I have to agree with this, and point to the debacle of Chesterfield County GIVING away park land at the former Ironbridge Park (150 wooded acres, teaming with life) to a so-called "non-profit." Richmond First Tee was never registered as a non-profit and they profitted immensely by the subsequent logging. They also grossly misrepresented the cost of water and energy costs to county residents, who now pays those bills. They also claimed this would be a thoroughly-utilized area. Wrong again. Public lands, especially park lands, are priceless and should not be haphazardly discarded or transfered for sale to entities and handed out to special interests, be they masquerading as "non-profits" who cater to special interests of the few, or to private interests too stingy to pay the actual going rate for their own land. Irene Ries ----- Original Message ----- From: <s.ridd@xxxxxxx> To: <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <va-richmond-general@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Cc: "Al Warfield" <warfield101@xxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Monday, November 22, 2004 8:40 AM Subject: [va-richmond-general] Re: Fw: River lovers- help save James River Park! > It sets a precedent that public parks are "up for grabs" if a developer has enough money to influence political decisions. Maybe the Pony Pasture or the Wetlands would be next. (Henricus had a wonderful heron colony in the 1980's which is gone now.) > From a Parks and Recreation viewpoint, I know that the greater the number of parks in a city, the less crime exists. A public park allows people to recoup from stress. The people who use these parks may not be as well educated or as outspoken as those who use the Pony Pasture. Wild places are a rare commodity for the public on the East coast. > From a biological viewpoint, I also know that Bald Eagles have been seen using one of the two parks. Forested areas are nurserys for many young animals. That is where they find shelter, food and protection against predators. Sue You are subscribed to VA-Richmond-General. To unsubscribe, send email to va-richmond-general-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. To adjust other settings (vacation, digest, etc.) please visit, //www.freelists.org/list/va-richmond-general.