Please take the time to read this message before Monday and get back to me
with your comments.  While this might appear to be a local issue, it deals
with federal land and is no more local than Eddyville Dunes or the Loess
Hills.  Therefore, I think it would be appropriate for the Chapter ExCom to
make a decision on whether or not to oppose this project.

I first became aware of this project about a year ago and visited the site
early last fall with some of the neighbors.  Becky Soglin and I had placed
our names on the Corps list to be notified about the progress of this
project.  Unfortunately, the consultant, Zambrana, has not been thorough in
getting materials out to us in a timely manner.

According to the forest resource inventory of 1994, the area being
considered for this project had roosting bald eagles and osprey, and rare
songbirds have been found there during nesting season.  A rare trillium was
found on the site by a neighbor.  The biological survey for this lease
application was done in August, however, and nesting birds and spring
ephemerals would not be found

Monday, July 31 is the last day to comment during the "scoping" period.  My
recommendation is to endorse the Alternate Use: Redesignation of area to
*low density recreation or forest reserve*.

Thanks,
Jane Clark
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VOTE NEEDED  --
-- DOES THE CHAPTER EXCOM WISH TO OPPOSE THIS PROJECT?

INTRODUCTION
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District (Corps), has
contracted Zambrana Engineering, Inc. (ZEI) to conduct an assessment of a
nonprofit real estate lease application for the use of Corps property
located adjacent to Coralville Reservoir, northeast of North Liberty, IA.
The project area is located within a 106-acre site along Coralville
Reservoir approximately 4 miles from North Liberty. Access to the site is
via Scales Bend Road.

The proposed site was formerly leased to the Girl Scouts for camping
purposes until 1990.  Over the intervening years the facilities have
deteriorated and understory has overgrown the former campsite (Camp
Daybreak).  THE PREVIOUS CAMP INVOLVED ABOUT 32+ CAMPERS FOR A 2 WEEK
PERIOD FOR DAYCAMP.  THERE WAS NO KITCHEN AND NO HOT WATER -- IT WAS A
PRIMITIVE CAMP WITH ONE OVERNIGHT DURING THE 2 WEEKS.

THE CHOICES ARE:
1. The MYCA Lease Application
Alternatives:
2. Reduced Use—Reduced intensity of use and development (i.e. fewer
campers,
fewer facilities, shorter camping season, etc.)
3. Alternate Use—Re-designation of area to low density recreation or forest
reserve
4. No Action

***ITEM ON WHICH TO VOTE:  The Iowa City Area Group is considering a
position of endorsing the Alternate Use: Redesignation of area to *low
density recreation or forest reserve*.   Their main reasoning would be that
the proposed project would unduly impact the site environmentally; that the
site and surrounding area are not suited to support low-impact recreational
use beyond day use; and that only the Alternative  Use option provides
permanent protection. In addition, Alternate Use would still allow groups
to go on hikes and be in involved in environmental education on the site.

They also would recommend that the site have improved parking (although
certainly nowhere near as big as the lot proposed for 150 cars) and better
signage to create fair public access to the site.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The lease applicant, Muslim Youth Camps of America (MYCA), proposes to use
the former Girl Scout campsite as a summer camp for recreational and
educational activities for multi-cultural campers, and as a
retreat/conference site during the non-camping season.
The facilities would be available for use by other nonprofit groups when
not in use by MYCA.   The proposed facilities at the
site include ten cabins, 12 tent platforms, a lodge, a caretaker's
residence, restrooms, canoe storage, access road and parking lots.
Additional facilities not shown in Figure 2, include a beach on the south
side of the site adjacent to the lodge and a floating boat
dock on the north side of the site near the embayment area.

The proposed facilities are designed to blend in with the wooded
surroundings and would be located in a way to minimize the loss of large
trees.  The vegetation to be cleared from the site is mostly understory,
saplings and small trees.  As presented in MYCA's proposal, the facilities
will be located on the south face of the ridge that runs in an east-west
direction through the site.  Trees and understory located to the north of
this ridge and in the ravine to the north would remain undisturbed, except
for paths to gain access to the embayment area.

Usage of the site once construction is complete and the camp is fully
operational, is anticipated to be approximately 120 campers per week during
a 10-week summer camp period, and about 3,000 to 4,000 retreat/conference
attendees spread over the remaining 42 weeks of the year.  Activities
during the camping season will include swimming, boating, hiking, indoor
and outdoor educational activities, onsite work activities, indoor and
outdoor cultural activities, and offsite field trips to local points of
interest.  Similar activities are also planned during the non-camping
season at a lower usage level, along with conferences and meditative
retreats.


Alternatives being evaluated in this study include:

The MYCA Lease Application
Reduced Use—Reduced intensity of use and development (i.e. fewer campers,
fewer facilities, shorter camping season, etc.)
Alternate Use—Re-designation of area to low density recreation or forest
reserve
No Action

Additional information for the proposed nonprofit real estate lease at the
former Camp Daybreak site at Coralville Lake can be found at the Corps
website:

http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Daybreak/index.htm


(Comments from Jane from last summer, when this issue first started)
Hi Rex and Becky -- I stopped and walked the area with the neighbors this
afternoon.  My initial thoughts are -- this land belongs to us, not the
Corps of Engineers.  The Corps proposes to lease this for $1 or so, or at
least not very much money.  And then what is now public land is no longer
public.  It is a beautiful woodland and it would be devastated by the
proposed development of a large meeting hall and 30 cabins, plus septic and
parking for 160+ cars and lighting.  (It is 22 cabins and platforms plus
bathrooms, lodge, etc.)

It would be the only development on the lake edge. We would object if a
developer wanted to build houses on this Corps
property.  With the ever increasing loss of natural areas, why would we not
object to this?

We don't have many pristine areas in Iowa, and I would say this is a pretty
decent place, especially since it appears to be part of a contiguous border
around the lake.  This development would seriously fragment that border.  I
did not get into the woodland and walk, but the lakeside woods reminded me
of Michigan forests.  The few natural areas we have left in this state are
still recovering from decades and decades of abuse, and this tract is well
on its way toward recovery.  If we don't save these areas, we're set back
another 60-90 years to catch up.  When this land was purchased by the
Corps, I would imagine at least some of it was set aside for habitat, and
to compensate for the loss of woodland covered by the lake.  The
environmental assessment is being done late in the summer, which means that
all spring flowers and breeding birds won't be surveyed.

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