On Fri, 17 Feb 2006 09:32:42 -0600, "Wolfgang"
wrote:

Living where I do, this issue doesn't impinge on me directly.....well, not
much anyway. As it happens, I've actually been to the place that all the
fuss is about a couple of times to fish in a beautiful trout stream. It's
not one of my favorite streams (there are many others in the region that
suit my own admittedly idiosyncratic tastes better), but I like it well
enough that I would go back with little prodding.

The setting is gorgeous.....deep woods in the mountains that the casual
observer could easily mistake for the forest primeval.....the
wilderness.....virgin territory. It's the kind of place that anyone with an
appreciation for wild outdoor places would want to see. It is also about as
romantic a setting for the old family graveyard as one could hope for. Even
someone as blasé about mortal remains as me would be sorely tempted to make
occasional visits if it meant going to such a place. How much more so then
for those who take such matters seriously?

Others have covered the issue pretty well but there's still a couple of
things worth considering. Very real (I think) legal and moral contractual
considerations aside, there probably aren't a lot of the original residents
left. On the one hand, as they continue to age they will find it ever more
difficult to visit the graves of their loved ones. Boat access to the AREA
is easy enough (and delightful) but there is no dock. Elderly and infirm
visitors must already have a difficult time scrambling up the bank and
making the more than half mile walk to the cemetery. This problem will only
get worse with time. On the other hand, in a couple of decades at most
there will be no original inhabitants still alive and interested. A
generation or two down the road there will be only an occasional idly
curious descendant to make the trip. Meanwhile, if a road is built it is
absolutely certain to bring large numbers of people into a hitherto
relatively unavailable corner of what is, after all, one of the most popular
tourist attractions in the world. The inevitable result is that the
recreational value of the land in close proximity to the road skyrockets.
The equally inevitable consequences to the physical environment have not
only already been alluded to by others, they are also obvious. What may not
be so obvious is that development of some sort will naturally follow in such
a beautiful spot and, eventually, an unused and little visited cemetery will
be deemed unnecessary and a waste of valuable space. The graves will be dug
up and "The Old Cemetery Picnic Area" will take its place. There is no way
to gauge exactly how long it will take, but putting a road in there is the
kiss of death for the cemetery it is supposed to serve.

Wolfgang

Wow! Very well said, and I can't believe I actually agree with
something you have written. Such a road would be a kiss of death for
the area.

A similar situation arose when the Massachusetts politics needed a
reservoir for Boston. Quabbin flood a number of towns, and people
were displaced. However, any cemetaries that would be flooded were
moved.

Would moving the cemetaries from the north side of Fontana solve the
problem? Jeff?