The 3-minute interview: Bill Line

This time last year, hordes of people filled the National Mall for Barack Obama’s inauguration. The frozen Mall recovered well, says National Park Service spokesman Bill Line, but some 3,000 other permitted events cause major damage each year. Now the future of the Mall’s grass is being considered.

What’s happening with the Mall now?
There’s a huge three-year planning effort that is culminating in terms of how the National Park Service plans for, maintains and preserves the National Mall for the next 50 years. There is a draft environmental impact statement that is available online [www.nps.gov/nationalmallplan].