"Natural Beauty for America Forum"

"Natural Beauty for America Forum"

DRAFT AGENDA (Internal Use Only 2-8-05)
Tuesday May 24, 2005
George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens, Mount Vernon, VA.

Audience: 100 public and private leaders from metropolitan Washington, DC and the U.S. Attendance will be by-invitation-only.

Outcome: A brief written summary of the speaker's suggestions about what needs to be done to sustain natural beauty for America.

8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Registration, Coffee and Networking

Note: Press Event to be arranged during this period

9:00 – 9: 20 a.m. Welcome and Opening Remarks

James Rees, Executive Director, George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens, Mt. Vernon, VA.

Joseph Lawler, Regional Director, National Park Service, National Capital Region

Chairman of the Board, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments

Kay Lautman*, Vice President, America the Beautiful Fund Board


9:20 – 9:40 a.m. America the Beautiful Fund: 40 Years of Helping Communities
Nanine Bilski, President, America the Beautiful Fund


9:40 – 10:10 a.m. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: America's Commitment to “Natural Beauty”
To be determined (possible speakers include, Lynda Johnson Robb, “Professional Volunteer, former Board Chair of Reading Is Fundamental and Board Member of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Research Center, and, or, Henry Diamond*, Co-Chair of the Sustainable Use of Land Project, Principal, Beveridge and Diamond.


10:10-10:30 a.m. BREAK


10:30 a.m.-11:00 a.m. The Conference on Natural Beauty: Introductions, Overview and Observations on 40 Years of Action
To be determined (Possible speakers: Henry Diamond*, Principal, Beverage and Diamond; Phil Lewis*, author, former Director of Wisconsin’s Recreation Research and Design Center, University of Wisconsin Professor; Chuck Little*, author and former President of American Land Forum; Grady Clay, author and former Editor of Landscape Architecture Magazine, or another speaker)

Note: Speaker will recognize America the Beautiful Fund participants of the 1965 White House Conference on Natural Beauty

11:00 – 12:30 p.m. Presentations (Individuals or panels)

Townscapes
Ron L. Fleming, Townscape Institute, Cambridge, MA

Parks and Open Spaces
Rolf Diamant, Superintendent, Marsh, Billings & Rockefeller National Historic Site, Woodstock, VT

Clean Water and Waterfronts
To be determined (Possible speakers include: Grady Clay* author, former Editor of Landscape Architecture Magazine; or Anne Breen and Dick Rigby, The Waterfront Center)

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. LUNCH

(Luncheon remarks: Possible speakers include: Lynn Scarlet, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior)

2:00 – 3:00 p.m. Presentations

Highway Design
To be determined (Possible speakers include: Meg McGuire, formerly President, Scenic America; and Bonnie Harper-Lore, Federal Highway Administration)

Farm Landscapes
To be determined (Possible speakers include: Simon Sidamon-Eristoff, General Counsel, American Farmland Trust; and corporate partner)

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Presentations

Solid Waste
To be determined (Possible speakers include: Susanne Woods, Senior Vice President, Keep America Beautiful; and corporate partner)

Landscaping, Tree Planting and Citizen Action
To be determined (Possible speakers include Judith Blau, Treetures Program; Robert Dolibois, Executive Vice President, American Nursery and Landscape Association)

4:00 - 4:30 p.m. KEYNOTE PANEL: Natural Beauty for All: Where do we go from here?
To be determined


5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Reception and Awards Ceremony

Leaders from the America the Beautiful Fund will present the
"2005 Natural Beauty for America Awards" at a reception. The awards will recognize lifetime achievements and significant contributions to natural beauty. (Possible speakers at the reception include: Bette Midler, NY Restoration Project; Pete Seeger, Singer and Songwriter, Project Clearwater; and Fran Mainella, Director, National Park Service)

Possible “Natural Beauty Lifetime Achievement Awards” recipients:

· Nash Castro*, Director, American Conservation Association, former Director NPS, National Capital Region, Trustee, Jackson Hole Preserve
· U.S. Congressman John Dingell*, MI, "Dean of the House" and member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce
· Ed Bacon*, architect, author, former Planning Director, City of Philadelphia
· Former First Lady, Lady Byrd Johnson
· Others

Announcement of the establishment of the “Natural Beauty for America Scholarship Endowment Fund”


Note: * Attended 1965 White House Conference on Natural Beauty


The forum is sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, the National Park Service, National Capital Region and the America the Beautiful Fund.