Final
June 30, 2003


Potomac River Access Forum

Monday, June 23, 2003, 1 to 4 p.m.
On the Cherry Blossom, at the Alexandria City Dock

Background

Important and visible improvements in the water quality and
living resources of the Potomac River and its tributaries have
enriched the lives of millions living in and visiting the
metropolitan Washington area. New high-quality opportunities
for recreation on and along the river, boating and fishing, and
more have developed. Connected activities are complemented by
new venues for riverfront dining, improved riverfront trails
enjoyed by walkers and runners, bicyclists and skaters, as well
as improved wildlife and fisheries habitat.

Despite communities coming back to “the Nation’s River” more
progress is needed, including education, new forms of water
transportation, pollution prevention, public outreach, increased
information, heritage conservation, and improved management of
the expanded human activity on and along the river.

The Potomac River Access Forum is being held in response to interest that various government and private sector leaders have expressed related to:
▪ Existing and future public access
▪ River-related recreation and tourism
▪ Water quality protection and restoration
▪ Management of river and shoreline recreational activities and living resources
▪ Recreation transportation, river interpretation and educational opportunities
▪ Security and safety
▪ River information, outreach and marketing
▪ Collaboration and partnerships
▪ Other related topics

The Partnerships Office of the National Park Service, National Capital Region, as part of the Potomac American Heritage River Initiative (AHRI), convened the forum. The forum was facilitated, and the following notes were prepared, by Ellen Cull, Management & Organizational Consultant.

Meeting Notes

The purpose of this meeting was to discuss ways to improve access to the Potomac River, from Great Falls to the confluence with Occoquan Creek. The outcome of the meeting was collected with input from more than thirty government and private sector leaders that were invited to share their ideas 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

The results of the meeting will be used as a basis for further discussion and to assist existing public and private decision-makers.

Current high quality access to the Potomac

Participants identified examples of high quality access to the Potomac in five categories: physical, recreational, and visual, and access to education and information related to the Potomac. Where more than one person identified the same example, the number is identified in parentheses.

High quality physical access

The examples cited were:
State parks
Chapman Forest of Chapman State Park, MD
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Smallwood State Park
Fishing piers and boat ramps
Marinas and tour boats in Alexandria and Southwest Waterfront
Marinas -- 2
Washington Marina
Washington Sailing Marina -- 2
Marina at Anacostia Park
Marina on Occoquan River
Columbia Island Marina
Belle Haven Marina
Boats
Potomac Boat Club
Atlantic Kayak – People can get onto the River for a fee, without a capital investment.
Fletcher’s Boat House – 2
Thomson’s Boathouse
Public waterfronts in communities (i.e. Georgetown, Alexandria)
Alexandria Waterfront -- 3
Alexandria Seaport
Urban – Old Town Alexandria
Alexandria City Dock
Georgetown – 2
Southwest waterfront facilities, docks, etc.
Trails (all)
Potomac Heritage Trail, VA
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
George Washington Memorial Parkway
Great Falls – Portage
Great Falls, VA Park
Great Falls, MD
Great Falls National Park
Great Falls – 3
Great Falls Park
C&O Canal National Historical Park
C&O Canal
Monuments (all)
Public lands on bank of river
Mt. Vernon -- 2
Fort Foote
Oxon Hill Children’s Farm/Oxon Cove
Daingerfield Island
Roosevelt Island
East Potomac Park
Anacostia Park
Haines Point
Dyke Marsh
Point Lookout/mouth of Potomac up to St. Mary’s City

Participants noticed the following in this list:
Categories of things:
Lot of lands
Marinas
Parks
Trails
No one talks about private houses
Not much about the Anacostia
Few about the water itself
Some of these involve actually getting to the water physically; others do not.
Overlaps a lot with recreational access
There’s a lot of land in the public domain, but where there’s restricted access. This is dominant in northern Virginia. A lot is Department of Defense land.
The same is true in Maryland.
Is it limited to the easement in front of the docking area? What about buses? There are different perspectives that don’t necessarily mix well.

