Fall comes to Ragged Mountain Natural Area

Why does making the lake bigger DESTROY Ragged Mountain? Isn't it pretty now because of the big construction activity that took place to build the lake(s) in the first place? Isn't paradise already lost since we've dammed this mountain valley twice? Why can't people say "affect" instead of "destroy" all the time? Its not the end of the world, its a big lake getting slightly bigger and an area that was clear cut in the early part of last century losing some of the trees that have grown back since. It will not be a dead moonscape just because the water level rises. If you truly want to preserve Ragged Mountain, you'd be lobbying to take down the existing dams and put it back to its actual natural state, but I'd bet you wouldn't think its nearly as pretty without the lake. We've got hundreds of mountain hollows around here, so why is Ragged sacred? Its the lake(s) and dam(s) that are already there. Nobody seems to notice they are trying to preserve a man-made natural area, if there is such a thing. Just enjoy how pretty it is like the picture shown here, because it will be just as pretty later.

If this were the only option for water supply destroying all this might be a last resort, but it is not .

We do not need this new dam for our long term water supply now and probably never will - and that is a fact .

Please read this to learn why by going to our web-site and scrolling to :

"What They Said, What We Now Know"

http://cvillewater.info/

We are looking for an angel to help save this magnificent resource for our entire community . If you are that angel or can help in anyway, please contact us through our website.

From the Ivy Creek Foundation Web-site above:

Creation of the Ragged Mountain Natural Area:

In April 1997, with the goal of providing long-term protection to the watershed of the Ragged Mountain Reservoir, the Ivy Creek Foundation (ICF) approached the City of Charlottesville with a proposal to designate the Reservoir property as a public natural area reserved for quiet hiking, fishing, and wildlife observation. Under this proposal ICF agreed to fund, design and construct a rustic parking lot, conduct a biological survey, establish and maintain a trail system, and provide maps.

With financial help from the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, the Virginia Department of Forestry, and with the hard work of hundreds of volunteers, Ragged Mountain Natural Area was opened to the public in March, 1999.

And to read why destroying Ragged Mt. Natural Area is wrong from every angle, both environmental and financial - here is everything you need to know:

http://readthehook.com/99648/flaws-tripled-rates-spun-numbers-and-co...

There is nothing cynical about a recently recognized area of natural beauty, and hoping to protect it from a very expensive development that has highly questionable value. I find I am getting really tired of the childish attitude from a few posters who can't accept the facts, yes facts, that numbers really aren't adding up. This whole thing smells like a power play to benefit some very select groups, while leaving everyone else to pay for it. Stop pretending that this will not have a high cost on ratepayers, most of whom will see absolutely zero benefit in the costs placed on them. Zero. None.

And yes, you can count me as a county member who wants to plain stop all growth until we really see what benefits there are for the community, and who really profits off of the massive infrastructure costs everyone will have to bear.

A history of the area commonly called the Ragged Mts. can be found at the website for Citizens for a Sustainable Water Plan

http://cvillewater.info/about%20RMNA.html

Citizens for A Sustainable Water PLan is a diverse group of city and county citizens and former elected officials, whose main concern is good environmental stewardship of our shared community resources, and sound fiscal planning.

With those principles in mind, we believe that dredging and maintaining our current water infrastructure has been shown, with new information, to be far superior to destroying Ragged Mt. Natural Area, and allowing South Fork Rivanna Reservoir to fill with silt, and the water retrieved by dredging kept separate from our long term water supply plan.

We have worked diligently to present only factual information to the public and our officials. We would appreciate any errors we may have made to be brought to our attention.

We have used our own resources to fund a campaign to stop a plan from going forward that we feel will do historic damage to city assets and community resources, and create an unnecessary financial burden for water ratepayers.

If you would like to help in any way we would welcome your support. Please contact us through our website
cvillewater.info

And thank you to the hundreds of citizens who have contacted our officials and attended many meetings to try to save this priceless treasure.

Gah!Another grammatical typo!

'Bear' should be 'bare.'

Don't built the dam! I will vote only for candidates to city council who oppose it.

A dam is one thing, just don't take your dog out there for a walk, cause they might disturb a bird or something....

@sez you re: "How will you vote in the case of Huja who has stated himself that he is both for the dam and dredging?"

Don't. Don't vote for him. He can't be trusted to act in the best interest of the residents of this city.

Dawg,

The thing is, I won't see my water rates go up, I've got a bunch of wells. Wells I have had to spend money on from time to time. Be that as it may, not only will some of my offspring et hit, I have not illusions about tax rates when you talk about 250 million smackaroos. And for what?

So 29N and hydraulic can have one more massive shopping center clogging up the road? Oh, but wait, we'll build another by-pass to the eyesore across from Forest Lakes, to the tune of another 250 million. Now we are at a half a trillion, which both my State taxes and County taxes have to pay for.

And just what is it our Republican County brethren are screaming at Washington about? Spending? They don't want to pay taxes? Sure they don't, they just want someone else to subsidize them. Only Republicans and developers can be communists with big government spending and deficits.....

I grew up right next door to this area and long before it was opened up as walking trails took short jaunts through the woods and on the banks of the reservoir. It was a wonderful experience to walk through the woods in the fall, surrounded by the yellows, reds and oranges on the trees above and carpeting the floor below. To say that I am disappointed is but a fraction of how I feel at the idea of bulldozing the trees and increasing the size of the reservoir. There are the remains of old hunting cabins in the woods, and though I'd never seen the caretaker's house, it appears to be at least a 100 years old, if not older. Thus, the loss of those artifacts of history only adds to the gloomy future for the area. It's easy to write off an area if it is merely a proposal on paper, rather than a space which one has visited multiple times and watched the seasons shape and form.

For more photos of the area, here are some I took on my most recent visit:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24317830@N04/sets/72157622016959697/with/38...

The last eight are of a nearby area, not the reservoir or surrounding woods.

The best way to elect Bob Fenwick is to single shoot, but the best way to improve Charlottesville's government is to vote for Bob AND Dede Smith. Bob, Dede, and Dave Norris are likely to vote together most of the time, and certainly on the water supply issue. Single shooting Bob makes it more likely that Galvin and Huja will win, leaving Bob and Dave a minority voting block. Galvin and Huja both are in the Developer's pockets- they both received 1000 dollars in developer PAC money in the primary and received the defacto endorsement of the Monticello Business Alliance, a PAC made up predominantly of the sprawl lobby. Dede didn't receive any money from them, and her and Bob have not to accepted PAC money this election. Bob, an Independent, will be a fresh breeze for our City, but let's not leave him alone in the cold. Vote Bob (VoteBob.net) and Dede Smith for a representative Government in the public interest.

I don't really have that much trouble with Huja beyond his stance on the dam. The man will actually sit down and answer your questions, in a clear way, as to why the city might or might not have done something. If it is a question of code, he can point it out to you, and he can discuss ramifications, or you can talk about real changes. He also will look at the code or rules, and actually apply them. I find this different from the other councilors with a varying degree, with Dave Brown being the worst on all counts, all the way up to Kristen being the closest in responsiveness.

I think that Bob will be very much like Huja in these areas, and he seems interested in solving problems. I hope Dede would be too.

His closeness to developers because he has his own grand visions does worry me from time to time,