RIENDS of the Rappahannock strongly supports the proposal being considered by the city of Fredericksburg to place a permanent conservation easement on 4,000 acres of riverfront lands--owned by the city--along the Rappahannock and Rapidan rivers.

Looking back on the past 20 years of planning in our region, it's clear that there were many missed opportunities to do the right thing. Those past failures adversely impact our quality of life today in many ways.

Likewise, today our community and its elected leaders are facing new decisions that will affect the character of our area and our quality of life for decades to come.

Such is the case with the proposed conservation easement on the long, narrow strips of riverfront property that the city owns for some 20 miles upriver from the city.

Fredericksburg officials have worked for the past two years to solicit the input of citizens and of adjoining localities. Along the way, a variety of modifications were made to the easement language to accommodate concerns--while also ensuring that these precious scenic lands remain permanently preserved in a natural state for future generations.

The current draft is a model of foresightedness and local cooperation. Foresight means looking not just at the conservation aspects of the proposed easement, but also at any potential unintended consequences.

Thanks to input from neighboring localities and partners at the Chamber of Commerce, city officials revisited two issues in particular: regional transportation and utilities crossings.

The proposed language now ensures the easement will never constitute a barrier to regionally supported transportation solutions, including highway crossings of the river.

Likewise, the revised language provides for future utility crossings.

FOR would like to thank the city government for a diligent and inclusive approach to crafting a conservation easement that we can look back on 50 years from now and know we did the right thing, from all perspectives.

Some alternative notions have been raised as substitutes for a conservation easement, on grounds that it is "too permanent." One is a time-limited (40-year) conservation easement.

This is no more appropriate for protecting our community's river than it would be for protecting our hallowed battlefields or our national parks.