Norton Gets NPS to Move Forward on Installing Tribute to Environmentalist Rachel Carson in Glover Archbold Park

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today announced a victory for the Glover Park community in the agreement by the National Park Service (NPS) to consider installing a feature in Glover Archbold Park honoring Rachel Carson, the environmental pioneer and an inspiration for the development of the environmental movement. For several years, Norton has been working with organizations in the Glover Park neighborhood for recognition of Carson's work in the District of Columbia. Norton said that despite Carson's lifetime achievements here in the District, there is no memorial to her in the city. Initially, the community requested that a trail in Glover Archbold Park be named for Carson. Instead, NPS has agreed to consider providing "some other type of recognition for her contributions [to conservation] within Glover Archbold Park, such as interpretive signage or other feature." Residents of Glover Park and other environmentalists gathered the evidence to show that Carson, who was a writer in the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, used Glover Archbold Park as a site to draw observations about nature and the environment. In 2013, Norton introduced a bill to rename the trail after Carson, and a companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator Bob Casey (D-PA).

"The Glover Park community should take a bow for its very thorough spadework to push NPS to recognize Rachel Carson for her path-breaking achievements while working as a federal employee here in the District, including some observations in Glover Archbold Park," Norton said. "I believe installing signs on the trail featuring her life's work in conservation will honor and commemorate Carson's special place in leading to a greater understanding and appreciation for the environment, particularly here in the nation's capital. I look forward to working with NPS and residents on the implementation of these signs going forward."