History Takes Precedent Over the Environment

This aticle describes attempts by the National Park Service to make the Manassas Battlefield National Park more like it was in 1861 and 1862. Unfortunately for trees it was cleared farmland. The Park Service is removing trees that have grown in the last fifty years to make the vistas that visitors see what the soldiers would have seen. If they NPS wanted to go all out they would have to tear down buildings, realign hedgerows and treelines, plow fields and plant corn and so on. There are people I am sure who would like that as it would be more realistic and give people more of an idea of what the battle was like. Of course cutting down large number of trees is not popular with everyone. It is a dilemma that faces the NPS in most of the battlefield parks. At least at Manassas the first battlefield is contained in the park. Some Virginia battles have disappeared in development.