Parks & Recreation April 2016

Grant Oppor tunities | Fracking in Parks | Citizen Science APRIL 2016 W W W. N R PA . O R G

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contents april 2016 volume 51 | number 4 | www.parksandrecreation.org

COVER STORY

48 Introducing California’s Newest National Monuments Three national monuments rise in the California desert Paula Jacoby-Garrett

FEATURES

52 Parks Saving the Monarch Parks are critical partners in the nationwide effort to restore habitat and increase the population of this beloved insect Richard J. Dolesh

58 Doubling Down on Water and

Energy Conservation The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks aims to safeguard the environment Amy A. Garcia 2

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62 Citizen Science Programs Building confidence and stewardship in the outdoors using citizen science and research program techniques Greg Kearns, Melinda Fegler and Michelle Schreiber

66 California Coastal Access and

Climate Justice for All California’s coastline must be preserved as a public resource accessible to all Robert García, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš and Amy Trainer

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contents april

departments

columns

9 Letters

6 Perspectives

10 Community Center Art Contest Connects Kids to Nature Like Nothing Else 10 From the Director’s Chair 12 Some Steps to Take Following a Major Pool Accident 16 NRPA Connect Hot Topics 18 Notable News 18

20 Research Update Creative Strategies for Financing Parks and Recreation Donald L. Rockey Jr., Robert Barcelona, Bob Brookover, Dustin Thorn and Dominic Saturday

26 By the Numbers

Enhancing Our Ecosystems Susan Trautman, CPRP

8 Editor’s Letter Where Will All the Flowers Go? Gina Mullins-Cohen

30 Advocacy Millions in New LWCF Grant Funding for Urban Parks?

Yes, please!

David Tyahla

32 Law Review Governmental Immunity for Deadly Mountain Goat James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

Monarchs Rising

28 Member to Member It Takes a Village of Funders to Re-Make a Park Beverly Smith

70 NRPA Update Spring for a #SuperJuly 70 Henry L. Diamond — an Appreciation 72 Great Urban Parks Campaign: Green Infrastructure in Underserved Communities 74 Member Benefit: Are You Ready for Superhero Camp Season? 76 Test Your Park and Recreation Knowledge 76 Member Spotlight: Kathi Muller, CPRP 77 Professional Development Calendar 78

79 Operations Green Infrastructure: Making a Virtue of Necessity

82 Products 84 Marketplace 87 Reader Service and Advertiser Index 88 Park Bench Of Pollinators and Partnerships Samantha Bartram

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40 Future Leaders Contrasting Modalities of Post-Graduate Studies Anthony Iracki, MS, CPRP and Derek Donlevy, M. Ed.

42 Health and Wellness Commit to Health and Conservation: Seven Simple Activities 42 Daniel W. Hatcher Fracking on Parkland in Appalachia 44 Jonathan Casper, Ph.D., Timothy Kellison, Ph.D., Kyle Bunds, Ph.D. and Josh Newman, Ph.D.

46 Social Equity Diversifying for the Benefit of People and Parks Tyler Tapps and Tim Wall

Page 32

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P E R S P E C T I V E S A M E S S A G E F R O M N R PA’ S L E A D E R S

Enhancing Our Ecosystems I live in a river city. In fact, St. Louis is home to the confluence of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, two of the largest watersheds in the United States. My daily job is to oversee the development of a large greenway system. We work in watersheds. Flooding is a way of life — we are used to it. Well, we were used to it. Rain started to fall this past Christmas through New Year’s Eve on a scale we had never seen before. The Meramec River, a mostly sleepy river by our standards, came out of its banks in historic proportions. The Mississippi River followed suit. The Missouri rose but, because of our great flood in 1993, is now protected by a levee system, thus diverting flood waters to impact parts of the region that had never experienced flood levels of this scale. Major interstates closed due to high water and people were stranded in cars, homes, businesses.

Many lost their houses, and people died in the raging rivers. It was a scary, sobering experience. In March of this year, we watched a similar scenario unfold in the state of Louisiana. If you have lived through this kind of experience, your story serves as another reminder that nature makes its own plans.

As a steward of public lands, I have become deeply mindful of our responsibility to conserve and preserve our watersheds. Land use practices have changed our lives, but the impact of watersheds is a constant. Levees only move water downstream. Building in low lands and floodplains doesn’t change what happens to where water flows. As a park district with more than 100 miles of greenways and amenities, we are continually forced to discern where and where not to build. We have made some mistakes and learned hard lessons. The balance between conserving land and connecting people to their rivers and open spaces is an unending debate that many park departments near watersheds or coastal communities deal with every day. Employing best-management practices, limiting development in wetlands and floodplains and working in partnership with like-minded organizations is crucial.

We need floodplains, wetlands, prairies and forests integrated into our communities and land use practices to provide an ecosystem that serves our communities, our economy and our environment. Doing this gives us the long-term benefits of flood mitigation, improved water quality, carbon sequestration and improved wildlife habitat. We learned through a recent study on our Meramec Greenway by Margaret Wall (funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association) that there is great economic benefit from developing the greenway system in watersheds. Property value increases and annual avoidance of flood damage costs present a very strong economic argument for limiting development in floodplains.

This month’s issue is focused on numerous conservation practices and programs. I hope the articles challenge your thinking and encourage you to educate your community about the value of enhancing our ecosystems. Collaborating to conserve has enormous benefits — not only to our communities, but also to our nation.

