Metropolitan Park Systems

Green Infrastructure Forum
Sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's (COG)
The Community Forestry Network
and the
National Park Service (NPS).

May 6, 2003
from
1:00 to 4:00 P.M.

Metropolitan Park Systems
at the offices of the
Metropolitan Washington Council of Government's

Board Room, 3rd Floor
777 North Capitol Street,
N.E., Washington, D.C.

Featured at this forum will be:

Patricia Gallagher, Executive Director of the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC). Ms. Gallagher will speak about planning programs, activities and projects of the NCPC and her past park, open space, trail, and urban planning work in the City of Chicago.

Brian O’Neill, Acting Associate Director of the National Park Service, and Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Mr. O’Neill will talk about partnership approaches to parks, open space and recreation areas and his work in the 76,000-acre Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

This event is the tenth in a series of Green Infrastructure Forums and Workshops to discuss park, forest cover, open space, and recreational land approaches within the metropolitan Washington region.

There will also be a brief status report on the Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Demonstration Project partnership.




For More Information:

Contact either Brian LeCouteur or Glenn Eugster via e-mail at blecouteur@mwcog.org or Glenn_Eugster@nps.gov . Or call COG (202) 962-3393 or NPS (202) 619-7492.
Please RSVP by May 5, 2003.


Speaker Biographies:

Patricia Gallagher came to NCPC (http://www.ncpc.gov/) from the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, where she served first as Assistant Commissioner for Open Space Planning, and later as deputy Commissioner of Strategic Planning. Ms. Gallagher managed the Chicago River Development Plan, which created new parks, trails, and boat access along Chicago’s inland waterways. Ms. Gallagher has also worked as a consultant providing urban planning, development and communication services to government agencies, private businesses, and civic organizations.

The National Capital Planning Commission provides overall planning guidance for federal land and buildings in the National Capital Region, which includes the District of Columbia; Prince George’s and Montgomery Counties in MD; and Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon and Prince William Counties in VA. Through its planning policies and review of development proposals, the Commission seeks to protect and enhance the extraordinary natural, cultural, and historical resources of the Nation’s Capital.


Brian O’Neill is the Acting Associate Director for Partnerships, Interpretation, Education, Volunteers, and Outdoor Recreation with the National Park Service in Washington, DC. He is currently helping to design a National Conference on Partnerships and implement the Secretary of Interior’s “4 C’s” Initiative (consultation, cooperation, and communication—in the service of conservation) within and outside the Department.

Normally Brian is the Superintendent of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (http://www.nps.gov/goga/) within Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo Counties in California. He currently serves on the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and the Bay Area Open Space Council where he works with broad-based coalitions of agencies, organizations and individuals to establish trails and permanently protection open space.

The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is one of the most heavily visited urban national parks, receiving approximately 14 million international, national and local visitors annually. The park encompasses 50 miles of shoreline, and includes world-famous sites such as Alcatraz Island, Muir Woods and Presidio of San Francisco.