SOLUTION: We propose a national park that would flourish without overly burdening taxpayers and that would benefit the Hampton Roads economy in many ways.  There’s a proven precedent and inspiration: San Francisco’s similar former Army post, the Presidio.  

At the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio is the world's largest national park in an urban setting. It calls itself "a place where people live and work, a recreation destination, an outdoor classroom, and a peaceful retreat" that "is sustained by public stewards, volunteers, tenants, residents, and a broad community." Like Fort Monroe, it's a National Historic Landmark. In a partnership, the Presidio Trust manages the Presidio's interior 80 percent, with the National Park Service managing the coastal areas.

We believe that the Presidio precedent points the way to Fort Monroe's future.  The key to creating a Fort Monroe National Park is for the U. S. Congress to ask the National Park Service to formally study Fort Monroe’s suitability to become a national park, and then, if the post is found suitable, to formally study the idea’s feasibility. We believe that Fort Monroe is extraordinarily suitable for a national park, that the enterprise of making it into a national park is eminently feasible, and that the key to that feasibility might well be something along the lines of a Fort Monroe Trust.

To learn more about our vision for Fort Monroe, please see our Vision for Fort Monroe page.

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