Interior secretary to hold Ft. Monroe public input session

"Listening session” at the fort’s Bay Breeze Community Center.

The 11 a.m. meeting is open to the public, but visitors must provide a government-issued ID and proof of insurance to drive onto the base.

By Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 28, 2011

The cabinet official responsible for overseeing the entire national park system will tour Fort Monroe on Wednesday, then attend a community meeting about the future of the historic Army base.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar will visit the Hampton base, which the Army is leaving in September and turning over to state control as part of a round of military base closures. He’ll be accompanied by the director of the National Park Service, Jon Jarvis, as well as state officials and politicians.

The high-profile visit comes less than three months before the Army departs, and could signal the federal government’s interest in making the base part of the park system, as many locals hope.

There are parallel efforts under way to make the 565-acre fort part of the park system. To become a national park, a site must either receive congressional approval or be designated by the president. Virginia congressmen and senators have sponsored legislation, and politicians, local officials and a non-profit group also have appealed directly to President Obama to grant park status to the waterfront property.

Salazar will first tour the base, which includes the largest moated stone fort in the U.S., then attend a “listening session” at the fort’s Bay Breeze Community Center.

The 11 a.m. meeting is open to the public, but visitors must provide a government-issued ID and proof of insurance to drive onto the base.

The Department of the Interior includes the park service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management. It employs about 70,000 people, including 20,000 who work for the National Park Service.