High quality recreational access

The examples cited were:
C&O Canal – 2
C&O Canal Towpath – 3
Angler’s C&O Canal
C&O Canal National Historical Park lands
Great Falls, MD -- 2
Billy Goat Trail, Section A on Bear Island
Town of Occoquan
Leesylvania State Park
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Pohick Bay boat access
Smallwood State Park, MD - 2
Chain Bridge Flats access from towpath (Maryland side)
Chain Bridge area
Public parkland along the River
Boat tours -- 2
Marinas - 3
Washington Sail Marina (for sailing) (Daingerfield Island) – 6
Belle Haven Marina -- 3
Alexandria Seaport
Alexandria City Dock
Fletcher’s Boat House/Fletcher’s Boats -- 4
Thompson’s Boat House/Thompson’s Boat Center -- 2
Gravelly Point Great Boat Launch Ramp/Gravelly Point – 3
Boathouses Georgetown
Canoe and kayak boathouses
Rowing boathouse facilities
Potomac Boat Club
Fishing areas along the River and Channel
Fishing Washington Channel, Potomac River and Tidal Basin: East and West Potomac Park
Friends of the Potomac Nation’s River Bass Tournament
Sports fields in West Potomac Park with views to the river
Ball fields, East and West Potomac Park
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
Dyke Marsh
Roosevelt Island
Sail training with Kids Set Sail at Henson Center (on Anacostia)

Participants noticed the following in this list:
Categories of things:
Fishing
Boat houses
Sailing
Lots of marinas
Trails
Parks
Great Falls
C&O Canal
Not much boat rental
Not too many boat ramps/put ins
No mention of George Washington Parkway
A lot of this is removed from urban areas.
A lot is mixed quality, not high quality, which shows how desperate people are to get onto the water.
Another view is that they are high quality, but limited in size and capacity. Listing these doesn’t give a sense of scale.
This is redundant with physical access. Maybe they should be combined.
Or, rather than combining, maybe we need to define the categories correctly.
Are we talking about access to the river itself, or the land alongside it?
Do you need to be able to get a boat on the water in order to have recreational access, or just enter the water?
Maybe it’s when you need to use the river.
We could also distinguish active and passive use of the river.

High quality visual access

The examples cited were:
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Chapman Forest at Chapman State Park
Nanjamoy & Douglas Point, MD
George Washington Memorial Parkway overviews -- 2
Great Falls, VA and MD -- 3
Great Falls overlook
Great Falls Park -- 2
Great Falls Tavern area
Towpath
Potomac River Parks
Roosevelt Island – 2
Overlook from Billy Goat Trail A on Bear Island
Haines Point
Haines Point – East/West Potomac Parks
Sight lines to river from all areas: East and West Potomac Park
Open, unobstructed views from both sides of the river within the memorial core area
Ft. Foote National Park, MD
Mt. Vernon -- 3
Piscataway Park and Mt. Vernon/Mt. Vernon & Piscataway Park views -- 2
Dyke Marsh
Accokeek Creek Site
Mason Neck
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
Parkways and hike/bike trails along river
Arlington Memorial Bridge – our only Potomac River crossing designed with a view of the River as an integral design element
The City of Alexandria – redesigned its waterfront to face the river
Ft. Washington -- 2
Overlook from water intake to Conn Island
Harpers Ferry
Restaurants on Washington Harbor boardwalk, Potowmack Landing, etc.
Potowmack Landing Restaurant -- views
Kennedy Center deck
Tour boats – private
Potomac Riverboat Company – Pioneered tours for ordinary citizens to get out on the River
Canoes – rental
Marinas
American Horticultural Society
We have inherited a legacy of high quality visual protection.
Visual access is the only thing we have in common.

Participants noticed the following in this list:
Overwhelmingly parks – private house views are not represented
Not much on the Anacostia
Overwhelmingly natural
Based on reciprocal views from both sides of the river
More passive here
Less cost per access than the first two categories – a lot is free
All visual examples are land-based, except the tour boats.
High capacity
All relatively close views, rather than distant vistas from Rosslyn towers
This is the flip side of the first two – almost all in public ownership, but with limited physical access
Amplifies how desperate we are – the redundancy among these first three categories is because these few things are all we have.

High quality access to information

The examples cited were:
Pohick Bay Regional Park
NPS park visitor guides
NPS web page
NOAA
EPA
USGS and other water information web sites
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail – developing interpreter program to provide information to a broad public
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
George Washington Memorial Parkway fishing program
Great Falls Park Visitors Center
Great Falls Tavern
Georgetown Visitors Center
C&O Canal Visitors Center
Memorials and presence of exhibits (all)
Clear identification of landmarks (all)
Potomac Conservancy information on active opportunities
Nature Conservancy’s site conservation plan, www.conserveonline.org
Chesapeake Bay Gateway Program
ICPRB
Private kiosks
Websites
Public
Metro Washington Council of Governments
Walks led by groups such as MDPS, TNC, USNPS, other local groups

Participants noticed the following in this list:
All web-based information
Except for a couple NPS visitor centers and guides
Some state parks
None of these talks about getting on the water.
Not general information – all specialized information
Are there tourist publications for people coming into the area about getting on the river?
Little about the cultural heritage of the area
Don’t look at the river as a whole
No public domain about what’s going on with the bridge and other local governments’ changes in land use

