be the largest data center development in the world. Its creation would bulldoze up to 2,000 acres
of rural, agricultural and residential land, directly impacting the Manassas
National Battlefield Park and Conway Robinson State Forest, further
industrializing the Occoquan Reservoir watershed - a critical source of
drinking water for the region.
Most responsible citizens and officials
believe there is a balance which can be achieved between progress and
preservation. However, there are some
elements of our community and government so preoccupied with commercial
interests that they are willing to brusquely sweep aside any obstacles. The irreplaceable historical and cultural
sites of Prince William County are not something to be arbitrarily sacrificed
for a fast buck. Development that is
smart and careful can be accomplished, if there is a will to do so.
The environmental community has consistently advocated for more
stringent measures to safeguard natural and cultural assets in the path of this
destructive proposal, which is also situated in one of the nation's most
historically sensitive corridors. It
seriously threatens the preservation of African-American and Native American
heritage. A recent study funded by the HOA Roundtable of Northern Virginia
highlights a lack of attention to the Native American history in the area,
particularly the dominance of the Manahoac Confederacy of Virginia in the
Gainesville area before European settlers arrived.
Matthew “Maasaw” Howard, a Native American
historian, has written a study that highlights a blatant lack of acknowledgment
of tens of thousands of years of pre-colonial history. Maasaw emphasized the
need to include this rich history in the county's narrative. His study further indicates that resources and
sites associated with historically marginalized communities has not been
adequately assessed.
Superintendent Kristofer Butcher of the
Manassas National Battlefield Park has made an urgent call for the initiation
of a Cultural Landscape Report, which would provide a comprehensive analysis of
the physical history, existing conditions, and recommended treatment actions to
preserve, restore, or rehabilitate the landscape.
This call to action is not just a plea for
preservation. It is a plea for conscientious consideration and a commitment to
the sustainable and respectful development of the Prince William County
landscape.
What: Prayer
Vigil to precede the public hearing for the Prince William Digital Gateway
When: Tuesday, December
12th at 9 AM
Where: 1 County Complex Court,
Woodbridge, VA (see map on following page)
Media Contacts:
·
Prayer Vigil: Sheila
Hansen, 540-270-3742, shoooty@aol.com
· American
Indian Habitation in Gainesville, VA: Matthew “Maasaw”
Howard, bearspiritmountain@yahoo.com
·
To arrange interviews: John
Steinbach, 703-822-3485, johnsteinbach1@verizon.net
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