SUSAN K . T R AU TM AN, CPR P Chair of the Board of Directors 6

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2377 Belmont Ridge Rd. | Ashburn, VA 20148 2 703.858.0784 | www.nrpa.org

NRPA’S MISSION: To advance parks, recreation and environmental conservation efforts that enhance the quality of life for all people.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Jack Kardys

Chair of the Board of Directors Susan Trautman, CPRP

Miami-Dade Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department Miami, Florida

Great Rivers Greenway District St. Louis, Missouri

Michael Kelly

Chair-Elect Stephen Eckelberry

Chicago Park District Chicago, Illinois

Bartlett Park District Bartlett, Illinois

Brian Knapp

Past Chair Detrick L. Stanford, CPRP Clayton County Parks and Recreation Jonesboro, Georgia

Treasurer Neelay Bhatt PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Secretary Roslyn Johnson Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

President and CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE National Recreation and Park Association Ashburn, Virginia

NOVA Parks Fairfax, Virginia

Detrick L. Stanford, CPRP Clayton County Parks and Recreation Jonesboro, Georgia

Molly Stevens Westcave Outdoor Discovery Center Austin, Texas

William “Joe” Turner Houston Parks and Recreation Houston, Texas

LIFE TRUSTEES Beverly D. Chrisman Lexington, South Carolina

Anne S. Close Fort Mill, South Carolina

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

James H. Evans

Leon T. Andrews

New York, New York

National League of Cities Washington, D.C.

Rosemary Hall Evans Sugar Hill, New Hampshire

Rebecca Benná, CPRP Five River Metro Parks Dayton, Ohio

Earl T. Groves

Neelay Bhatt

Charles E. Hartsoe, Ph.D.

Gastonia, North Carolina

PROS Consulting Indianapolis, Indiana

Richmond, Virginia

Kevin Coyle

Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

National Wildlife Federation Washington, D.C.

Jennifer Harnish Streams and Valleys Fort Worth, Texas

Roslyn Johnson Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission Greenbelt, Maryland

Harry G. Haskell Kathryn A. Porter Mendham, New Jersey

Perry J. Segura New Iberia, Louisiana

R. Dean Tice Round Hill, Virginia

Eugene A. Young, CPRP Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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EDITOR’S LET TER

Where Will All the Flowers Go? Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of its beauty, its riches or its romance.

—Theodore Roosevelt It is everywhere. Evident in the daily weather forecast, the stories and political discussions gracing the pages and the airways of the news and even in the whispers of parents as their children sleep. The need for and the critical importance of conserving land, water, energy and an increasing amount of vulnerable species is everywhere. This issue of Parks & Recreation speaks to this crucially significant and often controversial topic and how the field of parks and recreation not only can, but also will make a difference.

Slightly more than a year ago, NRPA launched its Parks for Monarchs campaign. This program has found support from park and recreation agencies throughout the country and on page 52, Rich Dolesh, NRPA’s vice president of conservation and parks, speaks to the progress of this initiative. Many park and recreation agencies are engaging in meaningful conservation efforts to save the monarch butterfly for future generations, taking information and resources available through Parks for Monarchs and making an impact on their communities.

There has been a lot of news, as well as controversy, from The Golden State during the past few months. In February, we witnessed President Barack Obama ordain three new national monuments in the California desert. Collectively, Sand to Sea, Castle Mountains and the Mojave Trails National Monuments contain more than 1.8 million acres of open space and untainted vistas, countless sensitive species and many cultural settings of historical significance. Conservation and park enthusiast, Paula Jacoby-Garrett, brings each of these natural wonders to life starting on page 48, in her piece, “Introducing California’s Newest National Monuments.”

The article, “California Coastal Access and Climate Justice for All,” starting on page 66, by civil rights attorney and conservation activist, Robert García, with Marce Gutiérrez-Graudinš and Amy Trainer, addresses the importance, the aftermath and the future of the California Coastal Commission. This piece explores the influence, greed and back-door politicking of big development. It speaks to the hunger of both those making “the deals” and those who wish to serve as guardians of our public lands.

In the face of expanding development, economic uncertainty and climate change, effective stewardship of our parks, open green spaces and waterways is more important than ever before. The individuals and agencies highlighted in this issue are taking President Roosevelt’s words to heart and transforming that passion into action. NRPA aims to help through its ongoing conservation initiatives — learn how you can get involved at www.nrpa.org/conservation.

GINA MULLINS-COHEN Vice President of Marketing, Communications and Publishing Editorial Director 8

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PRESIDENT AND CEO Barbara Tulipane, CAE VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLISHING, AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Gina Mullins-Cohen gcohen@nrpa.org EXECUTIVE EDITOR Samantha Bartram sbartram@nrpa.org MANAGING EDITOR Sonia Myrick smyrick@nrpa.org EDITORIAL CONTRIBUTOR Catrina Belt cbelt@nrpa.org PUBLICATION DESIGN Creative By Design www.creativebydesign.net SENIOR SALES MANAGER EASTERN REGION AND EUROPE Dana Storm 703.858.2174 dstorm@nrpa.org SALES MANAGER WESTERN REGION AND ASIA Michelle Dellner 949.248.1057 mdellner@nrpa.org MAGAZINE ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS Mike Abbaté Keith Anderson Gerald Brown Ernest Burkeen Gwendolyn Chambers Brendan Daley Ryan Eaker Mariela Fernandez Robert García Kathleen Gibi Paul Gilbert Sandra Gonzalez Greg Harrison Tim Herd Mareya Ibrahim Edward Krafcik Todd Lehman Sam Mendelsohn Maria Nardi Gil Peñalosa Dr. Kevin Riley Paula Sliefert Anne-Marie Spencer Stephen Springs Randy Wiger

Letters We hope the articles you read in Parks & Recreation are thought-provoking and engaging, and we want to hear your opinions on what you read in these pages. Through social media posts, website comments, emails to staff or posts on NRPA Connect, let us know how the magazine’s articles apply to your job and your agency. To submit feedback for this section, email Executive Editor Samantha Bartram at sbartram@nrpa.org.

This is a great and affecting piece

by Ms. Bartram that presents this abjectly demanding situation accurately for what it is: inexcusable yet undeniable, a portrait of dire ineptitude but a clarion call to champion souls.

Brian Larkin’s resolute commitment and acceptance of his being at his chosen place at this “if not now then when” moment is refreshing. He sees the required coordinated and collaborative effort before him as a challenge and an opportunity, and his assessment and passion seem genuine. The “Grange Hall” role of the Genesee County community centers should mollify anxieties as a fundamental resource for all such occurrences. Amy McMillan’s insightful and selfless through-think should be encouraging for all lucky enough to be within the comprehensive

realm of her service. The utter failure of judgement and gross disregard by the Flint actors at the helm of this “disaster” will be overshadowed and corrected by the palpable enduring spirit of these fine, undefeated citizens of Flint with the solid vision and assistance of compassionate and admirable Genesee County.

