Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project

Status Report
Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project
Sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and National Park Service, National Capital Region, in cooperation with the Council’s Community Forestry Network, the Alliance for Community Education, US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of International Activities, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Glynwood Center, International Communities for the Renewal of the Earth, and Urban Logic, Inc.
November 7, 2002

Background
This is a summary of the status of activities related to the Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project that was funded by Congress in the National Park Service (NPS) FY 2002 Appropriation. The project is a two-year collaborative effort between the National Park Service, National Capital Region and the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

Current Status
The FY 2002 Appropriation for the National Park Service included $300,000 for a Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project. The basis for the project and the funding was a proposal outlined in “Green Space for Living”, September 2001. In November 2001 NPS and COG agreed to work on a national demonstration project to implement the green infrastructure approach through a collaborative, community-led, public and private partnership within the Washington, DC metropolitan area. In March 2003 NPS and COG publicly announced the project at COG’s Board Meeting. In July NPS and COG entered into a Cooperative Agreement, and a Task Agreement, to agree on the details of the partnership and transfer $160,870 to COG for technical services as part of the collaboration.

The six major tasks of the Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project include Mapping Forum; Green Infrastructure Map; Green Infrastructure Directory; Messaging; Workshops and Forums; and an Exchange of Best Management Practices. A brief status of each task follows:

1. Green Mapping Forum: More than fifteen separate mapping efforts exist or are currently underway to map parks, green space, open space or recreation areas in the metropolitan Washington, DC area. More potential participants are being identified daily as this effort gains exposure in the region. A forum was held on October 18 to bring each of the organizations involved with mapping projects to share their work and collaborate.

Organizations that participated in the Green Mapping Forum included: U.S. Geological Survey; Prince George’s County; American Forests; Casey Tree Endowment Fund, Chesapeake Bay Foundation; National Park Service, National Capital Region; U.S. Forest Service; The Wilderness Society; National Capital Planning Commission; American Farmland Trust; and others.

In addition, Margaret Maizel of ONEIMAGE, co-author of the 1996 Washington Post report, “Green, More or Less”, made a presentation on trends in open space and vacant land in the region.

2. Green Infrastructure Map: COG has met with American Forests to discuss use of their software and existing data sets for the Metropolitan Washington Region. IKONOS Satellite Data may be purchased from them as needed. COG staff has contracted with University partner, the University of Maryland’s Regional Earth Science Applications Center (RESAC) Unit to collaborate on ongoing regional mapping efforts and share data for producing a Land Sat 7 Survey of forest cover in the Metro-Washington Region as defined by the COG member jurisdictional region.

3. Green Infrastructure Directory: Regional contacts and resources have been identified and work is continuing to catalog key public agency and private sector green infrastructure experts and other environmental resource contacts. Directory layout, format and composition have been established and a database software package has been identified to compile the data into a document both easily updated and web friendly for posting on the COG and NPS website

4. Messaging: NPS has completed draft icons for selected Greater Washington National Parks as part of a communication messaging and branding system for all parks, open space and recreation areas. The initial icons are being used to reach agreement on an image and visual communication style for all National Parks in the region. The icons will serve as examples for other state, regional, local, and private sector organizations to consider using for their communication efforts. The Supon Design Group of Washington, D.C. and a team of NPS park managers are assisting this task.

5a. Forums: COG and NPS have designed and are scheduling a series of Green Infrastructure Forums to share technical information and ideas with governmental and private sector leaders. The Forums are designed to feature nationally and regionally known experts. The Forum series began in April and featured Robert Yaro, President of the Regional Plan Association of the metropolitan NY-NJ-CT region. It also featured a panel of local professionals to present current local and regional efforts that included: Sheila Hogan from the Casey Tree Endowment Fund, Mark Busciano with the DC Dept. of Public Works, and David Burke from Maryland’s GreenPrint program.

On September 9, Leslie Sauer formerly of Andropogon Associates, and Mari Lou Livingood of the Alexandria Seaport Foundation spoke at a forum.

On November 7 Greg Moore of the Golden Gate National Parks Association and Nancy Sturm and Robert Sutton of the Greater Washington National Parks Fund will speak. On November 22 Andy Lipkis of TreePeople, and Dave Eckert of Virginia Village Productions will be featured speakers. Additional Forums are being scheduled and will feature:; Gerri Spilka of OMG Center for Collaborative Learning; Blaine Bonham, Jr. of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society; Anne Whitson Spirn of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Katrin Scholz Barth of HOK; Nanine Bilski of the America the Beautiful Fund; and others.

