The Nation\'s River

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(b) Prior to construction of any reservoir with benefits for
recreation and water quality downstream, responsible State and
local agencies should be required to furnish assurances that the
recreational and scenic qualities of the banks of the rivers so
benefited will be amply protected.

(3) By the continuing assessment by the Corps of Engineers of the
water supply needs of the Washington metropolitan area with the
objective of meeting future demands as they develop.

(4) By research and investigation to ensure a sound scientific
basis for future action in relation to the Basin's water resources
and to provide maximum flexibility of choice to technicians,
planners, and decision makers:

(a) A full-scale and continuing water data collection program to be
conducted in the Basin by the U.S. Geological Survey, with the
object of building and keeping up to date the facts relevant to the
river system and related aquifers.

(b) Specific and continuing research by the Department of the
Interior as well as other agencies into the nature and feasibility
of a full range of possible alternative sources of water supply in
the Basin, including new technological approaches.

(c) A special study should be made, based on extension and
coordination of studies now authorized or under way to determine
the feasibility and acceptability of using the upper estuary as a
future source of domestic water to supplement the water supply for
the metropolitan area. The States of Maryland and Virginia, the
District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Council of Governments
should also be associated with this study.

b. To begin to cope with major or general flooding problems in the
Basin and to prevent future potential flood damages, the following
actions should be taken:

(1) Assignment of high priority, by Federal, State, and local
interests, to flood mapping and flood plain information studies
which will provide complete coverage of the main stem of the
Potomac River from Cumberland, Maryland, to below Alexandria,
Virginia, including the Washington metropolitan area, with the
purpose of defining flood hazards along the river for use by
planners, investment agencies and Government agencies at all
levels. Elsewhere in the Basin, priorities for such mapping and
studies of all significant flood plains should be assigned and the
program undertaken as soon as practicable, with primary attention
to those areas where pressures for flood plain development and
potential flood damage are greatest.

(2) Action by the Corps of Engineers to define a program of active
and passive flood alleviation measures for the Washington
metropolitan area, and all possible emphasis by other concerned
Federal agencies on flood-proofing and other devices for averting
flood damage at and around the capital city.

(3) Continuing study by all agencies of the problem of adjusting
current policies so as to stimulate reasonable, fair, economic, and
esthetically desirable action toward flood damage reduction not
only in the Potomac Basin but elsewhere in the nation, in line with
the principles enunciated in the 1966 report of the President's
Task Force on the Federal Flood Control Policy.

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2. Water supply or flooding problems in localized areas may often be
solved with headwater reservoirs which may be included in watershed
plans developed by local sponsoring organizations with assistance from
the Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture. Such
plans provide for the conservation and development of both the soil and
water resources of the watershed. Preliminary studies indicate that
headwater reservoirs are needed and feasible in 61 small watersheds in
the Basin. These small headwater reservoirs, designed primarily for
local flood prevention, may include storage for sediment, water supply,
water quality control or recreation.

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II. Action relating specifically to the protection and restoration of
the Potomac Basin's scenic and natural assets, and to their enjoyment by
the public:

A. At the critically important level of local planning, governments need
to provide incentives toward wise and decent treatment of the
environment in all possible ways, including:

1. Careful examination of all Federal and State programs and
policies directly or indirectly influential on the landscape, to
make certain that their effects are beneficial or their adverse
effects are minimized and that they encourage rather than disrupt
local efforts to avert blight even while achieving sound growth.
Obvious connections exist between good local environments and such
things as planning aid programs and grants for parks and recreation
areas, but other grant programs, public works, road and utility
routings, tax and mortgage practices, the proper or improper design
of government facilities, and many other Federal or State
activities have relevance in this respect.

2. Dissemination of knowledge about strong, effective planning
tools and procedures, as such knowledge accumulates. Of particular
Basinwide interest will be the results of the application of Soil
Conservation Service watershed programs in controlling erosion in
urbanizing stream basins in the Washington metropolitan area, and
the lessons learned therefrom. The Geological Survey's
investigations of the resources of the Basin are a continuing
source of essential information for planning. For example, the
studies of the effects of urban development on streams and sediment
will be especially pertinent to land-use planning.

B. The lifelines of the Basin's landscape, its flowing rivers and
streams, badly need protection against rapidly increasing encroachment
along their banks, and should be made more available for public use and
enjoyment. For these purposes, the following measures are strongly
recommended:

1. Prompt legislative authorization, funding, and establishment of
a Potomac National River complex consisting of Federal, State, and
local components to provide a "green sheath" of varying width for
the main stem of the river from Washington to Cumberland, Maryland.
The preservation of this portion of the river and its banks, and
their accessibility, are clearly of importance and warrant such
treatment. The National River, studied and refined in the light of
much government and public comment received since its initial
mention in the _Potomac Interim Report_, is detailed in the
legislative proposal now being considered by Congress.

