A huge thank you to Congressman Moran, as well as Congressman Connolly and Supervisor Hyland, for their ongoing support of and advocacy for government accountability, the Mason Neck and equestrian communities and local small businesses.

Thank you also to James Cullum for his continued insightful coverage of this issue.

Thank you, Congressman Moran! You have led the way to keeping horses at Meadowood - along with Congressman Connolly and Supervisor Gerry Hyland. Thank you for advocating for what the community so clearly wants for this valuable part of the community.

I was so happy to see Congressman Moran's remarks on this issue. He brings the point home on the lack of communication from BLM with regards to the ongoing barn and public boarding issues over the last 3 years. Thank you to everyone whose involvement continues to put pressure on BLM to clearly explain themselves regarding the future of the Stables at Meadowood!

It was interesting to see Moran's bravado comments, I am sure that both the subcommittee chairman and the speaker of the house were happy to hear that Moran has elevated his stature to the one being in charge. Probably most of in support of the horse issue, but this type of bravado is not going to go very far.

It's great to see a politician actually try to advocate for what the community wants. Moran, Connely and Hyland thank you and please keep up this type of support!

James - You left out the disclaimer that Patch editor Susan Larson boards her horse at The Stables at Meadowood.

Am I the only one who views this as Congressmen Connolly and Moran bullying BLM and their civil servants who are not allowed to repond to them in this forum? This ongoing saga is starting to sound a whole lot like a few politically connected people (and private businesses) taking advantage of a taxpayer funded facility.

Maybe they should go fund their own horse stables somewhere else in Lorton and let BLM and The Army manage the facility without political interference.

Meadowood boarders are elementary school teachers, public servants, children and retirees. While many users of Meadowood are not asked to pay any fees, public boarders at Meadowood pay substantial fees to BLM. These fees are an excellent example of the taxpayer cost recovery envisioned by Congress in the Federal Recreation Fee Act. The Army also has used the equestrian facilities at Meadowood for stabling and training, but has done so free of charge. Since 2008, public boarders have been paying an extra $75 per month to help fund the repairs (roof replacement) now contemplated. If boarders aren't to benefit from those repairs, then those repair fees (approximately $200,000) should be repaid to boarders.
In its authorizing legislation entrusting BLM with the stewardship of Meadowood, Congress said that Meadowood was for “public use and recreation.” Were the Army to take over Meadowood as you suggest may require an additional act of Congress as Army use does not sound like the public recreational use Congress contemplated. The Army has many fine stables. In fact, the Army has spent over $11 million to renovate its stables at Ft. Myer and Ft. Belvoir. These facilities are beautiful and state-of-the-art.

The disclaimer appears on the July 3rd Patch article, but not on this one written solely by Mr. Cullum.

Congressman James Moran is my representative in the US Congress and Meadowood is within his District. As the case with Congressman Connolly and Supervisor Hyland, Congressman Moran historically has been a very ardent supporter of civil servants acting within their discretion.
What I read from Mr. Cullum's excellent story is that even officials who normally champion federal employees have reached the point of utter frustration with regard to BLM's management of a process for repairing the stables. All of the elected officials involved came to this process as objective observers interested in facilitating open and fruitful communication between BLM and the community and horse boarders. As this story indicates, that good faith has been broken in dramatic fashion, as it has been broken previously, repeatedly, between BLM and the community and horse boarders.
As an aside, Mr. Moore, you have misidentified the source of "bullying", if any indeed it has occurred. As a typical American, I don't care to see my Congressman
ignored and disrespected repeatedly by unelected, career civil servants. That is what has occurred more than once in this case and I take it personally as it's an intrinsically harmful and dangerous precedent.
BLM had everything to gain by working cooperatively and transparently with congressional and local offices. But as Congress Moran's comments exemplify, BLM has blown it.
Has BLM been careless or do they just care less?

Probably BLM is getting ready to do their best shot - lose interest and withdraw from the whole project. This is what has happened in many western US projects. Hurumph!