Comment From Jonathan Carroll, a Massachusettes-based musician and writer, regarding Samantha Bartram’s March 2016 article, “Parks, Recreation and Water in Flint, Michigan,” www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/March/Parks-Recreation-and-Water-in-Flint-Michigan Hello from France — I totally agree with this comment about real-life education in our industry of parks and gardens. Your comments are relevant in many countries in the world, indeed in France. As a senior manager of public parks and gardens, I spent most of my life discovering new opportunities and networking.

According the job employment in my country, there is no problem

for a young person looking for a position in parks and recreation. But, they have to know that they will be lowpayed and the job will be difficult (physical). But, the hope of making progress in the career is real. A young person must not be afraid to roll up his sleeves and get down to work. They need to have a permanent and ongoing commitment in their duty and job.

We are shaped by experiences all our life. We need to dare, to be self-confident, and we need to give time in your job for others. If you choose a particular job because you like doing it, it really is true that you get more out of it than you give. The source of our wealth is the shared sense and the great utility of our jobs for the individual and collective well-being. We can be proud of our achievements because we’re doing something that’s positive for human beings and, more generally, for the planet.

Comment from Daniel Boulens, service manager of Green Spaces of the city of Lyon, France, manager of the Parc de la Tête d’Or and Botanical and Zoological Gardens in Lyon and vice president of the French Association of Directors of Parks and Public Spaces Greens, regarding Inés Palacios, Kate Mattison and Troy Euton’s January 2016 article, “Going Beyond the Degree: Real-Life Education,” www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/ January/Going-Beyond-the-Degree-Real-Life-Education

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Community Center Art Contest Connects Kids to Nature Like Nothing Else

By Richard J. Dolesh

A

“

rt in the parks is a new avenue for our parks to educate kids and interpret nature,” says Chris Holmes, director of interpretation and outreach services for Texas Parks and Wildlife, about the Texas State Parks annual children’s nature art contest. The annual event, conducted in cooperation with the Get to Know contest of the Wild Neighbor Society, kicks off nationally May 1, 2016.

The Get to Know contest invites kids “to create original works of art, writing, photography, videography and music inspired by nature.” The contest runs through November 1, 2016. All entries are submitted online and kids and students can immediately view their artwork in an online gallery open to all.

Prizes — including art supplies, cameras, subscriptions to the National Wildlife Federation’s Ranger Rick magazine and more — are awarded at the conclusion of the contest to the top entries.

The Get to Know contest was founded in 1999 in Canada with the

support of internationally known wildlife artist Robert Bateman. One of the original purposes of the contest was to encourage kids to learn the names of the common plants, birds and wildlife they encountered every day. The contest has expanded beyond drawings, paintings and photography to include original writing, poetry, video and even music.

This contest has proven an ideal way for park and recreation agencies to develop creative new ways to connect kids to nature and art. “The goal of the contest for us has been to get kids into

A participant in the Texas Nature Art in Parks program has a great time creating art from nature.

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our parks, either as groups or with their families. When we get people to the park, the park speaks for itself,” says Holmes. “People realize that parks are very special places.” Holmes noted that some parks offer a bilingual program in Spanish and English. “We try to make sure that language is not a barrier to participation.”

The contest now draws almost 5,000 entries nationally, and in recent years, the number of entries inspired by wildlife and nature seen in parks has grown dramatically. Many park and recreation agencies are developing programs around the contest, and some have even gone so far as to hold their own contests that feed into the national event. In addition to Texas Parks and Wildlife, East Bay Regional Park Authority, Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) and other park agencies have developed annual children’s nature art contests and participate in Get to Know.

The Department of Parks and Recreation of M-NCPPC in Prince George’s County, Maryland, has developed an extensive children’s nature art program based on the Get to Know contest and now engages kids in summer playgrounds, afterschool programs and Extreme Teens programs to create their own nature art for their contest. Anthony Nolan, special projects division chief, says, “Once you bring awareness of the natural world to kids, it really sparks their curiosity. It is

amazing to see what catches their eye and what insights into nature they have — creating through art gives them a chance to express what they often don’t show.” Stewart Seal, countywide arts coordinator, who supervises the program says, “A lot of our kids are from highly urban inner-beltway communities who don’t have much access to nature at all. In this program, they experience nature and see things they would otherwise never see by themselves.”

When they first began their contest, Stewart suggested having an exhibition of the kids’ work, and the first display was so successful that they now make it an annual event at one of the county arts centers, complete with a gallery opening that is attended by kids and families. This year Seal said space will be available to display 400 pieces of kids’ art at the Brentwood Arts Center, one of the county’s most popular public art venues, December 1-31, 2016.

Park agency supervisors found, to their surprise, that staff members love doing these programs. Holmes said, “This program is really motivating for the staff. It speaks volumes to them — it is what their parks are all about. Staff can really see the impact that nature can have on kids.” Nolan, of M-NCPPC said, “Park and recreation staff love this program as much as the kids do. They are inspired by the creativity that the kids show and the program has become a twofold education process — for the kids and the staff.”

Any park agency or individual park can participate in the Get to Know program. The contest is open to all children and youth through age 18.

Based on the huge success of the program in entries inspired by parks, the Get to Know program has developed

A student in Prince George’s County, Maryland, shows the inspiration for his artwork.

a downloadable Art in the Park Activity Guide. Visit www.get-to-know. org/contest/us for contest rules, a promo kit, to view the guidde or past entries and take advantage of other resources. Entries may be submitted between May 1 and November 1,

2016, and although the winners are not announced until after November 1, they are posted on the Get to Know website to share with family and friends.

Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Conservation and Parks (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

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Community Center

From the Director’s Chair

N

RPA member agencies in urban environments face unique challenges. This column aims to get a better sense of how the dynamic park and recreation leaders in these areas are tackling today’s weightiest issues, from climate change to urban revitalization and funding. This month, we caught up with Herman D. Parker, park and recreation director for the city of San Diego; Keith A. Anderson, director of the Washington, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation; and Michael P. Kelly, general superintendent and CEO of the Chicago Park District to ask the following question: How do you address park deficiencies in your underserved neighborhoods and what strategies would you recommend other cities adopt?