2. Completion of the long-deferred restoration and improvement of
public facilities along the C. & O. Canal, a project which can be
begun immediately and will mesh with the Potomac National River
proposal, since the Canal will be a part of the proposed River.
Certain of the old C. & O. feeder dams should be rehabilitated or
rebuilt, sections of the Canal rewatered, and better public access
provided.

3. Studies of the Cacapon, Shenandoah, and South Branch Potomac
Rivers to determine the most feasible way to preserve all or
portions of these scenic and important tributaries in a relatively
unspoiled state. Possibilities here are protection under State
legislation, or the establishment of a new Federal category of
pastoral or scenic rivers as a protective measure for streams in
settled regions such as would be authorized under legislation
pending in the Congress.

4. Encouragement of local action to preserve the banks of smaller
free-flowing streams by zoning, park acquisition, or other means.

5. Provision, under auspices of State fish and wildlife agencies or
otherwise, or better facilities for public access to all main
streams--including, where appropriate, roads, trails, parking
areas, boat launching ramps, and public transportation.

C. The historic Potomac estuary, with nearly a quarter of a million
acres of water surface and hundreds of miles of varied and scenic
shoreline, is a rich recreational and wildlife asset as well as a
fisheries resource of enormous value. Even after water quality programs
rescue its upper reaches from the heavy pollution to which they are
presently subject, however, more knowledge will be needed than
presently exists to make certain that its intricate processes continue
to function productively; protection of its shores against growing
inappropriate encroachment will be an urgent problem; and the
possibility of its use by the public for recreation will need to be
assured:

1. A cooperative study should be undertaken by Federal agencies,
the States of Maryland and Virginia, the District of Columbia, and
the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, coordinated
through the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, to identify recreational
and other open space and specific resources along the tidal Potomac
downstream from Chain Bridge that should be established as
estuarine units of a Potomac National River, as State or county
parks, or as units of a system of recreation areas for the District
of Columbia and its metropolitan environs. The Department of the
Interior is assisting the Department of Defense to determine how
military establishments along the Potomac might contribute toward
meeting regional recreational needs, including public access and
use where feasible. These studies should be completed and the
findings reported to the Congress and to State and local
governments at the earliest possible time.

2. As an initial measure toward achieving protection of the
concentrated productivity of the estuary's marshes and wetlands,
Federal, State and local agencies, and the Potomac River Fisheries
Commission, under the leadership of the Bureau of Sport Fisheries
and Wildlife, should undertake a study, to be completed within
three years, to identify key areas of this sort; where possible,
acquisition of such areas should proceed under existing programs.
In view of the recreation potential generally associated with marsh
and wetland areas, this study should be coordinated closely with
the study recommended under item 1 above. The Department of Defense
should examine its land holdings along the estuary to determine if
zones of conservation for fish and wildlife in the marshes and
wetlands can be established immediately.

3. Action should be taken as quickly as possible to acquire the
National Wildlife Refuge on Mason Neck in order to consolidate the
protection of vital open space on that peninsula. Fiscal year 1969
appropriations for the Department of the Interior include funds to
begin such action.

4. It is urgently to be hoped that legislation aimed at protecting
American estuaries and increasing human knowledge of their
processes, currently before Congress, will be passed in the most
meaningful possible form, to the benefit of the Potomac estuary as
well as all others.

5. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers should continue to regulate
the development of structures built into the navigable waters and,
in cooperation with local entities, study means of ridding the
Potomac estuary of permanent and semipermanent debris and floating
debris.

6. To guard against the loss of public assets of great worth along
the estuary, the General Services Administration, in cooperation
with the Department of the Interior, should give full consideration
to recreation, fish and wildlife, scenic and other conservation
values at the time any Federal installation becomes surplus to
defense of other needs.

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D. State fish and wildlife conservation agencies in the Basin need to
strengthen their programs if hunting and fishing opportunities are to
meet the growing demand and if the broad spectrum of wildlife essential
to a healthy landscape is to be maintained:

1. High priority and ample funds should be assigned to the
improvement and development of wildlife habitat throughout the
Basin, and special attention paid to the stimulation of good
hunting and fishing opportunity on private lands.

2. Research and management programs of the fish and wildlife
agencies are vital, and need expansion based in broad public
support and adequate funding.

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E. National Forest lands are the most massive scenic, ecological, and
recreational asset in public ownership in the Basin, and Forest Service
programs have beneficial effects far beyond the National Forests'
limits. Action specifically relating to these lands and programs is
vital to landscape protection and recreational development, and should
involve the following:

1. To preserve the natural beauty of the North and South Forks of
the Shenandoah River above their confluence, to assure public
access, to provide for development and public use of the
recreational potential of the streams, mountains, and forests in
this area and conservation of its watersheds and natural resources,
a National Recreation Area should be established, to be
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture and to be comprised of
the existing Massanutten Unit of the George Washington National
Forest and such adjacent areas as may be needed to accomplish the
purposes enumerated above.

