Trust for the National Mall

Briefing Statement: Trust for the National Mall
Bureau: National Park Service
Issue: Public and Private Partnership Aimed at National Mall Parks, District of Columbia
Park Site: National Capital Parks: Central, White House Liaison Office
Date: November 3, 2003

Background: This is a summary of the status of activities related to the partnership between the Trust for the National Mall, the National Park Service, National Capital Region, and the National Park Foundation. The goal of the partnership is to restore, revitalize and maintain the National Mall parks (see attached boundary map), improve communication with the communities they serve, increase park volunteer efforts, and raise private monies to supplement funds appropriated by Congress.

· Public Law 90-209, approved by Congress in 1967, established the
National Park Foundation (NPF) to encourage private gifts of real and personal property for the benefit of the National Park Service. The National Park Act of 1998 specifically authorized NPF to promote philanthropic programs of support at the individual park unit level.
· In 1999 the NPS, National Capital Region (NCR)Superintendent’s
Cluster identified the impact of budget shortfalls on current and future operations of parks as one of the highest regional priorities. In addition to creating the Greater Washington National Parks Fund, NCR and NPF have been providing assistance to individual park units and sites to support their efforts to educate and motivate the public to help ensure long-term protection of resources under NPS’s care, and respond to the needs of the Cluster.
· In May 2002 representatives from the Trust for the National Mall (Trust), led by the Chief Operating Officers of Akridge Real Estate Services and Barbour Griffith & Rogers, Inc., contacted NPS and proposed that NPS and the Trust work together to create a public/ private partnership. The Trust proposed a public/ private partnership “to harmonize the security needs, the multiple uses, and aesthetic opportunities to transform the Mall into the Nation’s urban “Jewel in the Crown” of the National Park System”.

The goal of the Trust, a private non-profit 501(c)(3) organization, is to establish the National Mall as a world-class urban outdoor space. The Trust seeks “to provide for the restoration of the National Mall to it’s historical role as a gracious, vibrant and welcoming space for citizens, residents and visitors as well as a grand natural setting for important ceremonial, educational and recreational activities”.

In response to the Trust’s interest, a series of meetings were held to further explore alternatives for a private-public partnership. Discussions have included leaders of the Trust, NPS park superintendents and regional leadership, NPF managers, and leaders of the Greater Washington National Parks Fund.

On September 3, 2002 the Trust, NPS and NPF met and agreed to purse a public-private partnership. The creation and implementation of the partnership will be implemented in phases using a consensus-based approach to decision-making. Phase I of the partnership focused on the development of a General Agreement to work together to create an endowment for the National Mall. The vision for the endowment will be described in an illustrative presentation that will assist individuals in visualizing and understanding the benefits of implementing approved or future plans by the NPS. It is intended to include the most important park needs; provide a vision that can be used to engage the public and philantrophic interests, and enable the Trust, NPF and NPS to develop a working relationship.

Key leaders from each of the organizations met on May 1, 2003 and signed the General Agreement which outlines:
goals for collaboration
conditions for success
key parties are to be involved; how they will be involved; and when they will be involved
the boundary area
the nature of partnership

Current Status:
Since May 1 NPS, the Trust, and the Greater Washington National Parks Fund, Parks Council have been preparing a Fundraising Agreement and Plan for a
$200 million fundraising campaign. The National Park Foundation is no longer willing to assist this effort since they feel that it will compete with their NPS fundraising.

The agreement is under final review by the Solicitor’s Office and is expected to be ready for approval on, or before, November 18, 2003.

The Fundraising Plan identifies a number of short-term actions to be taken by the Trust and NPS including:
1. Fundraising for the illustrative presentation; the pool at Constitution Gardens; the reflecting Basin adjacent to the Lincoln Memorial; and the processional entry from the reflecting Pool to the Lincoln Memorial.
2. Public announcement of the fundraising agreement with NPS, before the Trust for the National Mall’s Board Meeting on Nov. 18, 2003, or whenever the agreements are signed.
Informal notification of key contacts on the Hill prior to any announcement of this effort.

In addition, the Trust has indicated that they will be meeting with Ann Heiligenstein of the White House on November 6 to request that Mrs. Bush serve as the honorary Chair of the Trust for the National Mall fundraising campaign.

Finally, the National Coalition to Save Our Mall has requested the Trust and NPS to co-sponsor a December 11 forum, at the National Press Club, on “A Conservancy for the National Mall”. The Trust and NPS agreed that the idea of co-sponsoring a forum on other conservancy models is not appropriate at this time.


Contact:
J. Glenn Eugster, Assistant Regional Director, Partnerships Office, national Park Service, National Capital Region, 1100 Ohio Drive, SW, Room 350, Washington, DC 20242. By telephone: (202) 619-7492; By fax: (202) 619-7220; By E-mail: glenn_eugster@nps.gov