Conservationists hope Tough Mudder Classic is last event at Silver Lake

HAYMARKET — When it was announced last year that Tough Mudder Classic was coming to Prince William County, it was heralded as a win for sports tourism.

The popular 10-mile obstacle course run will take place this weekend at Silver Lake Regional Park in near Haymarket. It’s expected to attract hundreds of participants, dubbed “mudders,” and generate up to $2.5 million in consumer spending in Prince William County — mostly through people booking hotel rooms, shopping in area stores, and eating in area restaurants.

The setting — Silver Lake, with 230 acres of rolling meadows, pine forest, and 23-acre lake — is what’s known as a passive-use park. Fishing is allowed, but gas-powered boats and electric motors are banned.

Since it became a county park 10 years ago, Silver Lake, hiking, picnics, paddle boating, and canoeing have all been welcomed activities at the park.

In recent days, as the Tough Mudder Classic draws near, some have cried foul over the use of the park for the extreme sports event.

The Prince William Conservation Alliance says the Tough Mudder Classic, and events like it, do not belong at Silver Lake. It’s calling for local leaders to place the park into a conservation easement that would prevent future events like this, making the park more akin to the Crows Nest Nature Preserve in Stafford County.

“With a Tough Mudder event scheduled for June 1, it’s clear the [Prince William Board of County Supervisors] 2009 commitment does not guarantee good stewardship of Silver Lake. What can we do? First, we need to recognize both the value of the park’s environmental and community resources and the need to protect those resources.

Placing Silver Lake into a conservation easement is a forward-thinking way to accomplish this goal. A conservation easement is a legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust (or government) that permanently restricts certain uses of the land to protect its conservation values. The land trust that holds the easement is obligated to protect the objectives of the easement.

It’s heartening to see so many people speaking up to protect natural areas at Silver Lake.”

— Prince William Conservation Allaince statement

Members of the alliance hope elected officials hear their call and take action following the Tough Mudder event. But those same officials will also be listening to an anticipated presentation from staff members at the county’s parks and recreation department about a potential grant the Tough Mudder organization could receive from county taxpayers.

They’ll also be reviewing the numbers and will present to county leaders a cost-benefit analysis, to see just how much business the event brought into the county.

“Following the event, they may be eligible for a sports tourism incentive grant. This is a performance-based grant based on [hotel tax] revenue generated directly by the event which, in this case, could be between $15,000 and $35,000.

We anticipate between $1.6 and $2.5 million in direct consumer spending within Prince William County associated with this event.

Sports tourism events may be eligible for such incentives when they directly impact the tourism and travel industry of Prince William County through marketing and hosting events that attract a substantial volume of our-of-area participants. They also must agree to promote only Prince William County-based hotels in association with the event, provide data verifying from where registrants visited, agree to co-marketing Prince William County as a tourism destination, and agree to the responsibility for insurance.

Incentives are performance-based and can only be paid after the event following from verification of attendance and hotel nights generated.”

— Brent Heavner, Prince William County Parks and Recreation Department spokesman

Four small trees at the park have been cut down for the Tough Mudder event. The organization is required to restore the park to its previous state following the conclusion of the event.

“The only exception to this may occur in instances where improvements were made to the existing trail system within the park, and staff determines these should remain for future public use,” added Heavner.

Silver Lake Regional Park is located at 16198 Silver Lake Road near Haymarket.