High quality access to education

The examples cited were:
Pohick Bay Regional Park
Mason Neck State Park
C&O Canal NHP
Visitor Center at Mason Neck
Georgetown Visitor Center
Great Falls Visitor Center
Great Falls Park, VA natural history programs
Teddy Roosevelt Island
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
EPA
NOAA
ICPRB
Accokeek Foundation
Accokeek Foundation interpretive program on natural and cultural history
Half Shell at Mathew Hensen Center -- 2
Seaport Center and Dory Boat
Seaport Center
Sailing schools (Washington Sailing Marina, Belle Haven Marina)
Bass fishing tournaments/guides
Friends of the Potomac Nation’s River Bass Tournament
Tall ship visits to DC
NMHF “Spirit” – world’s smallest tall ship
Boat tours
CBF river tours
Georgetown Canal Boat
Wetlands
Alice Ferguson Foundation
Alexandria Seaport Foundation – small boat building -- 2
Alexandria Seaport Foundation reaching young people
Potomac Sojourn
Potomac River and Anacostia River Sojourn
Bridging the Watershed -- 3
Colonial Farm
Ft. Washington
Anacostia Watershed Society
Chesapeake Bay Access Map and Technical Guide

Participants noticed the following in this list:
High unit cost to educational access
All small capacity – no more than 60 kids at a time
Bridging the Watershed in a number of places
Mediums available are not the best way to reach people that need it most – for example, they’re not in Spanish and Vietnamese
Mix of non-profit and government
All experiential forms of education, rather than broader instructional forms
No clear distinction – what’s the focus? Is it stewardship, access, how to fish, natural and cultural history, other?

Discussion of all these lists

Participants discussed the following things that they either noticed in reviewing all five lists of think these lists mean about current access to the Potomac.
A lot of the types of access are commonly found together. The higher quality access seems to have multiple types in one setting.
Vagueness of terms is an issue – the five categories, what “high quality” is, and what “access” means.
There is amazing duplication among the categories.
With a lot of sites, there are support-related issues, issues related to infrastructure.
Once you reach the river, there aren’t things like conservation officers.
There’s a diversity of places, interests, and activities.
Visual access is covered. Physical access is not.
There is still a lot left off these lists.
There is a real lack of public access. If you don’t own a car, it’s hard to get access.
There is an amazing lack of activity on the river.
There are safety and conservation issues because of unofficial social trails.
There is a question related to demographics: do we have access for all?
Physical access for boating is very limited.
What really are the public issues? Do we need a survey? Are we addressing the demand?
There is a fair amount of research on Virginia public demand.
Nowhere was the Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, or the Power Squad mentioned, either in terms of safety or conservation.
There is not much public outreach or public information in the educational component. The tourist industry is not bought in.
There is little information on water quality.
There are barriers to access. We haven’t focused on sewer outfall and quality of water. There are also physical barriers like National Airport and Quantico.
There is no mention of swimming. It seems to be accepted that there is no swimming and never will be.
High quality access in the Washington DC waterfront is limited.
Residents and visitors don’t know where to turn.
There is little transient boater access.
There is a general lack of appreciation for the extent of the watershed.
Aquatic invasive species are an access issue.

Improving access to the Potomac

Participants divided up into small groups based on their interest. The groups were: state and local government, recreation users, private industry, education organizations, conservation groups, NPS lands, and NPS Regional Office/Headquarters. Each group listed, from their perspective, two things: (1) major concerns, issues or problems with any type of access to the Potomac; and (2) major areas of opportunity for improving any type of access to the Potomac.

State and local government

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Lack of water to land access
How to introduce people to water-oriented activities
Need for restroom facilities and parking
FUNDING
Carrying capacity

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
Better access to/from water from public lands, particularly DOD; Parkway
Enhance access at town properties such as Occoquan, Georgetown water front
Enhance Belle Haven Marina
Implement Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail recommendations

Recreation users

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Boating facilities
Canoe, kayak (store outside, non-motorized)
Few marinas – no place to put boat (launches or slips)
10-year wait for slips
Little dry storage
Lack of transient facilities
Too few ramps
Private clubs
Fish market: poor shape/no seating
Lack of overnight transient facilities
“Cluster” access
Good in Washington Harbor and Georgetown
Causes conflict between users (everything together causes problem)
Swedish Embassy: removing access/storage
Visual access: is good but not public
Belle Haven
One year left
Investment vs. needs for equitable access
Lack of “destination” places – restaurants, for example
Roads
Unappealing access/poor access
View? Four lanes of traffic
Private developers
Hotels, etc.
“Do the right thing” with access
Casinos