5b. Workshops: Three workshops are being scheduled, with the assistance of the Center for Neighborhood Technology and Urban Logic, Inc., to share information on “Green Infrastructure Asset Accounting”. Asset Accounting is required by the Government Accounting Standards Board and for the first time will include “long-lived infrastructure assets”. The workshops will provide participants with the needed understanding of the accounting rule, the parameters of how the rule could be used to account for such green infrastructure assets as wetlands, trees, greenways, and other natural values and functions, and examples of how the rule could be applied.

With guidance from the NPS and the COG, the Center and Urban Logic will research and write a 10-page paper suggesting how to use GASB-34 to account for green infrastructure. This paper would be posted on the websites of COG, the National Park Service, Center for Neighborhood Technology, and Urban Logic. In addition, CNT and Urban Logic will work with partner organizations, such as the Brookings Institution, U. S. Forest Service, Partnership for Regional Livability and Sprawlwatch Clearinghouse for additional outreach opportunities.

In collaboration with the Alliance for Community Education, COG and NPS, have agreed to hold a series of “Community Dialogue and Green Infrastructure” workshops and training sessions. The workshops and training, which will feature Daniel Martin of International Communities for Renewal of the Earth, are designed to create a committed group of stakeholders and form a “Green Infrastructure Network”. The purpose of the network is to share ideas, information and expertise from different geographical areas, communities and interest groups of the metropolitan Washington region to help achieve a common understanding of the value of green infrastructure to human well being.

The workshops, and dialogue training sessions, will focus on small, effective stakeholder meetings to seek input and establish broad-based public support for approaches that meet environmental, social and economic objectives simultaneously.

This effort will help community leaders prepare for participation in a Green Infrastructure Conference scheduled to be held in the Spring of 2003.

6. Best Management Practices: NPS and COG have been working with Potomac River watershed leaders, the Glynwood Center, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of International Activities, and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development, to identify and share best management practices for local urban watershed management. Eight Potomac River watershed leaders from DC, VA, and MD, traveled to Germany this June to visit places and projects and learn, first-hand about government and private sector urban watershed management tools, techniques and approaches that could be used in the Potomac region. EPA, HUD, NPS, and private monies funded the exchange.

A “Lessons Learned Forum” is being planned for February 2003 at the German Embassy to share the experiences of the Exchange Team with other Potomac watershed leaders.

Coming Events

October 2002
Green Mapping Forum, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. Speakers include
Margaret Maizel of ONEIMAGE, LLC.and geographic information system experts from Prince George’s County, Casey tree Endowment Fund, USGS, American Forests, and more.

November 2002
7 Green Infrastructure Forum with Greg Moore of the Golden Gate National Parks Association, featuring the Crissy Field case study, with Nancy Sturm and Robert Sutton from the Greater Washington National Parks Fund.

22 Green Infrastructure Forum with Andy Lipkis of TreePeople, and Dave Eckert of Virginia Village Productions, featuring case studies that illustrate “The New Frontier for Urban Ecosystem Management” and the promotion of integrated urban watershed management.

December 2002
6 Green Infrastructure Forum with Anne Whitson Spirn of MIT, and others, featuring the West Philadelphia Landscape Project case study.

To Be Announced (TBA) Green Infrastructure Asset Accounting Meetings with Local Governments, the Center for Neighborhood Technology, and Urban Logic, Inc.

January 2003
TBA Green Infrastructure Dialogue Workshop with Daniel Martin of International Communities for Renewal of the Earth, and Anne Pearson of the Alliance for Community Education

23 Green Infrastructure Forum with Blaine Bonham of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and Gerri Spilka of OMG Center for Collaborative Learning, and others, featuring the Philadelphia Green Project case study.

Green Infrastructure Accounting: Best Practices Paper Available

February
TBA U.S.-Germany Exchange: Potomac Urban Watershed Management Lessons Learned Forum with the Glynwood Center, US EPA Office of International Activities, various speakers, and the US-German Exchange Team, German Embassy

TBA Green Infrastructure Dialogue Workshop

March
13 Green Infrastructure Forum with Nanine Bilski of the America the Beautiful Fund, and six local practitioners, presenting community-based efforts that reveal the “Hidden Green Infrastructure”.

TBA Green Infrastructure Dialogue Workshop

TBA Green Infrastructure Mapping Forum

April 2003
TBA Green Infrastructure Dialogue Workshop

Green Infrastructure Bibliography Available

July 2003
Final Report on Community Dialogue Meetings

September or October 2003
TBA Green Infrastructure Summit


Contacts
Glenn Eugster, National Park Service, National Capital Region. (202) 619-7492
Brian LeCouteur, Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (202) 962-3393