SHANKSVILLE, PA. Flight 93 task force considers proposal for national park

The main objective is to prevent commercialization around the site.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. (AP) -- A task force charged with memorializing the victims of the Flight 93 crash is considering a proposal to set aside at least 21/2 square miles for a national park.
The proposal would preserve the site as "sacred ground" and prevent commercial development around a planned permanent memorial, task force members said.
Leaders of the Flight 93 Memorial Task Force have approved a preliminary plan for deciding how much land the government should own at the site near Shanksville, about 60 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Task force members say the plan places the crash site itself at the top of a priority list and moves out to the surrounding rural landscape.
President Bush has ordered that the design of the memorial be completed and delivered to the Interior Department and Congress by 2005.
A glimpse
While the National Park Service has not purchased any land, the plan provides the most specific glimpse to date of what officials envision for the national tribute.
Randy Cooley, chairman of the task force's Resource Assessment Committee, told the Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown that the task force has signed off on a proposal to acquire parcels of land in order of their position on a priority list.
The list includes:
UThe reclaimed strip mine where the jetliner went down.
UA patch of land that includes an existing temporary memorial and the spot where the FBI maintained its headquarters during the investigation.
ULand for a possible access road.
USurrounding areas where people can see the memorial, as a way to prevent commercial development.
Government's role
Cooley said the government doesn't necessarily have to buy all the land. One option would be to pay property owners in exchange for an agreement not to develop their land.
"This is just good, sound planning," said Joanne Hanley, a National Park Service representative who is helping lead the memorial efforts. The first three items on the list encompass 1,600 acres, or 21/2 square miles.
Although it's unclear how the government would go about acquiring the land, Cooley said Stoneycreek Township could play a role in planning. But Stoneycreek Township Supervisor Doug Custer said he doesn't think commercial development will be an issue around the crash site.
"I can't see a lot of commercialization in that area," Custer said. "I can't see this supporting motels or restaurants."
Preserving history
Tim Lambert, a Harrisburg-area resident who owns more than 150 acres at the crash site, has provided the only property donation so far -- six acres to the nonprofit Families of Flight 93 Inc. in December.
While the task force is looking for a lot of land for the memorial, Lambert says "that tells me that they're going to do what they can to preserve the rural quality of the site, which I think is important."
Families of passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 93 say they believe their loved ones rebelled against hijackers by fighting their way into the cockpit and grappling to seize control of the plane's controls before the plane went down in the Somerset County field. The FBI has suggested that terrorists may have deliberately crashed the plane.