Open house Wednesday on Wright Brothers Memorial management plan update

Wright Brothers National Memorial covers 428 acres. [image courtesy NPS]

Wright Brothers National Memorial will host an open house for the public to learn more about a plan to amend its 1996 General Management Plan and to solicit public input.

The public open house will be held on Wednesday, August 14 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., at the Kill Devils Hill Town Hall Boardroom at 102 Town Hall Drive.

According to a newsletter from the National Park Service, the plan is being initiated to help define strategies for several key issues:

  • The pavilion structures erected for the centennial were intended to be temporary, are located directly in the historic viewshed, and detract from the memorial landscape and setting.
  • There is limited wayfinding and interpretive messaging throughout the memorial landscape.
  • There are few areas suitable for education of and programming for large groups or for holding events, especially in
    the case of inclement weather.
  • Administrative offices and storage spaces are limited.

In addition to issues, there are also opportunities to enhance visitor experiences throughout the site. For example, there are opportunities to provide shaded areas for visitors to rest, particularly during the heat of the summer.

There are also opportunities for additional pedestrian walkways that encourage visitors to discover all the site has to offer.

Several questions for the public posed by the National Park Service about their proposal include:

  • Which potential management strategies do you feel would be most helpful in meeting the
    plan’s vision for the future and why?
  • Do you have other suggestions that could address the plan’s key issues that you would like us
    to consider?
  • Do you have ideas around accessibility, bike use, trails, etc. that you would like us
    to consider?

Along with the public meeting, online and written comments are being accepted through the end of the month.

Following development and analysis of alternatives and reviewing public comments, a draft plan will be prepared and any necessary environmental reviews will be initiated.

Changes to the draft plan will then be put before the public for comment as early as this fall. Once that review a final decision will be made by the spring of 2020.

Details about the proposal and links to provide comment can be found at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/wrbr.

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Sam Walker was news director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, Big 94.5 WCMS and Z 92.3 from August 2011 to March 2022.