2. Development of the Spruce Knob-Seneca Rocks National Recreation
Area, designated by Congress in 1965, should be accelerated.

3. Other National Forest lands in the Basin should also be adapted
to a variety of compatible recreational uses, and their beauty and
natural functioning protected by watershed management and the
improvement of wildlife habitat, at an accelerated pace for early
results.

4. In the interest of consolidation of this great resource, the
Secretary of Agriculture should continue discussion with States,
local governments, and private citizens, leading to extension of
the National Forests on the upper reaches of the Potomac.

5. To enhance and increase the widely sought opportunity for
water-related recreation in the National Forest lands as well as to
contribute to the Forests' functional health, two measures are
recommended:

a. Acceleration of work to improve the hydrologic characteristics
of these lands, with the purpose of decreasing damage from rapid
runoff and increasing the flow of clean natural water in the
streams during critical low-flow periods.

b. Installation of that portion of the Department of Agriculture's
upstream watershed improvement program consisting of some 40 small
reservoirs within the National Forests, and recreational
development of the sites in a manner compatible with State
recreation planning.

6. To encourage and help non-Federal forest landowners in the Basin
to maintain forest cover and develop their woodlands for fish and
game production, natural beauty, and recreation, existing Forest
Service, State, and private forestry programs should be
accelerated.

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F. The public's opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the rich variety of
the Basin's landscape is hampered now by a shortage of suitable routes
designed to furnish that opportunity. Two systems of such routes would
link together the Basin's most fundamental attractions and connect it
with the amenities of other regions:

1. Studies are already well advanced toward the definition of needs
for recreation and scenic motoring tied in with the existing George
Washington Memorial Parkway, Skyline Drive, and Blue Ridge Parkway.
They should be completed and implemented when feasible in
consultation with the Department of Transportation. A route that
warrants equal consideration would be the extension of the George
Washington Memorial Parkway from Mount Vernon to Yorktown as
recommended in the _Potomac Interim Report to the President_.

2. A Basinwide system of trails for hiking, bicycling, and
horseback travel has been studied and its details are presented in
a separate report. This compatible and organic means of putting
town and city people in touch with the natural environment and the
countryside is an indispensable element of a full recreational
program for the Basin, and it is strongly to be hoped that the
establishment of the Potomac Heritage Trail along the river and the
protection of the ridgeline Appalachian Trail--the two trunk
elements of the system--will be promptly achieved under the
legislation recently acted upon by the Congress.

G. Some of the most basic beauty of the Potomac Basin is found in its
older towns and its inhabited countryside, where centuries of history
are reflected in structures, historic sites, and types of land use. To
protect this beauty and richness against unnecessary destruction and
degradation, vigorous action is indicated:

1. The Basin States should consider the possibility of utilizing
their State Historical Survey Commissions not only to designate and
protect significant townscapes and rural landscapes as historical
districts, but also to monitor encroachments and inappropriate
construction affecting esthetic and associative values at or near
historic sites. State legislation to restrict the exercise of
eminent domain by utility companies for pipelines and transmission
line routes in such areas is highly desirable.

2. If the Basin's traditional farms are to be preserved not only
for their beauty and as open space near towns and cities but as an
element in the economic health of the region, action at all levels
of government will be needed. Tax relief as a tool to encourage
continued farming on land in danger of urban development needs to
be utilized more widely by counties. Programs should be developed
that will help preserve the contribution that farms make to the
life and landscape of the Basin. Imaginative new approaches are
mandatory if there is to be any hope of coping with this problem.

H. At all levels of government also, a concerted effort must be made to
clean up junk, spoil, and debris inherited from misuses of the past and
to prevent new accumulations. Over 10,000 acres of surface-mined lands
need reclamation, thousands of junked cars mar the landscape, and trash
and litter clutter the land and streams. Existing programs must be
accelerated and new ones devised. Legislation now before the Congress
would establish a cooperative Federal-State program to regulate surface
mining operations and to assure the reclamation of areas mined in the
future. In addition, it is imperative that Basin Federal and State
installations promulgate regulations to prevent accumulations of junk
and debris on their lands.

III. To help ensure that future planning and action in relation to the
Potomac Basin's water resources, water-related land resources, and
amenities shall proceed in a wise and coordinated manner, we recommend:

A. That citizens of the Basin interested in its overall well-being
give serious thought of joining together in a broad-based
organization to promote all aspects of that well-being by public
education, discussion, monitoring abuses, pressing for good local
planning and land use, and reviewing proposals for environmental
action in the Basin.

B. That the Federal and State governments continue their efforts to
define and establish appropriate institutional arrangements for the
management and operation of this Potomac Basin program and the
furtherance of its principles of protection, preservation, good
water management and flexibility. The Potomac River Basin Compact,
as proposed in draft form by the Potomac River Basin Advisory
Committee, is receiving careful consideration by Federal agencies
and citizens, anticipating consideration by State legislative
bodies, and the Congress of the United States.

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