From the Mount Vernon Gazette (5/10/01):

The Marina and the Marsh
Do They Have to be Mutually Exclusive?

Editor's note: This article is the first of a two-part series on the future of the Belle Haven Marina and Dyke Marsh.

By Steve Hunt
Staff Writer

Mark Connelly has fond memories of boating with his mother, Nancy Odend'hal, and late father along the Potomac River.

Janice Olshesky lives within walking distance of the Belle Haven Marina and enjoys sailing as a way to relieve stress from a hard day at work.

Andrew Macdonald, a conservationist and boater, is well aware of the importance of protecting wetlands, such as Dyke Marsh.

All three slipholders at the marina say it would be a shame if George Stevens who owns the marina located in Dyke Marsh is forced to close at the end of the year.

Jeb Byrne, a member of the board of directors of the Friends of Dyke Marsh, said the FODM believe the marsh is too fragile to continue to allow motorized boats to launch at the marina.

The FODM and the Friends of the Belle Haven Marina are in disagreement as to how best handle the future of the marsh and marina.

Last week, the National Park Service held a public scoping open house at the Potowmack Landing Restaurant to assess the public's opinion on the issue of the marina and to suggest alternatives.

According to Audrey Calhoun, superintendent of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the NPS is considering the future of the marina when it's current contract expires at the end of this year.

The initial concession contract expired in 1992 and the marina continues to operate under a contract extension which cannot be extended further.

At the scoping session, several alternatives were presented ranging from closing the marina altogether to expanding the marina.

One option, supported by the FODM, would include allowing only non-motorized boating there such as sailboats, canoes, rowboats and kayaks.

Byrne said the FODM credits Stevens with "environmental sensitivity," but "motorized boating activity, particularly, with its polluting effects, erosion-producing wave action, and noise, is hazardous to marshes."

Stevens said that he has limited the scope of the marina to protect the marsh with actions such as not allowing jet-skis to launch from the ramp and not selling motor boat fuel there. He also does not utilize all 150 slips at the marina, keeping the number down to 135.

Stevens said he is in the process of speaking with several state legislators to determine if it is possible to have a state engineer evaluate the site using data which has already been gathered.

Fred Wilson, vice president of the FOBHM and a sailing instructor there, estimated that in the past three years alone, 7,000 individuals have rented boats there and, with an average of two passengers, means that 21,000 non-boat owners have been able to enjoy the river.

He estimated that 1,000 adults and 400 children are taught sailing at the marina school annually.

Moran Supports Marina

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran is among those seeking to keep the marina open to motorized boat traffic, on a limited scale.

In a May 2 letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, Moran told her that "Belle Haven is a wonderful, eclectic marina that provides recreational and boating enthusiasts from this region affordable and convenient access to the Potomac River."

In fiscal year 1999, Moran was able to secure $250,000 in federal funds to help cover the cost of necessary improvements to the marina, which was to be matched by non-federal funds, either from Fairfax County or privately raised. The match was never raised and the money was reappropriated.

Last year, Moran secured $100,000 in federal funds to stabilize the environmental conditions and maintenance at the marina.

"Given the popular and public benefit of this marina, I would encourage you to preserve, to the maximum extent feasible, all current recreational facilities at the marina," Moran told Norton.

On May 4, the FOBHM wrote Moran thanking him for his letter to Norton saying they agree with him that "this marina is indeed a special place" and "nowhere else compares to Belle Haven as a family oriented boating center."

"This marina is a unique reminder of what boating was like years ago before the advent of upscale yacht clubs," said Wilson in the letter to Moran.

Shared Concerns

Wilson stressed that the FOBHM is also concerned about the ecosystem of the marsh.

"While the Friends of Belle Haven want to keep the marina open, we do not want to see Dyke Marsh endangered," Wilson said. "In fact, many of us are also Friends of Dyke Marsh and keep boats here at the marina. We think that Dyke Marsh adds to the atmosphere of the marina and will do what is necessary to protect the marsh."

Wilson also wrote U.S. Sen. George Allen asking for his support in keeping the NPS from "eliminating a valuable public resource."

The group also invited Allen, U.S. Sen. John Warner, Moran and Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland to attend a meeting at 7:30pm on Monday, May 21, at Carl Sandburg Middle School concerning the issue. The public is invited to attend.

Byrne said the FODM recognizes the shortage of boating access to this part of the Potomac River and suggests that the option which would permit canoe, kayak, rowboat and sailboat launching, rental of those craft and the continued operation of a sailing school at the site of the present marina "could be accommodate without unduly impacting the adjacent marsh."

Byrne said, "Although the FODM credits the current marina concessionaire with environmental sensitivity, its response as a community conversation organization to a de novo review of the land at the mouth of marsh unavoidably must be that the marina is in the wrong place."

Go Where?

Boat owners Connelly and Olshesky say they don't know what they'd do with their boats if the marina was closed. Connelly said he's already begun checking out other marinas, but none would be as convenient as Belle Haven is to him now, nor would they bring back the memories he has of boating with his father at the Belle Haven Marina.

Connelly also said that all of the slip owners at the marina are considerate of the marsh and are careful not to disturb it as they leave the dock. He said it is only on rare occasions that he has ever seen other "transient" boaters "hit the gas sooner than they should."

Olshesky has had a sailboat docked at the marina for about 10 years, and said she feels the park service should work to continue to make the river accessible to boaters at Belle Haven.

Macdonald, who is working on a book about the river, said Dyke Marsh has more to fear from the large National Harbor development in Maryland, wake from large boats using the river, and global warming causing a rise in sea level, than from the small Bell Haven marina.

"It is a treasure," Macdonald said.

Public Input

The NPS is accepting public input through June 4 regarding the future of the marina. Comments may be mailed to: Superintendent, George Washington Memorial Parkway, Turkey Run Park, McLean, VA 22101-1717. Letters must be postmarked by June 4. Responses may also be e-mailed by visiting the GWMP website at http://www.nps.gov/gwmp/belle_haven.htm

To contact FODM, write Friends of Dyke Marsh, P. O. Box 98, Mount Vernon, VA 22121.

To contact Friends of Belle Haven Marina, go to http://saildc.com/friends/ or email friends@wdn.com

Next week: A detailed look at the proposed alternatives for the marina and a history of Dyke Marsh.