Below are their insights.

Herman D. Parker It can be difficult for large, established urban centers to find suitable parkland and recreational opportunities given that their residential communities were constructed before current park acreage standards were in place. San Diego is no different. In our continuing effort to address park deficiencies in underserved neighborhoods, four strategies greatly assist us: (1) partnering with our local school districts to provide joint-use facilities on school property; (2) properly assessing every viable parcel of land in the community, regardless of size and shape, to be used as parkland; (3) identifying areas within open-space lands and regional parks that can be developed into neighborhood parks; 12 Parks & Recreation

and (4) using private land for public recreational purposes.

Since 1948, the city has enjoyed a long-standing, good working relationship with our school districts, which has benefited our underserved neighborhoods by providing additional park acreage. Currently, the department maintains approximately 90 joint-use facilities and plans to develop and maintain an additional 30 sites in the next 5-10 years as part of the Mayor’s Play All Day initiative.

These facilities are used by the public, programmed as public parks and accommodate youth sports, special events and a variety of other recreational opportunities.

It is important to consider every viable parcel of land in an underserved community as potential parkland. In densely populated urban centers we must broaden our thinking and consider acquiring smaller parcels that can serve as pocket parks that are within a 10-minute walking distance.

San Diego has more than 41,700 acres of parkland. Of this, 26,400 acres of open-space lands and regional parks have been created to support the natural environment and provide regional recreation. During the past eight years, the city looked at these

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large regional sites, evaluated their proximity and connectivity to underserved neighborhoods and began using portions of these sites as neighborhood parks.

Another possibility for park-deficient areas is to utilize privately owned land with a public recreational easement recorded on the land to allow public use of the space. San Diego partnered with the development community and state agencies to design, through community input, park amenities on privately owned land that will provide for public parks.

Keith A. Anderson The mission of the Washington, D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) is to enhance the quality of life and wellness for D.C. residents and visitors by providing equal access to affordable and quality recreational services by organizing programs, activities and events.

DPR continues to improve access to outdoor recreational facilities such as multigenerational playgrounds, spray parks, dog parks, Wi-Fi in parks, etc. DPR also works with partner agencies to enhance in-

frastructure supporting bicycling — including placement of bike racks and bike share.

Through Mayor Muriel Bowser’s health and wellness initiative, FitDC, the city has experienced increased support for walking at DPR parks and recreation centers. Also, in 2016, the mayor waived D.C. residents’ fees for DPR fitness centers. Currently we are installing outdoor fitness equipment at small parks and enhancing seven fitness centers.

DPR also partnered with a pop-up farmer’s market to increase access to healthier food. The agency increased availability of healthier food options at parks and recreation spaces, such as frozen yogurt at an outdoor pool site. DPR works with the community to establish community gardens across the city and engages in collaborative efforts to encourage recycling and composting.

Michael P. Kelly As general superintendent and CEO, I have the awesome responsibility of ensuring every child, family and community has access to parks and quality recreational programming.

By doing so, we work to ensure that no neighborhood goes “underserved.” These resources are vital to

the overall health of all communities, without exception.

The city of Chicago comprises 77 neighborhoods, each a distinct and essential thread in the fabric of our great city. As anyone who has toured Chicago can attest, no two communities are identical. It is important that we recognize those differences and customize our services to meet the recreational needs and interests of each community. To achieve this, we employ strategies that help our team understand the needs, interests and concerns of each area we serve.

Most recently, we’ve implemented the “77 Neighborhoods” Task Force. Each week, our management team and I meet at a different park.

We invite park supervisors and other team members to discuss facilities, programming, demographics, outreach, concerns and other issues that impact our individual parks.

This helps those of us who don’t work directly in the park better understand what works and what does not. Also, by bringing the entire team to the table, we are able to create an individual vision for each park and implement a plan that also takes future developments and changes in the surrounding community into consideration.

Our success is measured by the number of people who come to our parks. Our goal is to see every park brimming with children, families and seniors, and every program filled to capacity. In order for that to happen, we must take a thoughtful approach to the decisions and investments that we make in all communities.

— Samantha Bartram, Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine

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Community Center

Some Steps to Take Following a Major Pool Accident

By Sonia Myrick

A

20-year veteran diving coach teaches her students about diving from a tower versus a springboard. She carefully explains the differences in takeoff technique and emphasizes that a concrete tower will not flex if you hit it. In fact, a head strike could be catastrophic, even fatal. After sharing some examples of world-class divers who were badly injured or killed from striking the tower, she has everyone sign a detailed waiver, explaining the potential for catastrophic injuries. During practice a month later, a 15-year-old boy whacks the back of his head on the tower while attempting to do a reverse 2½ somersault and falls unconscious into the pool. As the ambulance leaves to take the diver to the hospital, the lifeguard supervisor gathers the staff to talk about what happened in an attempt to learn how the incident occurred.

At this point in this scenario, warning lights should be flashing and sirens sounding. It’s natural to want to discuss the event. Expect any staff and witnesses involved to be extremely upset, maybe even hysterical, and need to be consoled and reassured.

However, there are some steps that should be taken immediately following the incident to help guard against any future legal action. Instead of gathering any involved staff or witnesses to discuss the incident, provide each person with an incident report form to record exactly what he or she did and saw, and have them sign it before any discussion takes place.

It’s very important that each rescu-

Witnesses should provide their phone number and...before any staff that was involved goes home, an incident debriefing should be held.

er estimates the times involved in recognition, response, removal, dispatch of EMS, their arrival and when AR or CPR was started. Witnesses should provide their phone number and both them and staff should give their signed forms to the pool man16 Parks & Recreation

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ager. Then, before any staff that was involved goes home, an incident debriefing should be held. The manager should also provide each person who fills out an incident report form with a copy for their personal records.

