The mission of the National Park Service (NPS), Sandy Hook Unit, is to preserve both the natural and cultural heritage of Sandy Hook. For the past two years, there has been a sustained campaign to frustrate the preservation and adaptive reuse of the Fort Hancock and Sandy Hook Proving Ground National Historic Landmark District. For me, this is unthinkable.

Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook proving ground were first nominated to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In 1982, the district was amended to include the entire peninsula and to designate it as a National Historic Landmark District. This means it has exceptional significance in telling the history of our country. With no federal funding in place and with a national backlog of repairs of $1.2 billion for 26,000 historic structures in our national parks, the concept of a public/private partnership to save our decaying historic patrimony has been urged by both Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

On Earth Day 1996, President Bill Clinton issued a directive to Bruce Babbitt, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, to investigate options for using public-private partnerships to protect the parks’ resources. In March 2003, President Bush signed an executive order: Preserve America, stating it "is the policy of the federal government to provide leadership in preserving America’s heritage by pursuing partnerships with state and local governments … and the private sector …"

Sadly, the opponents have made little effort to investigate the facts of the historic leasing program that governs the park service’s relationship with Sandy Hook Partners. First and foremost, Fort Hancock is not about development or commercialization or privatization. Development is about new construction.

Absolutely no new construction will be allowed, except to provide ADA [Americans With Disabilities Act] wheelchair access to all the buildings. The buildings must be restored according to a very strict set of guidelines known as the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Rehabilitation under the watchdog eye of the state Office of Historic Preservation. Everything will be done right the first time.

There will be no commercialization because there will be no commercial retail activity such as grocery stores, beauty parlors, department stores. Retail sales and sale of merchandise are simply not authorized in the historic leasing program. There will be no golden arches, no Monmouth Mall. The specified prohibition on retail sales was established by the NPS but was never intended to exclude the food services necessary to support education, meeting, lodging and tourism functions. The plans provide for these services, but also ensure that Fort Hancock will retain its dignified historic appearance and atmosphere.

Privatization is another scare word used by the opponents to make it sound like Fort Hancock will be off limits to the public. Now, because of the deteriorated, hazardous condition of many of the buildings of the fort, nothing much is open. Once the leased buildings have been rehabilitated, many buildings currently closed will be available to the public. This will include buildings dedicated to hospitality uses as either bed-and-breakfast lodging (Officers’ Row homes) or food services (Officers’ Club, mule barn), as well as buildings used for educational or recreational use (YMCA and Post Exchange). The chapel, the post theater and the jail/museum will also continue to be open.

Most of the remaining leased buildings will be used the way the 20 buildings currently used by park partners are managed, for office, education, conference and meeting use with access generally limited to business activities. Most of the architecturally significant buildings will still be available to the public. In fact, there will be enhanced tourism activities for the public because the park service plans to relocate its visitor center to Barracks 25 at Fort Hancock. With ranger-led tours planned of the significant buildings, a rehabilitated Fort Hancock will become a popular destination for families, bikers, and tourists — instead of the ghost town which it is now.

Ownership and control of Fort Hancock will always rest with the federal government. It is not true that Sandy Hook Partners can grab more buildings and expand their activities. NPS may add to the lease at its discretion, but Sandy Hook Partners has no rights to anything other than the 36 buildings listed in the historic lease.

Opponents are obsessed that the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of Fort Hancock is going to result in destruction of the natural environment. This is simply not true. First of all, we must understand that the park service’s management plan requires it to balance protection of both Sandy Hook’s natural environment and its cultural resource.

In response to public criticism of the first traffic study, the park service hired an independent consulting firm recommended by the state. Department of Transportation to do a thorough study of local traffic impacts to expand upon the traffic discussion in the environmental assessment. In July 2003, Marie Rust, northeast regional director of the National Park Service, announced a "Finding of No Significant Impact." This was good news for preservationists and conservationists because it declared "the cultural and natural resources within Sandy Hook will not be adversely impacted by the proposed historic leasing project."

When can we accept the facts and truth about the plan to save Fort Hancock? This is not about commercialization and development. The commerce that is planned for Fort Hancock is the exchange of ideas, knowledge and opinions. The largest share of space in Fort Hancock will be used for marine science education and research.

Profit and nonprofit organizations will want to have offices here to capitalize on the wealth of information in this environment among the park partners. It is precisely through this rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of the fort as a mixed-use of office, conference, education and research campus that it will maintain its historic and cultural integrity.

A restored Fort Hancock will provide economic growth in our nearby communities. As an important historic site on the New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail, it will attract families and heritage tourism from around the state who will spend money in our shore towns and in Monmouth County.

When we protect our land for open spaces, beaches, flyways, and water quality, we also protect it to save our heritage and our knowledge of it for the education of present and future generations. Please let your elected representative and mayors know you agree.

Mary Lou Strong is chairman of the Middletown Landmarks Commission