Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project—Status Report
National Park Service, National Capital Region
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
December 4, 2003
Background
As we look at our region, watershed, city or community, and the condition of our parks, open spaces and recreation areas, we need to ask yourself these four questions.
1. What is the current park, open space and recreation area situation? (i.e. How much green infrastructure is your metropolitan, or micropolitan, region losing per day?)
What alternatives are possible?
What can cities and other government
agencies and private sector organizations do to protect, manage and use parks, open space, recreation areas and sustainable practices?
4. Most importantly, what are we, as individuals, prepared to do about the current situation?
In metropolitan Washington, DC Congress, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, NPS-National Capital Region, and others, decided to create a “Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project” to respond to the situation, explore alternatives and take action. (http://www.mwcog.org/committee/committee/)
Project Goals
• Move the parks, open space and recreation areas--the green infrastructure of the Washington metropolitan area to the forefront of their neighbors consciousness when they think of recreational, environmental leadership, superior education, cultural preservation, stewardship, natural resources, ecosystem management--the myriad of elements that contribute to an excellent quality of life.
Build a lasting public constituency to create a model public and private partnership for a metropolitan region system of park, open space and recreation areas that addresses the needs of people, landscapes and nature.
Achieve a metropolitan region that has a balance between the built environment and green space, sustained by natural processes able to support and enhance the quality of life for its people and communities.
Objectives
Improve communication to the residents of the Washington metropolitan area about the extensive park, open space and recreation resources that exist and that have a direct impact on their quality of life.
Educate and motivate the public to help ensure long-term protection of park and open space resources.
Improve the public’s awareness of the park; open space and recreation area land management efforts in the region.
Partnering & Civic Engagement
The demonstration project is based on a series of partnerships and an over-arching collaborative approach to doing business. Several organizations are helping to provide “quiet enabling leadership” for the effort. Key to the approach is the idea of building a platform that people can use to share information, discuss issues and interests, and build consensus for future action. Each of these organizations has different responsibilities that are being linked together to provide for improved communication, efficiency, and innovation.
For example:
The DC Department of Parks and Recreation and
National Capital Region of NPS are primarily government land base agencies responsible for recreation services and planning.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of
Governments (COG), is a non-profit organization that represents 17 major units of local governments. COG provides information, planning and regional coordination.
Washington Parks and People is a non-profit
organization that serves as an advocacy group for the idea of a system of parks, open space and recreation areas in the region. They provide information, planning, technical assistance and volunteers.
A variety of other groups, such as the Casey
Tree Endowment, Greater Washington National Parks Fund, The Wilderness Society, Friends of the Potomac, Chesapeake Chapter of the American Horticultural Therapy Association, and others, are actively engaged in a variety of the specific project tasks.
A diversity of projects, activities, events, and interests has brought these groups together historically, and is what keeps them working together at present. Areas of past and present common ground include:
Past:
Mutual interest in land management, recreation services, funding and governance.
Ecology—the groups are within the Potomac River watershed.
Problems such as chemical spills, stormwater, combined sewer overflows, nutrients, etc.
Disconnects between people and their parks.
Individual perspectives and working alone
Present:
A desire to improve efficiency and quality of management of our operations through interagency collaboration, cooperative projects, and joint ventures.
A desire to improve quality of services to the residents/ visitors we serve.
The need to improve communication.
Interest in sharing data
A desire to demonstrate the seamless system approach to parks, open space and recreation areas through experimental sharing of personnel, programs, facilities, and public parklands through the city wherever proximity, similarity of function, or achieving efficiencies or economies of scale make sense.
Interest in identifying and implementing opportunities around the city for the active engagement of public involvement in park operations and maintenance through cooperative agreements, public-private partnerships, public-private cost-sharing, community-based shared management, and operational partnerships between the two public agencies and community-based organizations.
The partnership has involved seven primary organizations and more than 600 representatives from various local, states, regional, and federal government agencies and private groups and businesses. It uses a variety of forums, workshops, technical assistance, and status reports to share information and communicate.
It has also created mechanisms to improve communication, coordination and decision-making including a DC - NPS Roundtable of senior agency leaders and staff, as well as other partners, that meets periodically to discuss common interests and issues. The Rountable has also agreed to work together on a:
DC-NPS Recreation use management plan
Watts Branch Plan National Seamless System Demonstration Project
Panel presentation at the Joint Ventures Conference in November 2003.
GIS information to overlay DC and NPS parks to assess opportunities for collaboration.
Citywide inventory of street trees being led by Casey Trees.
Green Infrastructure 2004 Conference
Other key partners are assuming leadership through creative approaches to re-connect people and parks by assisting:
Tours of the Fort Circle Parks by the Committee of 100 for the Federal City.
Two-day Washington Ridge Crossing Hikes led by Washington Parks & People.