If during the course of providing first aid guards learn personal details about the victim that would never otherwise be known, they must keep that information confidential. Sharing it with friends, family or anyone, other than personnel who need to know in order to provide additional care, can be seen as negligence.

Waivers and Standards Since the diving coach carefully explained the risks of tower diving, documented those explanations, and had the student and/or a parent sign the hold harmless agreement or waiver detailing the risks, the diver (and parents) knew about, and agreed to assume, the risks of tower diving.

However, the waiver does NOT protect the coach from unsafe or unreasonable actions. The coach always has a duty to know the most current, safest and most effective techniques for tower diving and to make every reasonable effort to keep divers safe.

Having and maintaining the appropriate certification is an important tool to show that the coach is indeed current about safe techniques.

It’s also important that staff members be taught and know the aquatic standards set by their state. For example, the state of Washington has a 10/20 response time written into its administrative code. Guards are expected to see everyone in their assigned area every 10 seconds and make contact with a victim within 20 seconds. That’s a total of 30 seconds to see the victim and make contact.

The National Model Aquatic Health

Code (www.cdc.gov/healthywater/ pdf/swimming/pools/mahc/Complete-First-Edition-MAHC-Annex. pdf ) and the Red Cross also use this standard.

As we approach the start of the pool season across the country, now is a good time to review your process for responding to incidents, whether minor or major, and hold refresher

It’s also important that staff members be taught and know the aquatic standards set by their state.

Dealing with the Media What do you think when you hear people say “no comment” on camera?

While only the designated public relations or media contact for your agency should ever respond to media inquiries, simply saying “no comment” may not be the best approach. It might be helpful to have a standard response such as: “I’m sorry; I don’t have any information yet. We’re still working on this incident. The PR director (or designee) will be ready to answer your questions as soon as possible.”

sessions for staff about the level of response/care expected and how to document and respond to any incidents that may occur.

Greg Schmidt, LGIT/WSIT/BESTGuard IT/AFOI, Aquatic Center Manager at Eastern Washington University, contributed to this article.

Sonia Myrick is the Managing Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine (smyrick@nrpa.org).

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Community Center

Notable News Hot Topics

S

pring is here! Flowers are blooming and so are the conversations on NRPA Connect. Check out the below preview of topics being discussed on the only professional networking platform dedicated to the park and recreation profession: Intern Compensation: How do park and rec agencies handle the compensation of their interns?

For agencies thinking of starting a program or modifying their current program, visit this discussion for examples of hourly wages, stipends or college credit only. Members share their guidelines, including a resource from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Community Gardens: Your colleagues discuss their community garden programs and what policies and guidelines they have for the general public to rent plots for personal use. Many examples of successful community gardens can be found in this popular post.

Inventive Parking Signs: Your park and recreation facilities are required to have a certain amount of ADA parking spots, but what about creating signs that aren’t required?

“Expectant Mother” parking spots are appearing more frequently. Your fellow professionals share some other examples, including “Volunteers,” “Carpool” and a great idea for your fitness facility, “Your Workout Starts Here,” for spaces farther back. Have an inventive sign for your parking lot? Share it on Connect!

Pool Staff: It’s warming up and time to start thinking about pool season.

Members weigh in on their patron ratios and the variables that can affect them, such as the shape of your pool, the depth, diving boards and more.

Don’t forget, NRPA Connect is responsive on all devices! Visit www. nrpaconnect.org to join the conversation.

— Hayley Herzig, NRPA’s Membership Programs Manager

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n BASF, a leading global chemical company at the forefront of sustainable construction solutions, released a white paper titled, “Co-Creating Solutions for Urban Neighborhoods in Coastal Cities: A Look at Red Hook, Brooklyn,” that offers five solutions to help Red Hook rebuild from the $32 billion in property damage inflicted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and be better prepared to withstand extreme weather. BASF engaged leading subject matter experts, including Terreform ONE and the Stevens Institute of Technology, among others, alongside Red Hook residents to crowdsource and co-create innovative solutions to transform not only the Brooklyn neighborhood, but also serve as a model for other coastal cities around the globe at high risk of flooding and impacts of climate change. Visit http://tinyurl.com/ hnmhg68 to read the white paper. n State and local government agencies (e.g., cities, counties, legal subdivisions such as park districts, etc.) and federally recognized Indian tribes within or serving areas delineated by the Census Bureau from the 2010 census as having populations of 50,000 or more people and consisting of densely settled territory, have until May 20 to apply for The National Park Services (NPS) Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP) competitive grants, made available through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). The NPS will entertain project proposals ranging from $250,000 to $750,000 each, and planning grants up to $75,000. Projects must have matching funds and

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partners. Outside of the planning grants, funding for eligible projects can be used to acquire and/or develop land to create new, or reinvigorate existing, public parks and other outdoor recreation spaces in neighborhoods that are underserved or lack such opportunities. Proposals should be developed in cooperation with the lead agency for LWCF in each state. The full funding opportunity announcement and pre-application materials are available online at www.grants.gov. Look for Funding Opportunity No. P16AS00065; Title: Land and Water Conservation Fund Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program. n Last month, voters in Fayetteville, North Carolina, approved a $35 million bond issue for parks and recreation projects. This bond authorizes the city to borrow up to $35 million to build two senior centers, a tennis complex, a sports field complex, two skateboarding parks, a Cape Fear River park, seven splash pads and seven neighborhood park improvements. To support the bond, property taxes will go up this summer by 1.35 cents per $100 in property valuation.

The city council and mayor see these projects as “a badly needed investment for a city of about 208,000 residents that has grown rapidly,” and “would help make the city more attractive to newcomers and businesses and give young people more to do.”

The projects are scheduled to be built between fiscal years 2018 and 2022.

For more news from around the industry, visit www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/April/Notable-News.

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Research Update Creative Strategies for Financing Parks and Recreation

By Donald L. Rockey Jr., Robert Barcelona, Bob Brookover, Dustin Thorn and Dominic Saturday

R

ecent economic hardships have brought about financial challenges for many government-sponsored programs, including parks and recreation. One of the oft-repeated concerns expressed by park and recreation administrators is the availability of sufficient financial resources for operational and capital expenses. Thus, agencies have had to become more creative and entrepreneurial when delivering services and providing facilities for an increasingly diverse and demanding constituency. The purpose of this article is to explore strategies for creative financing among exemplary park and recreation agencies as identified by the South Carolina Recreation and Parks Association.

