This birdhouse, located along the Biser Fitness Trail in the Gettysburg Recreation Park, is on federal property. The David McMillan House, a privately owned structure on Seminary Ridge, can be seen in the background just above the birdhouse. This image was taken facing west at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

The past few months have not been fun if you’re an official in the Gettysburg Borough. The borough is having financial difficulties. It’s also saddled with a tumultuous police department, which this month received a federal civil rights lawsuit for harassment from one of its officers. And now it turns out that a reconstructed fitness trail built by the borough in 2007 at the Rec Park was placed on federal property. And guess what? The National Park Service wants the land back. We parked by the Army of Northern Virginia itinerary tablets on West Confederate Avenue on Tuesday afternoon in order to show you the land in question.This image was taken facing north at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

The National Guard Armory building is located on Seminary Ridge, across the street from Shulz Woods. The cream-colored/yellow building in the right background above the cannon is the current location of the GNMP Cannon Shop. This image was taken facing northeast at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

This area is notable for the restoration of the 20-acre McMillan apple orchard on the east and west side of the road. In fact, the two white trucks parked in the distance are park service vehicles. Two park service employees were in the orchard checking on the trees while we made our way towards the Rec Park. Careful readers might notice a missing battery plaque for this Confederate artillery battery…Little and Big Round Top can be seen in the center-left background of the photograph. Confederate earthworks on the reverse slope of the ridge can be found to the right of frame. This image was taken facing south at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

…Approximately 20 plaques were recently removed from the field to be cleaned and repainted by the Park’s exceptional preservation staff. The David McMillan House is in the right background. The photographer will turn left here and walk into the orchard on the eastern slope of the ridge to get to the Rec Park.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

The Rec Park property is in the center background. We are currently standing on National Park Service land. Let’s walk down the slope of the ridge to the fenceline in the distance.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

At this point, we’re still on National Park Service land. Big Round Top can be seen in the right background. We’ll walk towards the football field in the distance to show you the problem area.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

But first let’s cross Stevens Run. This tributary of Rock Creek winds its way through town and dissipates south of here in the fields west of the Emmitsburg Road. The community of Colt Park can be seen in the background.This image was taken facing north at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Looking back towards Seminary Ridge. The McMillan House is in the left background. Yes, we are still on National Park Service land.This image was taken facing west at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Here’s a panoramic view looking towards the Recreation Park from NPS property. The one acre of land that resulted in this story is just ahead. We’re still standing on National Park Service property.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Colt Park is in the left background and the Rec Park’s Biser Fitness trail can be seen in the right of frame. Okay, it’s probably time to show you the map…This image was taken facing north at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Everything within the green line on the left of the image is federal/NPS property. To the right of the green line is Gettysburg Borough/Gettysburg Area Recreation Authority (the Rec Park) property. 667 feet of trail, a tiny portion of a football field, bleachers, a bench, an exercise station, a trash can, a recyling can, and yes, a birdhouse, were all placed on NPS property without permission.This image was prepared on Feb. 16 2017 by the USDI NPS GNMP RMD GIS Office and is courtesy of the National Park Service. Our thanks to GNMP Senior Advisor Katie Lawhon for providing us with this map.

We’ve highlighted a section of the Biser Fitness Trail in this 2016 aerial view (orange). If you look closely, you can still see some trees around Stevens Run where it exits Colt Park. The McMillan House is the structure in the bottom left of frame. Why were there trees around Stevens Run in 2016?This aerial view was taken in April of 2016.

Because this area used to be wooded. The vehicle marks in this aerial March 2007 view are from National Park Service contractors removing trees east of West Confederate Avenue. Gettysburg Daily covered tree clearing west of WCA in 2010. 2007 is an important year in this story, because while this tree clearing was occuring, the Rec Park was reconstructing the Biser Fitness Trail (we’ve left this marked in orange).This aerial view was taken in March of 2007.

