8/13/01 Letter to the Boston Globe

Dear Editor:

I am appalled at Adrian Walker's column "Uphill Fight at Hanscom."

Walker points out that "...for an airport with 200,000 takeoffs and
landings a year it's a very quiet place.²  Hanscom is already the second busiest airport in New England, AND it's surrounded by Minute Man National Historical Park.  

While biking through the Park recently, as do so many people
from around this nation every year, I noticed the sounds of birds chirping
were completely overwhelmed by aircraft engines blaring.  It¹s a tragedy.

Mr. Walker says the Federal Aviation Administration has conceded to Hanscom's "well-heeled" neighbors in requiring further historic and environmental reviews here.  The fact is, the FAA is doing the right thing.  It has nothing to do with socio-economic factors.  We all have a national duty to preserve the unique historical resources in this area including the Park, Walden Pond, the homes of Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and 1,000 other treasures.

Two wrongs don't make a right.  If a new Logan were built today, do you
think Massport would put it in its current location? Not a chance.  Let's not make that same mistake twice by turning Hanscom into the next Laguardia.

Sincerely,

Sarah Lazarus
Concord, Mass.
on behalf of the board of ShhAir
Safeguarding the Historic Hanscom Area's Irreplaceable Resources