on of needs
for recreation and scenic motoring tied in with the existing George
Washington Memorial Parkway, Skyline Drive, and Blue Ridge Parkway.
They should be completed and implemented when feasible in
consultation with the Department of Transportation. A route that
warrants equal consideration would be the extension of the George
Washington Memorial Parkway from Mount Vernon to Yorktown as
recommended in the _Potomac Interim Report to the President_.

2. A Basinwide system of trails for hiking, bicycling, and
horseback travel has been studied and its details are presented in
a separate report. This compatible and organic means of putting
town and city people in touch with the natural environment and the
countryside is an indispensable element of a full recreational
program for the Basin, and it is strongly to be hoped that the
establishment of the Potomac Heritage Trail along the river and the
protection of the ridgeline Appalachian Trail--the two trunk
elements of the system--will be promptly achieved under the
legislation recently acted upon by the Congress.

G. Some of the most basic beauty of the Potomac Basin is found in its
older towns and its inhabited countryside, where centuries of history
are reflected in structures, historic sites, and types of land use. To
protect this beauty and richness against unnecessary destruction and
degradation, vigorous action is indicated:

1. The Basin States should consider the possibility of utilizing
their State Historical Survey Commissions not only to designate and
protect significant townscapes and rural landscapes as historical
districts, but also to monitor encroachments and inappropriate
construction affecting esthetic and associative values at or near
historic sites. State legislation to restrict the exercise of
eminent domain by utility companies for pipelines and transmission
line routes in such areas is highly desirable.

2. If the Basin's traditional farms are to be preserved not only
for their beauty and as open space near towns and cities but as an
element in the economic health of the region, action at all levels
of government will be needed. Tax relief as a tool to encourage
continued farming on land in danger of urban development needs to
be utilized more widely by counties. Programs should be develope