Historic Earthworks Being Damaged by Vehicles and Dumpers at Dismal Swamp Canal
June 25, 2002--It's hard to work up a sense of patriotic fervor and historical enthusiasm for something called Dismal Swamp Canal.
Even its current owners, the Army Corps of Engineers, concede that it is most famous for biting flies and other insects, biting snakes and other reptiles, and deer.
Federal forces during the Civil War thought it was worth fighting over, though. They came to the area in February of 1862, building a base to block the waterway by use of smugglers and Confederate forces in small boats through the canal. They then built earthworks to defend the base against attack.
The waterway, which is also known by the somewhat more attractive name of Albermarle Canal, is under attack again, according to Joel Scussel, a civil engineer with the corps.
Illegal dumping of waste, illegal cutting of trees, illegal building of roads and illegal runnings of all-terrain and off-road vehicles are the problems today, the Hampton Roads Virginian-Pilot reported recently.
The canal is located on the Virginia-North Carolina border.
Recently the corps discovered tires dumped in the southern part of the canal near the North Carolina line.
"It looks like a truck pulled up and dumped tires, between 60 and 70, right in the water," Scussel said. "It's not like they dumped them on the ground so we could just pick them up."
Workers used a floating crane to clean up the mess over a couple of days. The corps will have to pay to properly dispose of the tires, some of which were still mounted on rims and others loose.
"Right now we're trying to educate people to not do it. We just want to remind people this is federal property," Scussel said.
The Corps does not intend at this point to use the Refuse Act, which could result in fines of up to $25,000 per violation, said corps spokeswoman Diana Bailey. Rather, the corps plans to first use education, and if that fails, use letters of warning or injunctions to stop the activities.
Reports of trees being cut down for better views of the canal and for motor-sport paths are increasing, said Bill Jones, who oversees the contractors that maintain the canal.
One path, near Broadnax Drive in Deep Creek, is nearly two miles long, and conveniently enough is just wide enough for one car to get through it.
The path has fresh ATV tracks, and parts of it look several years old. Jones pointed out another section where brush and small trees were recently cleared, some of it laying near a federal concrete marker dated 1916.
The ATV riders are the ones tearing up the Civil War earthworks as they make their paths to play in the mud. Jones said The Dismal Swamp Canal has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1988 for features including the Civil War mounds.
"It's just common sense. These are things you wouldn't do on someone else's private property," Jones said.
