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By Jim Wilhelm, Blade Staff Writer
The Blade (Toledo, OH)
10-07-93
The head of a National Park Service team studying three historic military sites along the Maumee River valley said yesterday he thinks the sites appear to meet at least two of the three main criteria for being accepted as part of the national parks system.
Dean Alexander, branch chief at the National Park System's division of park planning regional office in Omaha, Neb., said yesterday that he thinks Fort Meigs in Perrysburg, Fort Miamis in Maumee, and the Fallen Timbers battlefield between Maumee and Waterville meet requirements that they be of national significance and suitability for designation by the park service.
He noted that Fort Meigs, which withstood sieges by the British and Indians during the War of 1812 and Fallen Timbers, the site of Gen. Anthony Wayne's decisive 1794 victory over area Indian tribes which opened up the northwest territories for settlement, are already designated as national historic landmarks.
Mr. Alexander said the three sites are of national significance for their representation of America's ongoing military struggle with Native Americans and the British for expansion of the United States.
However, Mr. Alexander said he could not say at this point whether the three sites meet the feasibility criteria for national park inclusion -- particularly financial feasibility.
The site investigation by the National Park Service is a preliminary step that could lead to further study of these areas for possible inclusion in the park system, Mr. Alexander said.
It is also part of a stewardship plan being developed by the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor, a nonprofit organization which wants to inventory the historic, cultural, natural, and economic resources of the 150-mile river valley between Toledo and Fort Wayne, Ind.
If there is interest in including these sites as part of the national park system, Mr. Alexander said the National Park Service will await recommendations for managing the sites expected to be included in the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor's stewardship plan to be completed by early next year.
Ted Ligibel, president of the Maumee Valley Heritage Corridor and a Toledo area historic preservationist, said the corridor association's goal is to see planning along the river valley that involves cultural preservation and economic revitalization based on public-private cooperation.
He noted the National Park Service has re-emphasized its intention to support development of more "heritage corridors," similar to the first one developed along the Illinois and Michigan Canal some years ago. Mr. Ligibel and others involved with the corridor study also said that they hope their efforts will educate area residents and visitors about how events like the Battle of Fallen Timbers played a major role in the history and development of the entire United States.
A report on the National Park Service study team's findings will be submitted to the Omaha regional planning office, then forwarded to park service headquarters in Washington, D.C., for review, he said.
At that point, Mr. Alexander said, "we will get some clue as to whether or not the National Park Service hierarchy will be willing to support the inclusion of these three sites."
Political support from officials like U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), who steered appropriation of funds for the Maumee River Valley corridor study, also will be a factor, he said.
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