Claude Moore Farm Could Close Without NPS Agreement

MCLEAN, VA—The Claude Moore Colonial Farm could close in December as negotiations for a new agreement between the National Park Service and The Friends of Claude Moore Farm, the nonprofit that operates the national park in McLean, hit a snag. The Friends of Claude Moore Farm group chose not to accept the agreement offered by NPS.

NPS opened the farm in 1972 and entered into an agreement to allow Friends of Claude Moore Farm to provide living history programs in 1981. The nonprofit charges admission and staffs the national park, but it must sign cooperative agreements with NPS to use the land. Until 2016, these have been long-term agreements. The latest agreement signed on March 30 covers up to Dec. 21. And with no new agreement, NPS said the farm would close on that date.

In March, NPS offered the new agreement that would prevent the farm from closing. The agreement uses standardized terms that apply to thousands of NPS partners across the U.S. with some leniency to Friends of Claude Moore Farm.

Anna Eberly, managing director of Claude Moore Colonial Farm, did not outline specifics of the agreements but told Patch, "We would have to ask permission to do almost anything. If we have an event, we'd have to get a permit. None of that has been in place." (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

The farm, which has six employees and around 400 volunteers, would have to add two additional staff members to comply with the proposed terms, according to Eberly. That's something the group's budget could not handle, especially with a project to build bathrooms on hold since 2011.

NPS spokesperson Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles sent the following statement to Patch about the agreement:

On March 30, 2018 Friends of Claude Moore Colonial Farm signed a final extension to its 1981 operating agreement with the National Park Service. However, the organization declined to sign a new long-term agreement and will, therefore, discontinue operations on December 21, 2018. We value the memories that people have made at the farm, and we will work with the community and the farm’s many dedicated volunteers to determine its future.

A proposed long-term agreement would have required the organization to comply with current laws and policy and included terms that are standard for National Park Service partners along with some flexibility to accommodate the organization’s interests. Although we negotiated in good faith, in the end, the standard terms and legal requirements of a long-term agreement were not accepted by Friends of Claude Moore Colonial Farm.

Eberly says Friends of Claude Moore Farm wants an agreement similar to what it's gotten in the past. The group is asking for the public to contact NPS in support of the farm or contact representatives about "Save the Farm" legislation, H.R. 5201, introduced by Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-10).

The farm, which welcomes more than 600,000 people visit the farm every year, portrays everyday life and work of colonists in late 18th century Virginia, just prior to the American Revolution. Originally named Turkey Run Farm when it opened as a National Park Service operation, it was renamed in for local land developer, Dr. Claude Moore, whose large donation at the time of his death allowed the farm park to establish itself as the only autonomous site in the park system. Among the events held at the farm include a market fair, which is coming up on May 19-20.

Visit www.1771.org for more about Claude Moore Colonial Farm.

Image via Claude Moore Colonial Farm