Draft general management plan / environmental assessment / Prince William Forest Park / Virginia

National Park Service

A general management plan is being prepared for Prince William Forest Park to determine the best management strategy to ensure long-term preservation of its significant resources and to provide for the future needs of the visiting public. This plan is needed to fulfill the park's management objectives and to solve problems related to resource protection, visitor use, and park operations. Management objectives have been established to direct day-to-day administration and operations at Prince William. Several of these objectives have also served as the focus of planning for the park: To preserve and protect the Quantico Creek watershed and the native plant and animal communities that are characteristic of the piedmont/coastal plain forest. To cooperate with officials of the state of Virginia, Quantico Marine Corps Base, and Prince William County and with other public and private landowners to encourage compatible land use practices within the Quantico Creek watershed and adjacent lands. To foster public awareness of the history of land use in the Quantico Creek area and to encourage protection of watershed lands through widespread understanding of the effects of misuse. To ensure adequate preservation of the park's prehistoric and historic resources. To develop a multifaceted interpretive program that will communicate the natural and cultural history of the park. To provide appropriate opportunities for public recreation in locations and at levels that ensure the long-term preservation and protection of park resources and do not compete with the more active recreational opportunities available in the local county and state parks. To offer a variety of environmental education opportunities for the public based on park resources.