On Wednesday March 15, 2017, Terry Brown, a 24 year veteran of the National Park Service (NPS), spoke to the York River Group of the Sierra Club at Sandy Bottom Nature Park. The NPS celebrated its 100 year anniversary in 2016, and Superintendent Brown gave some highlights. He spoke about his own career path in the NPS, which brought him to Hampton last year to take on the Fort Monroe National Monument, which became a National Monument in 2011 (designated by President Obama).  The Fort Monroe National Monument is now a treasure in our community, and many local residents are not even aware of its new status.  The NPS oversees it, and works together with the Fort Monroe Authority, which operates other areas of Fort Monroe. Superintendent Brown spoke about his plans for the Fort Monroe National Monument, including beautification, reaching out to the community in order to connect more people with it, and laying a foundation for a rich education program.  For example, did you know that President Lincoln was at Fort Monroe when planning an attack on Norfolk during the Civil War? A new Visitor’s Center is planned for 2019, and 40 acres of beach is in the plans for annexation to the NPS. The attendees at Terry Brown’s talk expressed their appreciation for his work to help preserve the natural beauty of this historically significant landmark.