Contributor Opinion by Jonathan Haber: The LAST Two Images
Jun 25, 2010 7:00 - 11 Comments
>I might have taken the last photographs of this tree:
and
Oh it’s still there. But it’s not in the middle of a beautiful field anymore.
You see, I went to Lake Needwood yesterday and was surprised and disappointed to see that an “adventure ropes course” is being built in the woods adjacent to this field. A giant wood platform 10 feet off the ground is being constructed right next to this tree. It looks like the platform is going to be the end of a “Zip Line” that people will ride down from the forest.
I wonder who decided that Lake Needwood should be an amusement park? There will now be tons of cars, tons of screaming kids and adults as they climb and zip all over this course. I bet you’ll even be able to hear the noise while down at the lake.
Doing a web search I see that the course is called “Go Ape”.
Now … to be honest … my family and I did something like this north of Quebec a few years ago. Yes it was fun. But it was at a ski resort. A place paved with hotels and restaurants. An already loud and crowded place. Not a scenic slice of suburbia by any stretch of the imagination.
I just think it’s too bad that they’ve decided to construct this amusement park kind of “ride” in our park.
JB Haber
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I was surprised to see a profit making venture (I assume) being built in one of our Parks. The company is English owned. I hadn’t thought of the added crowds and traffic. It seems you do have to reserve a spot. Here’s hoping limits are in place to the amount of traffic and people allowed at a time. My company printed the banners and brochures for Go Ape.
The Go Ape! course has been in operation for over a month. It is limited to 14 people per group, and I think there is only one group per hour or maybe per half hour. Not exactly “tons of cars, tons of screaming kids and adults”.I took my daughter for her 14th birthday and we had a blast. So did the other people in our group. I highly recommend it.
So when is the Rockville Central Swing Along?
I received the following reply from the co-owner of GoApe!, Dan D’Agostino and I’m very pleased to pass it along to all of you. Mr. Haber,I wanted to take this opportunity to respond to your Opinion piece on the Rockville Central website. My name is Dan D’Agostino and along with my wife, Jenny, are the owners of the Go Ape treetop adventure course at Lake Needwood Park. While working on temporary assignments in London, UK, my wife and I came across the Go Ape experience. Go Ape has been in business since 2002 in the UK and is known for providing a safe and enjoyable outdoors experience for park visitors across the country there. My wife and I thought that their mission in getting more people into the outdoors and away from their computer screens was a good one and we developed a partnership with the founders of the company to bring the concept back home to Montgomery County where I was raised.I began working with Montgomery County Parks Officials in March of 2009 to bring the Go Ape experience to an appropriate location within the county. After a comprehensive search for an appropriate location that fit with the Park’s recreational goals and an area that was not environmentally sensitive, the location that we now occupy at Lake Needwood was selected. From there, multiple community meetings were held, surrounding neighbors were informed and the Mid County Recreational Advisory Board was briefed. None of these groups or officials had serious concerns regarding the proposal and Montgomery County Parks allowed me to brief the Montgomery County Planning Board in December of 2009. The Planning Board agreed with Montgomery County Parks that Go Ape would encourage kids and adults alike to get into the outdoors and visit Lake Needwood, provide well rewarding jobs for local residents (9 of our 12 employees live in Montgomery County) and provide a new revenue stream for the Parks in these difficult economic times. Thus, a Public Private Partnership was formed with the County receiving a revenue share from Go Ape and a new activity for its park users.The course was built during March and April and was opened to the public on May 8th, 2010. In working with Montgomery County Parks, they wanted to ensure that the forest was not inappropriately damaged in any way. In keeping with Go Ape’s high environmental standards, the course was built without bringing any machinery into the forest. No full grown canopy trees were felled in the process and Go Ape spent several tens of thousands of dollars to deadwood the forest (remove dead limbs and dead trees) to make the woods safe for any Go Ape or non-Go Ape visit to the trails. Furthermore, the course was built in a manner that we do not harm the growth of the trees and independent arborists have inspected these trees to ensure their health and will do so annually. Our company goal is to increase the bio-diversity of the area of the forest that we occupy and we will be working with Montgomery County Parks to remove non-native invasive species within our area of the