Ocean City, MD--First Congressional District Democratic nominee Steve Eastaugh, in a press conference beside the Ocean City inlet today blasted a recent proposal to move the inlet 40 blocks south onto Assateague Island.

"This proposal is like turning the clock back more than 30 years," said Eastaugh. "The National Park Service owns the land but with this Republican Congress, an outrageous idea like this one could happen."

Eastaugh briefly reviewed the efforts of many people more than 30 years ago who worked to preserve Assateague Island. The culmination of the efforts of many preservationists was the signing of the bill in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson to make Assateague a national seashore park.

Eastaugh continued, "I have considered the idea for all of the ten seconds it takes to realize that this is an effort to undo an important environmental step taken in the early 1960's. Those who wanted to develop the island in the 1960's were unwise then but may not have understood the environmental impact of of their efforts. There is no such excuse today. It is greed pure and simple."

Republican incumbent Wayne Gilchrest indicated that he was taking the proposal seriously and expressed hope to get various federal, state, and local officials together to consider the idea. He later wrote in a letter to the Salisbury Daily Times, stating he would not do anything to jeopardize the Assateague Seashore Park.

"My opponent is, at best naive," said Eastaugh. "Once a 4 mile section of Assateague is connected to Ocean City, the pressure for development will be enormous. And look at the personalities in the the Republican-dominated Congress. Bear in mind the the land on the other side of this inlet is owned by the Federal government."

"Today," said Eastaugh, "with the Republicans controlling committees we are at the mercy of people like Don Young (R-Alaska), Chairman of the Resources Committee, to protect the environment. They have been devoting their full energies to destroying the environmental gains of the last 30 years. If ever there has been a clear issue to show why the Republicans must be sent packing, this is it. Every vote for Wayne Gilchrest is a vote to keep Gingrich and his buddies like Don Young in power.

Eastaugh concluded, "Our parents fought to preserve this wonderful and pristine space. Our generation can not let developers undo the hard-fought battles won with so much difficulty."