Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project

Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project
A Partnership between the National Park Service
and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
March 2002

"Green Infrastructure" is defined as: “Our Nation’s natural life support system – an interconnected network of waterways, wetlands, woodlands, wildlife habitats, and other natural areas; greenways, parks and other conservation lands; working farms, ranches, and forests of conservation value; and wilderness and other open spaces that support native species, maintain natural ecological processes, sustain air and water resources and contribute to the health and quality of life for America’s communities and people.”
– President’s Council on Sustainable Development

"I think there’s an opportunity to look at how we regenerate communities and ecologies by looking at green space as a form of infrastructure like roads, like water lines, like sewers. When we talk about green infrastructure in the Washington [D.C.] area, we talk about everything from window boxes, to Rock Creek Park and in between: it’s urban gardens, residential landscaping, pocket parks, landscaped portions of a development parcel, linear parks, riparian buffers, street trees, parkways, farms and large parks and reserves".
– Glenn Eugster, National Park Service - OMG Open Space Roundtable Philadelphia, 2001

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.

General Project Purpose

* 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.

Project Work Program

a. Mapping Forum: Catalogue existing mapping efforts as identified in the region. COG will work with existing member governments, regional federal and state agencies and private groups to obtain and catalogue regional data sets. This will be accomplished through partnership opportunities with other interested parties.

b. Forest Cover / Land Cover Map: Create 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, et. al.

Create a general high-altitude regional forest cover / land cover map from the latest Land-Sat data in collaboration with an area University partner. This map would include land cover types such as, deciduous / coniferous, scrub / shrub, meadow, grassland, wetland, agricultural, and barren land, etc on public and private land from urban to countryside areas.

From the Mapping Forum, based on the general map referenced above
and overall feasibility, conduct 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 established partnership network in the Anacostia watershed.

c. Green Infrastructure Directory: Create a printable version of a Green Infrastructure Directory for regional community parks, green space and recreational opportunities, agencies and organizations that may also be accessible on COG’s website through a down-load format.

The directory will list 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 will also be indexed by green infrastructure category or other logical subdivision agreeable to NPS and COG.

d. Green Space Forums & Workshops: Establish and maintain a Green Infrastructure Forum to highlight and disseminate information on issues pertaining to green infrastructure programs, initiatives and innovations both nationally and internationally. This project will augment activities in the existing urban forest forum at COG called the Community Forestry Network (CFN). The forums will act as an information exchange on technical topics pertaining to open space, parks and recreation areas to:

Present its cooperators and collaborators with accurate informative,
educational and understandable information on the natural, physical, biological, cultural and economic aspects of green infrastructure.

Share outstanding national examples of protection, regeneration,
management and recreation activities and strategies;

Create opportunities for peer networking; and

Provide opportunities for dialogue between different government and private sector interests.

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 are sponsoring an exchange between local, national and international experts. The exchange will focus on urban watershed management and will include 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. The Council will work 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".

Project 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