Project Work Program
The general project purpose of this effort is to
map forest cover in the Metropolitan Washington Region for purposes of improving forest cover conservation and watershed restoration efforts for our local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay and to promote green infrastructure approaches through dialogue, technical workshops and publications.
map forest cover in the Metropolitan Washington Region for purposes of improving forest cover conservation and watershed restoration efforts for our local rivers and the Chesapeake Bay and to promote green infrastructure approaches through dialogue, technical workshops and publications.
This purpose is being accomplished using the following approaches.
a. Mapping Forum: COG and NPS has catalogued existing mapping efforts as identified in the region. COG and NPS is working with existing member governments, regional federal and state agencies and private groups, through a workgroup and Green Mapping Forums, to obtain and catalogue regional data sets. This is being accomplished through partnership opportunities with other interested parties.
On October 18, 2002 a Green Infrastructure Mapping Forum was held and included the following presentations.
Tim Aiken, Office of US Congressman Jim Moran, 8th District of VA
Robert Dietz, US Geological Survey
Kim Finch, Prince George’s County, MD
Margaret Maizel, ONEIMAGE, LLC.
Gary Moll, American Forests
Andrew Zimba, Casey Tree Endowment Fund
In addition, in September 2003, COG, the Casey Tree Endowment and NPS, and other partners, agreed to form a workgroup to explore ways to prepare a comprehensive green infrastructure map for the District of Columbia.
b. Forest Cover / Land Cover Map: COG has created a Green Infrastructure / Forest Cover Map of park, recreation and open space lands in the Washington D.C. metro area in collaboration with similar initiatives such as the Chesapeake Bay Program, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, USGS, Casey Tree Endowment, State of MD, and others.
COG created a general high-altitude regional forest cover / land cover map from the latest Land-Sat data in collaboration with the University of MD. The map includes 12 different land cover types such as, deciduous / coniferous, scrub / shrub, meadow, grassland, wetland, agricultural, and barren land, etc. on public and private land from highly urbanized to countryside areas.
From the mapping forums, based on the general map referenced above and overall feasibility, COG is completing a pilot project of a detailed scale (the level of which contingent upon data availability and cost) in the Anacostia River watershed. This project will be done in cooperation with COG’s partnership network with the Anacostia River Watershed Restoration Committee.
c. Green Infrastructure Directory: COG and NPS are creating a printable version of a Green Infrastructure Directory. The directory is a “Who’s Who?” guide for regional community parks, green space and recreational opportunities, agencies and organizations that may also be accessible on COG’s website through a download format.
The directory lists the names, addresses, telephone, tele-fax and e-mail contact information numbers of the most important green infrastructure contacts in the project area. The directory is indexed by green infrastructure categories.
d. Green Space Forums & Workshops: NPS and COG have established and maintains a “Green Infrastructure Forum” series to highlight and disseminate technical information on issues pertaining to green infrastructure programs, initiatives and innovations both nationally and internationally. This series supplements the activities of COG’s Urban Forest Forum, the Community Forestry Network. The forums act as an information exchange on topics pertaining to open space, parks and recreation areas to:
1) Present its cooperators and collaborators with accurate informative, educational and understandable information on the natural, physical, biological, cultural and economic aspects of green infrastructure.
2) Share outstanding local, regional, national, and international examples of protection, regeneration, management and recreation activities and strategies.
3) Create opportunities for peer networking.
4) Provide opportunities for dialogue between different government and private sector interests.
Some of the speakers that have participated in the forum series include:
Nanine Bilski, America the Beautiful Fund, Washington, DC
Blaine Bonham, PA Horticulture Society, Philadelphia, PA
Dr. John Bruce, Moses Urban Gardening, Washington, DC
David Burke, MD Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD
Mark Buscanio, formerly of the DC Department of Public Works, Washington, DC
Steve Coleman, Washington Parks & People, Washington, DC
Christine Gilday, Virginia “Plant-A-Row”
Peggy Harwood, USDA, Forest Service, Washington, DC
Shelia Hogan, formerly of the Casey Tree Endowment Fund, Washington, DC
Andy Lipkis, Tree People, Los Angeles, CA
Mari Lou Livingood, formerly of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, Alexandria, VA
Daniel Martin, International Communities for the Renewal of the Earth, NJ
Greg Moore, Golden Gate Park Association, San Francisco, CA
Neil Owens, Metropolitan Police Department Boys & Girls Club, Washington, DC
Brian O’Neill, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, CA
Leslie Sauer, formerly of Andropoggon Associates, Hunterdon County, NJ
Gerri Spilka, OMG Center for Collaborative Learning, Philadelphia, PA
Anne Whiston Spirn, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Nancy Sturm, formerly of the National Park Foundation, Washington, DC
Bob Sutton, Greater Washington National Parks Fund, Manassas, VA
Joan Thomas, DC Ward 4 Beautification, Washington, DC
Robert Yaro, Regional Plan Association, NY
Workshops have been held, or are being scheduled, for:
Harmony Hall, MD: A two-day workshop, lead by Michael Clarke, formerly of the Natural Lands Trust, was held in July 2003 to advise NPS leaders on what to do to conserve the NPS-owned Harmony Hall property and buildings. The session focused on ways for NPS to make the economics of conservation and preservation successful.
