“Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project”

Joe Lawler Talking Points
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments
Wednesday February 13, 2002

Recognize Congressman Moran.

Thanks to Michael Rogers (COG Executive Director) and to the Board for the opportunity to speak about our collaborative effort-—the “Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project”, and the role of the National Park Service.

We are excited to be working with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments on this important effort. To my knowledge, this is the first Cooperative Agreement between NPS and COG. With Congressman Moran’s help, the US Congress has added $300,000 to our budget to begin the Green Infrastructure Project. After developing a proposal for the project with your staff we’ve agreed to provide COG with $160,000 of those funds to work with you on five tasks over, the next five years.

Before I highlight the five tasks, let me speak to the role of the National Park Service in this collaboration. We have 13 units in your metro-region. They include 13 units, 100 sites and approximately thousands of acres of land that we own and manage for the benefit of the American people.

The Park Service, however, does more than manage parks. We provide financial, technical and information assistance to local and state governments, regional bodies such as yours and the private sector in the areas of parks, natural and cultural resources, planning, historic preservation and recreation. In this role, which is the role we will play in the Green Infrastructure Project, we will not be buying or managing any land, nor will we be making any recommendations or decisions about land that we do not own.

What we will be doing is working with the COG staff, and hopefully some of you, to help you and other elected officials with the following tasks:

1. We’ll work with your staff to acquire Geographic Information System Data to help map forest cover and prepare a green infrastructure map. This information will help us all understand our forests better and the role they play in protecting our water quality and quantity and maintaining the quality of life that is so important to all of us.

2. We’ll work with your Community Forestry Network to hold a series of technical Forums to share information and experiences on green infrastructure techniques being used in this region and elsewhere.


3. We’ll work together to compile a directory of green infrastructure practitioners to foster a peer exchange of information and ideas within the metro-region.

4. We’ll work with you to look at ways that we can improve our communication about the importance of parks, forests and other portions of the green infrastructure.

5. And, we’ll work with COG, and other organizations here in Washington, to identify and showcase some of the “best local success stories” for conserving these important assets.

We believe that our parks, forests and communities make the metropolitan Washington region a special place to live, work, recreate and visit. As major stewards of public lands within the region, the NPS very much wants to work with you to take care of what we have, so that people can protect the region and prosper from its assets, and so our children and theirs will always have special places.