park. The maple tree that you have photographed is a gorgeous tree and we have taken care not to impact the roots around the tree or affect it’s drip line. It is our hope that you and others will be encouraged to visit the park and take photos of this tree and others at Lake Needwood for many many years to come.Since our opening, almost 2,500 visitors have enjoyed Go Ape at Rock Creek, Lake Needwood. This is roughly 56 daily visitors to the park and is in line with our projections to the Montgomery County Planning Board. Our visitors are usually families or groups of friends occupying on average of 3 people to a car. Thus, our parking and traffic impact is approximately 19 additional cars traveling through the park per day. Furthermore, we only allow 14 people to enter the course (at most) every 30 minutes to an hour, keeping additional parking and traffic to a minimum.My wife and I think it is extremely important to run a business that is in touch with the local community, (especially since we live 2 miles away from Lake Needwood) and I would encourage you and any other Rockville Central readers to contact me at dan@goape.com and/or visit us at http://www.goape.com. I would be happy to show you around the course and provide further insight as to how the activity came to fruition at Lake Needwood. I am confident that you will see an operation that provides minimal impact on the park and you will see that our visitors do make noise. However, the noise that our visitors make is usually the sounds of families laughing together or friends sharing in on the excitement of a new and adventurous outdoor activity, sounds very similar to those heard at the picnic areas, boat house or volleyball court.Once again, please feel free to email me at dan@goape.com with any questions or comments that you may have. I will respond as quickly as I can. Enjoy your summer and I hope to see all Rockville Central readers in the trees soon.Sincerely,Dan D’AgostinoGo Ape
Rock Creek Regional Park is approximately 1800 acres and within the Montgomery County border includes hiking trails, playgrounds, picnic pavilions, fishing, the Needwood Boat Rental & Snack Bar, Meadowside Nature Center and even a golf course. With all this acreage and activities, I think a zip line course is a perfect addition. The location between Muncaster Mill Road and the entrance road off Needwood Road is an ideal place for this activity on the edge of the park.I’ve been excited since I first saw the course during the RunAMuck at Lake Needwood. When I found out how awesome the course really is by reading reviews and listening to firsthand accounts, I couldn’t help but think our Montgomery Parks Department was very smart to bring this venture to our doorstep. The first one in the USA! I can’t wait to try it! So yes, I’m up for a Rockville Central Swing!
Dan, I understand that the cost is $60 per person. What % goes back to the parks department?
Theresa, the revenue percentage that Montgomery County Parks will receive from Go Ape is a proprietary figure. However, it can be expected that the County will receive upwards of $50,000 dollars this year.
Thank you for that information. It’s a big confusing, however. A government contract should be a public document that would spell out the terms of the payment, wouldn’t it?
Here’s a link to a Gazette story, which states ” Weekday discounts for students, Scout groups, school groups and military personnel will be offered, and the owners are planning to give out 450 free tickets annually to disadvantaged residents.”http://www.gazette.net/stories/05052010/rocknew212425_32561.php
I think you would have to take up the issue of making lease agreements public with the Montgomery County Planning Board. The approval for the Public Private Partnership included mention of a monthly rental fee and a yearly percentage of sales. Since it’s so close to the Boat House Snack Bar, the County will have additional income from increased refreshment sales. Everyone anticipates an increase in boat rentals for the County as well. I’ve noticed in all the interviews and articles that Go Ape is promoting all the Park’s features. Go Ape is also working to create additional trails and bridges in their six-acre site for the enjoyment of those not using the course.
My family and I greatly enjoyed a similar experience on Maui. This was in no fashion an “amusement park ride”. It was a serious adventure, where we tested the limits of our courage, while learning about the environment. As a matter of fact, we were firmly told that any behavior similar to an “amusement park ride” would cause you to be promptly escorted out for the safety of the environment and other people (note the order of this). I applaud how caring and careful Go Ape has been in constructing the course and planning for healthy maintenance of it. We will not soon forget our wonderful experience 60-70 feet up in the trees on Maui. My son overcame his fear of heights, experienced some personal growth, and wrote a stunning personal essay for his college applications (very successful!), I hope this course affords the same opportunity for other families.