A report was prepared for NPS park managers that outlines alternatives for property and building management.
Potomac Access: A workshop, lead by Ellen Cull, Management & Organizational Consultant, was held to discuss ways to improve access to the Potomac River, from Great Falls to the confluence with Occoquan Creek. The meeting collected input from 35 interested stakeholders on:
• A listing of current high quality access to the Potomac – physical, informational, educational, visual and recreational
• Major concerns, issues and problems with current access to the Potomac
• Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac
A report was prepared summarizing the discussions.
Dialogue: A workshop, lead by Daniel Martin of International Communities for Renewal of the Earth and Anne Pearson of Sustainable Communities, was held to provide metro-green space leaders with additional skills in dialogue.
The focus of the workshop was to discuss and demonstrate skills that allow people of differing viewpoints to value each other’s perspectives and experience and develop common purpose, mutual understanding, mutual ownership, and trust. The session stressed that dialogue is the communication tool, the glue that will hold together and enrich the green infrastructure process of interaction.
Participants were provided skills in “Appreciative Inquiry”, a communication technique that enables the participants to access their own collective wisdom
using an interview technique that encourages new perspectives to surface, a creative exchange to
occur. These skills and tools will also enable participants in the workshops to expand the process
of working together on local and regional green infrastructure projects after the workshop by sharing ideas with the people and perspectives they represent so that all stakeholders own the process.
Green Infrastructure Asset Accounting: NPS and COG, with the assistance of The Center for Neighborhood Technology and Urban Logic, Inc. is planning three workshops on Green Infrastructure Asset Accounting for local governments.
The Center and Urban Logic are developing tools to benchmark the local and regional economic benefits of the urban forest and other types of green infrastructure, and suggest how the bond markets can take these values explicitly into account in underwriting, portfolio and project finance settings.
The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is a private, non-profit, accounting standards organization, which develops objective accounting and financial reporting standards for government (www.gasb.org).
In 1999, the GASB issued Statement No. 34: Basic Financial Statements—and Management's Discussion and Analysis (GASB-34), requiring governments to provide a comprehensive view of their overall economic resources and long-term requirements, including the “wear and tear” and expense of capital assets over their useful lives. Infrastructure building and maintenance (roads, bridges, stadiums, schools, etc.) represents more than half of most state and local government budgets. Parks, wetlands and other natural infrastructures are not specifically mentioned but are covered by the rule.
In 1999, the GASB issued Statement No. 34: Basic Financial Statements—and Management's Discussion and Analysis (GASB-34), requiring governments to provide a comprehensive view of their overall economic resources and long-term requirements, including the “wear and tear” and expense of capital assets over their useful lives. Infrastructure building and maintenance (roads, bridges, stadiums, schools, etc.) represents more than half of most state and local government budgets. Parks, wetlands and other natural infrastructures are not specifically mentioned but are covered by the rule.
The Center and Urban Logic believe that the capital represented by our natural environment is a critical asset that is methodically ignored or assumed to be priced at zero dollars (free). A new government accounting rule can help capture many of the previously “hidden” assets provided by the natural environment, such as natural systems for flood mitigation and stormwater runoff control, and incorporate them into city and state financial statements.
The Center will publish a 10-page paper outlining best practices and how to use GASB-34 to account for green infrastructure. This paper will be posted on the websites of NPS, the Center, and Urban Logic.
e. Exchange Best Green Infrastructure Management Practices: The National Park Service, in cooperation with EPA's Office of International Activities, the Department of Housing & Urban Development, and the Glynwood Center sponsored a two-year exchange between local, national and international experts from the metro-region and Germany. The exchange focused on urban watershed management and included green urbanism, stormwater management, roof-top and rain gardens, riparian buffers, and other ways to protect and restore water and air quality within the Potomac River watershed.
NPS and EPA worked with the Potomac Urban River Watershed Management Regional Steering Committee to participate in the exchange and to identify off-the-shelf "Best Green Infrastructure Management Practices". A report, “Potomac International Urban Watershed Management Exchange”, which describes these techniques was published by the Glynwood Center.
On Tuesday January 28, 2003 the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, DC hosted a daylong forum and reception to share the results of the collaborative effort to exchange best management practices. “The Potomac International Urban Watershed Management: Lessons Learned Forum” brought together 150 public and private leaders from the metropolitan Washington region, including various U.S.-based organizations serving Germany. These leaders listened to presentations by a team of government and private sector leaders from the Potomac who visited Germany to learn about watershed Restoration and Reconstruction, Urban Watershed Retrofit Strategies, and Large Scale Redevelopment.