While there are numerous examples of the impact of economic hardships on park and recreation departments, there are also illustrative success stories of departments that are thriving. One such story is the Rock Hill, South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation and

Tourism. In 2011, at the height of the economic downturn, Rock Hill embarked on the development of an $11 million outdoor center, including a 250-acre park with a cycling velodrome, BMX/supercross, cyclocross and mountain biking trails. This specialized complex has

allowed Rock Hill to carve a niche in attracting sports-based tourism events. Another example of growth among parks and recreation agencies is the city of North Myrtle Beach Parks and Recreation Department’s completion of a $15 million sport tourism and recreation park.

These financial ventures were made possible by agencies finding creative means to finance the projects. For example, Rock Hill’s outdoor center provides a complex example of diversification by leveraging multiple financing mechanisms, including hospitality taxes, sponsorships and federally backed private loans. The unique and creative aspect of this project was Rock Hill’s use of the New Markets Tax Credits and stimulus fund monies.

This diversified financing approach allowed the city to extend the scope of the project by adding features and amenities for approximately the same financial investment as the velodrome alone would have cost.

Significance While specific success stories highlight how individual agencies have found ways to finance park and recreation programs and facilities, there is very little research that has explored the best practices of these agencies. Most of the existing research has examined public opinions of financing strategies, with some researchers suggesting government-sponsored park and recreation providers should strive to maintain or improve constituent

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trust and commitment to create a balance between existing and new funding sources. According to a 2006 study, only 39 percent of the public wanted to have user fees or increased taxation, but the majority of those surveyed wanted the parks to remain non-exclusive and affordable. A 2005 case study of Gwinnett County, Georgia, suggested strategic planning is the key to financial management of public recreation.

adapted in many communities across the United States. While there were cross-cutting strategies that emerged from these interviews, they were applied in a variety of ways by the agencies and readers should consider the

best ways to apply these within their own communities.

(1) Contributing to Economic Development: Recreation and park services were widely believed to be an economic catalyst for the com-

Implementation and Design To better understand the issues faced and strategies implemented by park and recreation agencies, researchers contributing to this article conducted interviews with the directors of seven South Carolina park and recreation agencies. These agencies were selected because they were identified as “financially successful departments� by the South Carolina Recreation and Parks Association.

The agencies represented municipal, county and special district park and recreation agencies. Interviews with directors and key staff focused on the unique nature of each community, economic challenges, strategies employed to overcome these challenges and future projects and programming. The research team took detailed interview notes, met to discuss the content of each interview and developed a set of overarching themes. The themes provided insight into strategies agencies employed to best position themselves to grow financially, despite difficult economic conditions.

Strategies that Work Through the data analysis, six strategies or trends emerged. These strategies were broadly applicable to the park and recreation field, and may be

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Research Update

munity. For example, numerous programs, facilities and events offered by park and recreation agencies have become tools to generate revenue within the community. Sport tourism (i.e., traveling to another place to engage in or watch sport) was mentioned as having a powerful economic impact on the communities. Local residents and businesses were likely to support investment in parks and recreation if they saw economic benefits from these investments. Leaders interviewed for this study communicated the economic impact the facilities sponsored by capital growth have had on their communities. For example, independent analysis showed that Greenville County Parks, Recreation and Tourism (GCPRT) generated more than $10 million in economic impact across the county in 2012 (http:// greenvillerec.com/wp-content/up22 Parks & Recreation

Strategic planning and evaluation to help guide growth efforts is essential to successfully securing funding. loads/2012/09/TRAC- Plan-2011Update.pdf). Similarly, the city of North Augusta hosts the annual Nike Peach Jam basketball tournament, an elite men’s and women’s basketball showcase that generates more than $4.5 million for the local community, and generates positive press through coverage by ESPN and other outlets. The continued success of the event over 20 years has led to increased funding for facility development and improvements.

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(2) Nurturing Public Support: Another key to successful financing was the development and centrality of public support. As mentioned in the previous strategy, community support is the key to getting financing and continuing to grow. For example, the 2006 study, “Public Response to Park and Recreation Funding and Cost-Saving Strategies: The Role of Organizational trust and Commitment,” published in the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, found that park and recreation administrators who took actions to build trust and demonstrate commitment were able to expand funding beyond just taxes. All of the leaders interviewed indicated they intentionally and strategically worked to build community support by nurturing relationships with nonprofit “friend” organizations, boards, private citizens and part-

Research Update nerships. All mentioned they were able to build trust because the park and recreation agencies used capital funds responsibly in the past.

(3) Strategic Planning and Assessment: Strategic planning and evaluation to help guide growth efforts is essential to successfully securing funding. Interviewees stated that in order to use capital funds in a responsible way, they needed to conduct research to assess community needs and to evaluate current facilities, programs, policies and employees. Interviewees consistently mentioned how they used frequent needs assessments to determine interests in the community. This information was then used to determine growth and development. Interviewees emphasized that it is important to deliver on strategic planning efforts. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia, makes all its key financial decisions and develops

Interviewees often mentioned that the trust created through delivering on their plans was essential to establishing a positive image within the community. partnerships based on a strategic plan. Directors and key staff noted that they were successful in delivering on their strategic plan. Rock Hill obtained funding to develop the “Rock Hill Outdoor Center Greens,” a multiuse athletic field designed for passive and free-play activities, as a result of public input stating that there was not enough space in the city for residents to throw a Frisbee, fly a kite or kick a soccer ball. Interviewees often mentioned that the trust created through delivering on their plans was essential to establishing a positive image within the community. This trust was viewed as a major asset for gaining needed economic capital for future projects.

(4) Adopting an Entrepreneurial Approach: Successful agencies in South Carolina found ways to generate revenue through creative and innovative strategies. Examples include the Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission’s dog-themed events with music and beer sales, as well as Rock Hill’s velodrome facility, developed in a former industrial area that is now changing to a shopping and residential area. The city leadership cap24 Parks & Recreation

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italized on the momentum of the recreation facility to create a new, revitalized “live where you play” community. The change is creating a long-term revenue source for the city and its recreational offerings.

