Van Buren residents encouraged by Watercress Park meeting

VAN BUREN — Local residents hoping to prevent the federal government from closing Watercress Park came away encouraged after a meeting about the future of the park here Tuesday evening.

About 50 people were in attendance at the hour-long meeting — which was held in the open air at the park — the vast majority of them in support of keeping the park open. The park is one of the few public recreation areas in the midst of several private beaches.

“That’s why I’m standing here,” Matt Dillon, district ranger of the Eleven Point Ranger District, told those in attendance. “I know how important it is [to you].”

Dillon said that the federal government does not want to fund Watercress Park because of its location in a flood plain.

“They were not comfortable reinvesting in this area because of the flood plain,” Dillon said.

Janet Hoskins, vice-president of the Queen Anne’s Club from the General Federation of Women’s Clubs and a Van Buren resident, said that the ideal would be the restoration of the status quo from three years ago.

“In a perfect world, the Forest Service would continue to maintain it as they always had prior to ‘17,” Hoskins said. “We would like to see them continue to take care of it.”

Hoskins said that the Forest Service does not pay property taxes on its lands in exchange for things like selling the timber there and taking care of places like Watercress Park to bring revenue into the area.

However, there are still options available to keep the park open. One of them involves local residents volunteering to clean the park to maintain it. That would require signing a volunteer agreement with the United States Forest Service.

Another option could potentially be the Forest Service deeding Watercress Park to the city of Van Buren — a potential option if the Van Buren City Council and the city’s mayor sign off on it.

“I do think there was headway made,” said Hoskins. “There’s so much frustration because it’s been three years. Any communication that opens up after tonight is a positive thing. … We’re just happy that someone is finally responding to us.”

Dillon might have summed the situation up best.

People “just want everything back to normal,” Dillon said.