CONGRESSMAN EDWARD J. MARKEY'S REMARKS
MINUTEMAN PARK - RAISE THE ALARM - MAY 23, 2004

Today's event brings ever more clearly into focus the real and serious threat that Massport expansion at Hanscom Civilian Air Field poses to the crown jewel of our national heritage sites.

The Minute Man National Historical Park and surrounding national heritage sites were placed on the list of 11 Most Endangered Sites in the U.S. by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to send an unmistakable message about the significance and sanctity of one of our nation's richest historical treasures.

The Minute Man National Historical Park is the birthplace of the American Revolution, where our freedoms were forged and where we began the expulsion of tyranny from our soil.

The residents of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln and Bedford are fighting on behalf of the Park and the millions who visit, against the incursion of noise, visual intrusion and ground traffic related directly to the unfettered growth of general and commercial aviation at Hanscom Field.

The growth projections at the Massport-owned civilian airstrip constitute a real and immediate threat to the central asset of the Park, Battle Road, where traffic congestion is expected to become so heavy that it would require mitigation measures that in all likelihood would result in physical destruction of historic assets along the Battle Road and in the Park.

If the site is not preserved, future generations of Americans will be denied the opportunity to experience the remarkable history that comes alive to visitors of the Minute Man National Historic Park.

And it is an experience we are fighting hard in Congress to preserve. I was happy to lend my strong support for a request to restore the $500 thousand that was cut from Minuteman's operating budget this past year.

After a decade of work and investment from the National Park Service, the neighboring towns and friends of the park, we have to provide the resources to maintain this historical treasure in our midst.

Unfortunately, an inadequate operating budget is not unique to Minuteman National Park. Across the nation, superintendents are struggling to stretch shrinking budgets to cover increasing needs, security demands and visitors.

This is not benign neglect by the Bush Administration; this is designed neglect. That is why I requested, with 82 other Members of Congress, that the House appropriators increase the base operating budgets of the National Parks by $190 million above the President's budget request.

The idea of national parks was another of America's gifts to the world, and we need to treat them like the treasures that they are.

What may be unique to Minuteman is having such an innovative superintendent and such a good working relationship with the surrounding communities.

Despite the loss of funds and full time employees, Nancy Nelson and the friends of the park are keeping the park running and growing. They deserve our thanks.

The timing of this event could not be more appropriate as we prepare to mark Ralph Waldo Emerson's 201st birthday. The site, though rich in history, is proud to have also served as home to the early American literary movement. The Park and surrounding national heritage sites served as an inspiration for early American literary giants.

Emerson once wrote, 'Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.' So as you RAISE THE ALARM here tonight, all of you are leaving a trail for other to follow - working together to get the Minute Man National Historical Park off of the most endangered list.

The legacy of this Park must be revolutionary fights, not commuter flights.

I want to congratulate ShhAir on this production and thank all of you in the community who care so deeply about this issue for asserting this site's place in American history and fighting for it to be recognized.