In all cases, successful park and recreation directors talked about the importance of understanding the marketplace and offering programs and services that met the public’s needs and willingness to pay for services.

Success builds trust with citizens and stakeholders.

(5) Leveraging Special Taxes: Many agencies took advantage of special taxing systems to improve parks and recreation infrastructure. Conventional ideas ranged from the use of hospitality and accommodations taxes to finance tourism-related projects such as parks, convention centers and athletic fields, and “penny” sales taxes used for capital improvement projects. Novel taxing systems included the creation of municipal improvement districts (MIDs) in blighted neighborhoods or areas of town that needed improvements to encourage development and the use of federal New Market Tax Credits for the development of recreation and athletic facilities as part of commercial and residential development of a former brownfield site. Successful agencies highlighted the need to have someone

on staff who is responsible for identifying these innovative taxing mechanisms and working with city finance and planning departments to identify new opportunities.

(6) Partnerships: The directors continually mentioned the partnerships they developed to assist with capital funding. For example, the Irmo-Chapin Recreation Commission, city of Aiken and Greenville County all specifically mentioned that private special-interest groups approached them with project ideas that met defined needs within the community and provided fiscal resources to get the project off the ground. The expectation was that the park and recreation department would find additional funding and manage the project’s development, implementation and operations. These large-scale projects, such as the development of the MESA Soccer Complex, a 60-acre, 16-field soccer facility in Greenville County, were pursued when they were able to meet a clear need in the community.

Conclusion The major take away from this project was that success builds trust with citizens and stakeholders, and that trust often led to the acquisition of new resources for facilities and programs. While there were some creative strategies being employed (novel taxing mechanisms, different entrepre-

neurial approaches), agencies were able to leverage the success of earlier innovations and creativity into broader and stronger community support. Creating new strategies and/or repositioning agencies and getting that first “win” often led to the public and decisionmakers wanting more.

Detailed references for this article are available at www.parksandrecreation.org/2016/April/Creative-Strategies-for-Financing-Parks-and-Recreation.

Don Rockey is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Recreation and Sport Management at Coastal Carolina University (drockey@coastal.edu). Bob Barcelona is an Associate Professor at the University of New Hampshire (bob. barcelona@unh.edu). Bob Brookover is a Senior Lecturer at Clemson University (bob@clemson.edu). Dustin Thorn is an Assistant Professor at Coastal Carolina University (dthorn@coastal.edu). Dominic Saturday is an undergraduate student at Coastal Carolina University (dsaturday@ coastal.edu).

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By the Numbers

Monarchs Rising Population numbers for the iconic monarch butterfly have been steadily dwindling, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) provides some cause for celebration with its recent monarch updates. In February, the agency released new information about the most recent monarch migration, showing marked improvements in monarch populations. There is still a long way to go to restore the species to its former glory, but with ongoing commitment from our park and recreation agencies, schools and neighborhood backyards to provide monarchs with friendly places to rest and replicate, the positive trends are bound to continue. Below, find some of the highlights of the USFWS report.

255:

Percentage increase in monarch populations overwintering in Mexico-based habitats in 2015-2016.

90:

Percentage by which monarch butterfly populations have decreased since peak populations were recorded in the mid-1990s.

4:

Stages the monarch butterfly goes through during its time overwintering in Mexico: arrival, the establishment of overwintering colonies, colony movement and spring dispersal.

10:

Acres of habitat occupied by monarchs overwintering in Mexico (the insects only took up 2.8 acres just a year ago).

138,000:

Acreage of the Mexico-based Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, established in 1980 to protect the insect’s sensitive overwintering grounds.

3:

Countries working in partnership to help shore up monarch butterfly populations in North America (Canada, the United States and Mexico).

2 months:

Period of time it takes migrating North American monarch butterflies to reach their overwintering grounds in Mexico.

12:

Number of mountaintops in existence worldwide that provide the correct type of habitat to safely overwinter monarch populations.

250,000,000:

The monarch population target goal set by USFWS and its partners — they hope to reach a quarter of a billion butterflies by 2020.

Source: “Monarch Numbers Increase, But Work to Restore Butterflies Is Not Over,” USFWS February, 2016 press release (www.fws. gov/midwest/news/MonarchPopulation2016.html) 26 Parks & Recreation

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Member to Member Making Ends Meet It takes a village of funders to re-make a park

By Beverly Smith

K

elly Park, in Chicago’s Brighton Park neighborhood, had seen better days. Operated jointly by the Chicago Park District and Kelly High School and located directly across California Avenue, the 7-acre park had deteriorated so badly since opening in the early 1950s that the school’s soccer and football teams had to move their home games elsewhere. That turned into a problem when street gangs, operating east of Western Avenue, began attacking Kelly players at the larger, better-equipped McKinley Park.

“Our park had been passed up and forgotten,” said Patrick Brosnan, executive director of the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council (BNPC), a nonprofit community organization.

“So we began to organize.”

Individually, the park district, the school, or any other local partner did not have the couple million dollars it would cost to install a synthetic turf field. But, through a series of strategic phone calls, BNPC linked up with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Chica-

go and applied for a $200,000 grant through the LISC/NFL Foundation Grassroots Program.

Cooperation was key in securing the $2 million football/soccer improvement. Besides $200,000 contributed by the Chicago Bears via the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program, significant investments came from the Chicago Park District, the public schools, the state of Illinois through the efforts of Sen. Martin Sandoval (D-IL), the U.S. Soccer Federation, the city of

With funding from the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program, the Indianapolis Parks Foundation and the city of Indianapolis installed the 6-acre Central Greens Field, seen here.

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Chicago and the Pritzker-Traubert Family Foundation.

The $200,000 NFL Foundation Grassroots grant represented a fraction of the new field’s total cost, but with that money in hand, BNPC gained considerable credibility as it approached other potential funders.