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
New boat house
Rowing/canoeing
Three each: Georgetown waterfront, Virginia side?, Four Mile Run (Moran money)
Anacostia boathouse: opportunity to develop more interest and bring more access
Washington Marina: Southwest redevelopment
Kennedy Center
Capital campaign
Stairs/walk off balcony
Land opposite National Airport
Not parkland, underutilized for storage and a junk area
Daingerfield Island greenhouse
Transient dockage in DC
Proper spot
East Potomac Park: no access
National Harbor: adjacent to the Wilson Bridge
Mt. Vernon: transient facilities?
More fueling, pump-out and general infrastructure for boaters

Private industry

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Services/easement for fueling, pump-outs, handicapped
Federal government controls 98% of water access
Limited cottage industry due to federal control. What is the barrier?
Affordability – boats/marina real estate too high
Limited centralized marketing/PR to promote enjoying the water
Polluted river
Siltation within the Anacostia River– need to dredge
Limited boat/kayak/canoe rental
Bridge height over the Anacostia

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
Anacostia – demographics, access for all
Raise awareness of water-related activities (bass fishing, children’s program)
Make more park land accessible (community vs. state/federal government), i.e. fishing piers, docking facilities, rentals
Encourage river-based business on river – access-related businesses that then have a vested interest in protecting the river
More transient docking
Redevelop/revitalize waterfronts -- have them face the river! (Like Alexandria and Baltimore)

Education organizations

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Large number of kids learn nothing about the River
Education groups are not putting forth a coordinated effort
High level of frustration bringing the produce to meet the need – access
An inability to meet scale (cost-effectiveness and education effectiveness)
Water quality

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
Beautiful rivers in an urban environment as a great teaching tool – tremendous habitat and history
Potential to coordinate amongst providers and take advantage of our neighborhood (Nation’s capital)
To keep motivated groups still moving forward

Conservation groups

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Few constraints on private landowners
Low quality of existing access points
Huge need for greater access in underserved and urban communities
Interjurisdictional mess/lack of political leadership
Lack of civic pride/awareness
Need to education about appropriate behavior, locations
Lack of advocates

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
Lots of land in public hands
Because awareness and appreciation is so low, marginal improvement is “easy”
Congress for the Potomac
Environmental justice aspect – least desirable aspects of access are put in African-American communities

NPS lands

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Access to river is sometimes gained by means that are not quality and may be unsafe
Education and informational access is limited by NPS staff and financial resources
Impact of additional physical access on historic/aesthetic values as well as environment
Lack of public transportation to gain access to river

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
Make greater use of partnerships to enhance information/education regarding Potomac and Chesapeake Bay watershed issues
Integrate all elements of physical access (e.g. parking, restrooms, trails, ramps) to assure quality/standards for use on park lands
Comprehensive approach to defining visitor/public need for river access through NPS lands as well as other land managers

NPS Regional Office and Headquarters

Major concerns, issues or problems with access to the Potomac:
Lack of access to information and foreign language barriers
How much access, uncontrolled access? Natural resource concerns, social trails, safety
Jurisdictions:
VA, MD, DC
Federal, state, local
Private vs. public
Priority not on access, therefore funds not forthcoming
Difficulty of finding suitable sites for new access facilities

Major areas of opportunity for improving access to the Potomac:
Mass media – multiples language bulletins on site, foreign language media
On site information in multiple languages (signage, brochures)
Portal site for information of all categories
Resource-based determination of where access could be added, including infrastructure
Engage public in user survey – locations/type of access. Downside is creating demand that can’t be met.
Military part of the mix – as landowner and because military personnel have access to military shorelines
Funding
Partnerships: Federal and local, public and private
Concessions contracts

Themes in this discussion

Participants identified the following themes running through the different interest groups’ perspectives and other observations from the report-outs.
Interjurisdictional breakdowns and the opportunity for state and local government to address them
Lack of coordinated effort
Sailing could serve many of the interests of these groups. The Potomac is a good place for sailing
It all costs money
Lack of communication
Fragmentation
Need for planning and prioritization
Public access helpful in protecting environmental resources
Access to river activities competes for public attention and funding – and competes poorly with other interests
All talk about facilities and how difficult a question they are – how to have what you need without undue impact
Have to see marriage between public and private sectors – NPS can’t build all these facilities
Need for political leadership
How valuable the ecological services are that public access provides and we don’t understand completely
Need for survey/research
More is better

For additional information on this document please contact:

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