Presentations were made by:
Katrin Scholz-Barth, formerly of the HOK Planning Group, Washington, DC
Sheila Besse, Nonpoint Source Management Branch, DC Department of Health, Washington, DC
Elizabeth Berry, DC Office of the Mayor, Washington, DC
Uwe Brandes, DC Office of Planning, Washington, DC
Timothy J. Carney, Allegany County Economic Development, Cumberland, MD
Herbert Driesietl, Atelier Dreiseitl, Uberlingen, Germany
Marc Gibb, Northern Virginia, Regional Planning Commission, Annandale, VA
Dale Medearis, U.S. EPA, Office of International Activities, currently Potomac River Navigator, Alexandria, VA
Judith LaBelle, Glynwood Center, Cold Spring, NY
Judy Guse-Noritake, Alexandria, VA Park and Recreation Commission/The Wilderness Society, Alexandria, VA
Michael Packshies, City of Eckernfoerde, Germany
f. Messaging: NPS has completed icons for twelve Greater Washington National Parks as part of a communication messaging and branding system for all parks, open space and recreation areas. The initial icons are being used to reach agreement on an image and visual communication style for all National Parks in the region. The icons serve as examples for other state, regional, local, and private sector organizations to consider using for their communication efforts. The Supon Design Group of Washington, D.C., the National Park Foundation, and a team of NPS park managers assisted this task.
g. Tree Plantings and Endowments: NPS contributed $100,000, to help restore the green infrastructure of the Greater Washington National Parks. Funds were used, through the NPS “Tree & Shrub Replacement Endowment Fund” to replace and plant new trees at Central (East Potomac Park, Tidal Basin, Monumental Core), White House (President’s Park, the Ellipse, Layfatte, 1st Division, Pennsylvania Ave.), George Washington Memorial Parkway, Anacostia Park, and Rock Creek. Plantings are scheduled for this fall and next spring.
In addition, NPS has created the Cherry Tree Replacement Fund, and is working with the National Cherry Blossom Festival and the Washington Rotary Club, to plant Cherry trees in the District, around the Tidal Basin, and along the Potomac River.
h. Technical Assistance: COG, NPS and various partners, have responded to requests from private groups and government agencies for technical assistance and information on green infrastructure approaches. Project assistance was provided to:
Great Falls National Park, VA.: NPS managers at
Great Falls requested assistance to explore alternatives for incorporating green infrastructure into the existing visitor center. Katrin Scholz-Barth helped park managers look at alternatives for green roofs, bio-retention ponds, riparian buffers and rainwater gardens. NPS staff also assisted the park with ideas for incorporating the “story of water” into interpretive programs at the visitor center.
City of Alexandria, VA.: COG, NPS and Katrin
Scholz-Barth provided information and advise to the City’s Planning Office and a nearby community association to help identify alternatives for incorporating green infrastructure into a commercial development along Slater’s Lane.
Center for Urban Ecology, DC: NPS and Katrin
Scholz-Barth are providing assistance to NPS’s Center for Urban Ecology and the Dewberry Design Group to help design a green roof on a building on MacArthur Blvd. in DC.
i. Research Information: The Center for Neighborhood Technology is assisting COG and NPS to prepare an annotated Green Infrastructure Bibliography. This list of “cutting-edge” publications provides the following information on each reference: A summary; what is different about the source?; a critique of the source; the best three examples in the document; and organization contact information.
j. 2004 Green Infrastructure Conference: COG and
NPS, in collaboration with twenty-five government
agencies and private groups, are organizing a
Green Infrastructure Conference for September 2004. Metro-leaders are developing plans for a 2-day conference to be held in the metropolitan Washington area that will provide presentations and technical work sessions on green infrastructure approaches and techniques.
The conference will be used as a forum to complete
and share the results of the Green Infrastructure
Demonstration Project to date and highlight key
issues covered during the two-year project period.
This seminar will showcase innovative park, open
space and recreation area projects, local efforts
to improve urban green spaces; environmental
health and quality of life issues that illustrates
green infrastructure principles.
IX. Contacts
J. Glenn Eugster, Assistant Regional Director
National Park Service, National Capital Region
Partnerships Office, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW, Room 350
Washington, DC 20242
(202) 619-7492 telephone
(202) 619-7220 fax
glenn_eugster@nps.gov
Brian M. LeCouteur, Environmental Planner / Urban Forester
Department of Environmental Programs
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
777 North Capitol Street, NE, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20002-4239
(202) 962-3393 telephone
(202) 962-3203 fax
blecouteur@mwcog.org
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