Secretary of The Interior Ken Salazar Coming to Ft. Monroe Wednesday

Monday, 27 June 2011 15:09 | Written by Daniel Curran

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, along with the Director of National Parks Jon Jarvis, will be at Fort Monroe this Wednesday to discuss the future of Fort Monroe. Secretary Salazar will first tour the historic site. There will then be a public meeting which will include community, State, and Federal leaders. The meeting will be 11:00 a.m. Wednesday at the Baybreeze Community Center at Fort Monroe. James River Journal will be there.

Press release follows:

AMERICA’S GREAT OUTDOORS: Secretary Salazar to Tour Fort Monroe, Hold Public Listening Session to Discuss Future of Site

HAMPTON, VA— On Wednesday, June 29, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis will visit Fort Monroe in Virginia to tour the historic site and hold a listening session with community, state and congressional leaders to discuss its future. A National Historic Landmark, Fort Monroe holds special cultural and historical meaning to the community, and Wednesday’s meeting is an opportunity for Interior to engage with the public on exploring the best path forward in preserving the site and its rich history for future generations. Congressman Bobby Scott, Congressman Scott Rigell, Mayor of Hampton Molly Joseph Ward, and Virginia’s Secretary of Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Terrie Suit, Chair of the Fort Monroe Authority Board of Trustees, will attend the meeting. Fort Monroe, a 565-acre national historic landmark in Hampton, Virginia, was built for coastal defense between 1819 and 1834. The largest stone fortification built in the United States, Fort Monroe has been called "The Fortress of Freedom" and "The Gibraltar of the Chesapeake." Pursuant to the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process, the site is scheduled to be closed and reverted to the Commonwealth of Virginia in September 2011.

WHO:Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior
Jon Jarvis, National Park Service Director
Will Shafroth, Counselor to the Secretary for America’s Great Outdoors

WHAT:Tour of Fort Monroe // Listening Session on Fort Monroe

WHEN:Wednesday, June 29, 2011
10:00am EDT      Tour**
11:00am EDT      Listening Session

WHERE: Tour of Fort Monroe
Chamberlin Hotel
2 Fenwick Road
Hampton, VA 23651
Listening Session
Bay Breeze Community Center
490 Fenwick Road #185
Hampton, VA 23651