Organization’s opposition based on threats to people, wildlife, and the environment
For more information and to arrange interviews with speakers, contact [email protected], or 240-899-9019, [email protected], or 202-503-9141, or [email protected], or 301-523-5394
Chevy Chase, MD – Lisa Alexander, the executive director of the Audubon Naturalist Society, on Tuesday, Aug. 25 voiced the organization’s opposition to the Beltway/I-270 expansion project that will lock in traffic and development patterns for the next 50 years, impose enormous financial risks, and threaten the lives of people, wildlife, and the environment.
“In the face of dual crises of Climate Change and the Covid Pandemic, expanding a roadway at the expense of water quality, parkland and tree cover is short-sighted,” Alexander said in her testimony which was included in WTOP’s coverage of the issue.
Eliza Cava, ANS’s Director of Conservation, will offer additional testimony at a hearing scheduled for September 3. She’ll discuss how the proposed expansion would increase air pollution, noise pollution, and stormwater pollution. The Beltway I-495/I-270 Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) is out for public comment review until Oct. 8. ANS is part of a coalition that has been working toward providing alternatives to the expansion and demanding a more transparent process. ANS’s Beltway Blog offers information on how to testify/submit written comment.
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About ANS: Throughout its history, ANS has championed nature for all by playing a pivotal role in conserving our region’s iconic natural places from development including the C&O Canal, Dyke Marsh and, most recently, Ten Mile Creek. Past ANS member and board president, Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, is credited with launching the now global environmental movement. ANS‘s nature experts provide hundreds of opportunities each year for children and adults to enjoy, learn about, and protect the environment.