The Biser Fitness Trail was constructed to honor the memory of Christopher and Kyle Biser. The Biser brothers died in a traffic accident in California in 1985. The trail was a gift to the community from the boys’ parents, Gareth “Lefty” Biser and Janet Lightner.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Here’s an important piece of info: Though it was called a “fitness trail,” the original incarnation of the Biser Fitness Trail DID NOT HAVE A PATHWAY. It was a series of exercise stations that you could walk to throughout the Rec Park. There was not a paved pathway.This screenshot comes from the March 27, 1989 Gettysburg Times.

This 2003 aerial view shows the extent of the woods in this area. Though the trail was not here in 2003, we’ve left part of it marked in orange. Note, though the trail wasn’t here, the football field sure was.This aerial view was taken in April of 2003.

Even in 1994, the football field was still here.This aerial view was taken in April of 1994.

But not in 1971. The football field was not approved for construction by the borough council until 1978.This aerial view was taken in 1971.

According to the Park Service: “On August 9, 2006, NPS law enforcement rangers doing boundary patrols in the vicinity of the Rec Park placed a wooden stake next to an obvious concrete property corner marker. The stake was marked ‘NPS corner, Do Not Disturb.’ On July 20, 2007, ground disturbance was noticed in this area and it was found that Borough work crews had dug a trench 667 feet long and 6 feet wide upon park property and filled it with gravel. The substantial concrete property corner was dug up and removed by the Borough before the NPS even knew a trail was being planned.” It makes sense that while performing tree clearing in this area, the park was also checking on its boundaries.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Yes, there’s even a Gettysburg Times photo showing a borough employee removing turf for installation of the reconstructed trail.This image was taken by Bill Schwartz of the Gettysburg Times and was published July 31, 2007.

The establishment and maintenance of boundaries is vital to the existence of the National Park Service. To change boundaries, you usually have to change laws. If you allow the borough to keep the trail infringing on park service property, you set a bad legal precedent: If I build on NPS land, maybe they’ll forgive me and let me keep what I built here. Federal boundary laws that establish and maintain National Parks don’t work that way. Now that it’s public knowledge that the borough built on NPS land, the trail has to go. The NPS has asked the borough for a timetable to remove the trail, but assures us that there’s not a rush. The bleachers will have to be removed.This image was taken facing southeast at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Of course it does beg the question: why now? If you discovered the Rec Park was reconstructing this trail in 2007 and removed one of your boundary markers, why are you just getting around to telling them about it now? Reconstructing the trail was an $80,000 project, and it’s something the borough was proud of at the time. While we were here taking pictures, we counted approximately a dozen residents walking the trail and more using the nearby dog park.This image was taken facing north at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

And the football field? It’s been here as long as the original “trail,” and though only a few square feet of land are infringing, it will now have to be shifted to accommodate the correct boundary. The Gettysburg Generals, who use the field, have been told by the Rec Park that their season will not be affected this year.This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

The photographer is standing on a set of bleachers at the football field. This is National Park Service Property.The utility lines and poles that exist here serve to connect the town’s power/phone/cable lines to the private McMillan House, out of view on Seminary Ridge in the left background. This image was taken facing southeast at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

For the borough, hopefully this is a lesson learned. If you’re going to build adjacent to someone else’s property, perform a boundary study.This image was taken facing northwest at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Speaking of boundaries, we were able to find at least ONE federal property marker in this area, but we had to walk north of the football field along the trail. The photographer is standing in the Winebrenner Parking Lot for the Rec Park off of Howard Avenue in Gettysburg. Stevens Run flows under the bridge connecting the parking lot to the Rec Park in the foreground. We’ll follow the stream…This image was taken facing east at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

…Take a look in the center background at the undergrowth near the trees. If you zoom in you can make out the orange property marker for the NPS.This image was taken facing south at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

It marks the location of a USDI (United States Department of the Interior)/NPS concrete property marker.This image was taken facing south at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.

Please don’t dig it up without asking somebody first.This image was taken facing south at approximately 4:00 PM on Tuesday, February 21, 2017.