Hello Level Walkers,

Two notices from the NPS follow.

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Dear Volunteers, 

This year we are moving from the virtual VIP Speaker Series presentations to in-person resource knowledge building field trips. We will offer a variety of learning opportunities at locations across the park. Here is information about the first opportunity – 

VIP Speaker Series – C&O Canal NHP Museum Collection

DATE: March 30, 2023

TIME: 11am

LOCATION: Park Headquarters in Williamsport

DESCRIPTION: Museum Curator, Blyth McManus, will host a presentation about the park’s museum collection. Blyth will provide a brief history of the collection and talk about how the park manages it. Blyth will have a few objects from the C&O Canal on-hand to show and talk about what we can learn from them. 

Volunteers can also sign up to take a tour of the new park headquarters facility before the presentation. 

TO SIGN-UP: This opportunity is limited to 10 volunteers from each district (west, middle, and east) and you must sign-up to attend. Please email emily_hewitt@nps.gov noting your volunteer program and the area of the park where you volunteer. Also indicate whether you would like to take a tour of headquarters. 

DEADLINE: You must email by March 15 to sign-up. 

Thanks!

Emily Durán Hewitt

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Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park 

News Release 

For Immediate Release: February 23, 2023 

Park Contact: Christiana Hanson, 301-491-6265, Christiana_Hanson@nps.gov 

NPS to Repair Level 33 Stone Wall along the C&O Canal 

Construction will require closure of part of Harpers Ferry Road beginning March 20.

33 Dry-Laid Stone Wall Repair Project Detour Map 

WILLIAMSPORT, Md.— The National Park Service (NPS) will begin construction on the Level 33 dry-laid stone wall just across the Potomac River from Harpers Ferry, WV this March. The wall shows significant signs of instability and stone loss, causing distress and unsafe conditions on the supported public roadway. Repair of the wall will include disassembling the existing stone wall, re-assembling the wall and restoring the roadway. This work will stabilize the area to meet current engineering standards and ensure safety to the local community that utilizes the road. The Level 33 wall is located at Mile Marker 61.5 of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, between locks 33 and 34.

During construction, the NPS will close Harpers Ferry Road between Hoffmaster Road and the school bus turnaround on Sandy Hook Road on March 20 (weather dependent) to public vehicles. A detour will be available along alternate public roadways – the same detour that was used during the previous Harpers Ferry Road slope stabilization project.  

After a portion of the wall is disassembled, the NPS will use concrete backfill behind the wall to establish a single travel lane to facilitate passage for critical emergency management services and first responders, which will be available for use in early Summer 2023. At the end of the project, the pavement and guardrails along Harper’s Ferry Road will be replaced and the road will be reopened to the public. 

The towpath will remain open during this project.

-NPS- 

Preserving America’s early transportation history, the C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth. Operating for nearly 100 years the canal was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recreational treasures. Learn more at www.nps.gov/choh.