FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — The view from Mason Neck State Park of Belmont Bay, of birds dancing across a winter’s sunset, is breathtaking under any definition.
Hillary Clawson says, “Stunning sunsets every evening. Lots of wildlife. I’m very much into nature. I feel very connected to the land.”
But Hillary Clawson has grave concerns about this place she adores. Clawson heads Friends of Mason Neck State Park: the non-profit that works side by side with park staff on their mission of education and conservation.
This massive 1800-acre park, nestled remotely in southeastern Fairfax County, is renowned for its programs, hiking trails and its big stars: bald eagles.
Clawson says, “There have been between 17 and 22 active nests out here on Mason Neck.”
But Clawson says the park suffers from a reduced staff.
Granted, it’s off-peak season, but when we entered the park the front station where you pay, it's not staffed, meaning some don’t pay.
Clawson says the visitors center is often closed. Again, due to a lack of staff.
And adds, the park’s aging infrastructure needs upgrading.
Clawson says, “There are cracks in tanks, cracks in pipes. There are certain days there’s no water available in the park.”
Worst of all, she adds, when the park manager isn’t here, there isn’t a member of law enforcement on site.
“It seems to me that any time you have a public park that’s open to everybody, you want to have law enforcement here,” says Clawson.
A spokesperson for the state told 7 On Your Side:
Public safety is an ongoing concern at Mason Neck and all of the parks. This is never taken for granted”
While we do not have law enforcement at the park at all times, we do havepersonnel on call 24/7 and very good relationships with local law enforcement
That spokesperson also said Mason Neck could do more with more employees.
While there are concerns here, there is also hope.
State Delegate Kathy Tran requested nearly three million dollars in additional funding that would hire more staff and bring public water to the park. A decision on that is expected in the next couple weeks as lawmakers in Richmond debate the budget.
Clawson adds, “I’m cautiously optimistic.”
If you’d like to learn more about the concerns of Friends of Mason Neck State Park, click here.
We communicated by email with Dave Neudeck, a spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Conservation of Recreation, for reaction to the concerns of Friends of Mason Neck. These are his full responses to our questions concerning staffing shortages and public safety concerns:
Virginia State Parks analyzes data to determine the needs for staffing. Strategic decisions are made to ensure an exceptional visitor experience for park visitors. The staffing needs vary from park to park and often relate directly to the park offerings and time of year. It is true that the parks could do more with more full-time and wage employees.
With respect to Mason Neck and the front station (contact station), it is staffed at peak times as is the case with all other state parks in Virginia. Mason Neck and other parks have an honor parking system and several, including Mason Neck, are piloting a smart phone app technology, VIPLY, to assist visitors with paying the parking fees online in real-time. In addition, the park has an office manager at the office and visitor center 5 days a week and wage staff is used to work in the visitor center during peak season.
For 2019, Mason Neck had 85,714 park visitors. Park law enforcement reported 3 case reports and one parking citation that year. The case reports included a traffic citation, a boater in distress and damage to park property which was closed as unfounded.
We asked a follow-up question about public safety in another email:
“Public safety is an ongoing concern at Mason Neck and all of the parks. This is never taken for granted and the park's leadership fully understands the importance of this need.
While we do not have law enforcement at the park at all times, we do have law enforcement (LE) personnel on call 24/7 and very good relationships with local law enforcement as well as with the law enforcement officers at the US Fish and Wildlife service property that is adjacent to the park to assist if ever needed. Mason Neck’s Chief Ranger is currently enrolled in the basic law enforcement academy and will graduate later in May. This will give the park an additional LE staff as the peak season for park visitation draws near.”
We asked him in another email about staffing relative to the 2017 master plan:
The staffing referenced in the 2017 Master Plan is based on a “full build out” of the park. The plan is a conceptual document and includes phases for all aspects of a park. For Mason Neck, much of the focus is on the educational opportunities. The plan is looked as guidance for a 30-year period. DCR is guided by the resources that the General Assembly provides and makes decisions accordingly to determine what items in the phased priority list can be completed – at Mason Neck and across the state. For your additional question, the parks work hard to manage personnel resources and to be efficient with the staffing levels. I’ll reiterate this point as well - Mason Neck and all the parks could do more with more full-time and wage employees.
We also reached out to Delegate Kathy Tran’s office for information. Here’s what we were sent:
The Friends of Mason Neck State Parks reached out to Delegate Kathy Tran about staffing and infrastructure needs for Mason Neck State Park. Delegate Tran introduced budget amendments or funding requests totaling $2,854,000 in the 2020-2022 Biennial Budget to help improve the Park’s operations:
$804,000 to fund seven staff positions needed for Mason Neck State Park operations.
$1,800,000 to connect Mason Neck State Park to public water.
$250,000 to improve broadband service at Mason Neck State Park.
Delegate Tran’s funding requests for staff positions and to connect the Park to public water were included in the House Committee on Appropriations proposed budget, which was released on Sunday, February 16. The House of Delegates and State Senate will now go into conference to negotiate a final budget proposal, and Delegate Tran will be working with her colleagues to continue advancing the funding requests for Mason Neck State Park.
by Jay Korff (ABC7)
Thursday, February 20th 2020