Through those contributions, Kelly High School athletes will have a place to play, as do residents of the largely Mexican-American Brighton Park neighborhood. It’s a phenomenon that is occurring elsewhere in the country via the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program.

Building Fields, Partnerships and Communities There’s little doubt that safe, accessible park and recreational facilities are essential for fostering active, healthy communities. The question that park departments and outdoor recreation advocates often face is not, “Should we build or renovate our facilities?” but rather, “How do we make it happen?” and “How do we pay for it?”

Increasingly, the answer is through the type of partnerships and multi-organization collaboration that sparked the Kelly Park renovation. This often requires park departments working with schools and nonprofit organizations, not only because they can contribute much-needed resources toward projects and programs, but also because they are deeply rooted in local neighborhoods. These groups are

Central Greens Field, adjacent to Christel House Academy Charter School in the city of Indianapolis, is operated by Indianapolis Parks and Recreation and is available for public use.

composed of and led by community residents who know and understand their neighborhood’s unique needs.

The NFL Foundation Grassroots Program brings together public, private and nonprofit groups to improve the quality, safety and accessibility of local playing fields. The program is a partnership between the NFL Foundation and the LISC. LISC is the nation’s largest support organization for nonprofit community development and the NFL Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission of improving the lives of football players and communities across the country.

Since the late 1990s, the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program has donated more than $40 million to create or refurbish more than 300 playing fields nationwide — many of them in public parks. The program provides 1:1 matching grants of up to $200,000 and technical assistance to help renovate or build athletic fields. To date, it has given about $2.5 million annually, totaling more than $40 million in more than 70 cities across the country.

Successful applicants to the program are community-based organizations, middle schools or high schools. All applicants are required to demonstrate community support and ensure that fields are open to the community through joint-use agreements. Public agencies are prohibited from applying, unless they are working in cooperation with a school or nonprofit. Award winners are encouraged to work or continue working with USA Football, the sport’s national governing body.

Through its Heads Up Football program, USA Football collaborates with local teams and leagues to educate coaches, players and parents on issues ranging from heat preparedness and hydration to concussion recognition and response.

“This formula works. Not only have over 300 field projects been funded during the 16-year history of the program, but the grants have also brought together, reunited and strengthened community organizations and public agencies’ relationships in communities across the

country,” President and CEO of LISC Michael Rubinger says.

It’s often difficult to fundraise and find resources for park and recreation projects. The NFL Foundation Grassroots Grant program is an opportunity for financing assistance. Another opportunity is the LISC/ESPN Pilot Home Court Program, which was launched this year to help communities finance the construction or renovation of basketball courts.

These two programs provide park departments with help to finance projects, build partnerships, collaborate, cooperate and gain greater community involvement in seeing important recreation facility projects to fruition.

For more information regarding the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program and the LISC/ESPN Pilot Home Court Program, visit www. lisc.org/our-initiatives/health/ sports-recreation.

Beverly Smith is Senior Program Director for Sports and Recreation at Local Initiatives Support Corporation (bsmith@lisc.org).

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ADVOCACY

Millions in New LWCF Grant Funding for Urban Parks? Yes, Please!

By David Tyahla

I

n yet another example of the value of your advocacy on behalf of local parks and recreation, the National Park Service (NPS) is currently accepting applications for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program (ORLP) — a $15 million national competitive grant program specifically targeting recreation spaces in urban communities.

Congress initially funded the ORLP in 2014 as a compliment to the LWCF State and Local Assistance Program. The program targets the development and enhancement of outdoor recreation in larger urban communities with a particular interest in serving disadvantaged areas and connecting young people to public lands and the outdoors.

The ORLP is intended to showcase collaboration and innovative partnerships leveraging investment in

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support of close-to-home recreation.

In 2015, NPS awarded $3 million in grants to eight pilot projects.

NRPA has been a leader in the ongoing congressional advocacy effort in support of the LWCF State and Local Assistance Program, which resulted in a significant increase in funding for the core formula grants to the states (up to $94 million), as well as the ORLP, this year. But, we know that we cannot be successful in elevating awareness and the val-

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ue of “stateside” LWCF on Capitol Hill without you, our dedicated members. Thank you!

It’s the ongoing advocacy and engagement with Congress and NPS that is responsible for securing significantly more available funding this year. A five-fold increase to $15 million total — something practically unheard of during these challenging budgetary times in Washington.

It’s not only on Capitol Hill, either. Our policy work also extends to engaging federal agencies once Congress appropriates important funding. So, NRPA eagerly accepted the NPS invitation to participate in the drafting of the initial ORLP’s program guidelines and application review process in 2014 and 2015.

2016 ORLP Grant Program Basics This marks the second time the ORLP grant opportunity has been made available. This year, NPS is accepting proposals ranging between $250,000 and $750,000 in support of land acquisition and development in communities with a population of 50,000 and greater. Priority will be given to projects serving economically disadvantaged areas.

New for 2016 is a pilot “planning grant” program that awards up to $75,000 to fund planning studies in an effort to help target park and recreation investment to urban areas where it is needed most. This is a result of feedback given to NPS from the program’s first year.

The Who and How of Applying State and local government agencies, including park districts, within or serving areas with populations of 50,000 or more people may apply. Proposals should be developed in cooperation with the lead LWCF agency (State Liaison Officer) for your state. Keep this in mind if you intend to craft and submit an application. Applications will be submitted through your lead state agency and they will establish their own (earlier) deadline for submission.

The full funding opportunity announcement and pre-application materials are now available online at www.grants.gov.

Additional NRPA Assistance To help you with this great funding opportunity, NRPA hosted a very well-attended informational webinar on this year’s ORLP grant process on March 30. Guest speakers from NPS provided extensive background on the program and guidance for submitting proposals. You

may listen to an archived recording of the webinar by visiting www. nrpa.org/webinars.

Share the Impact Again, opportunities such as the ORLP only happen through the successful advocacy and engagement of NRPA members, like you.

Do you have an LWCF-funded park or open space in your community? You can help ensure Congress understands how programs like LWCF State and Local Assistance and the ORLP positively impact your community by inviting your members of Congress to see your projects first-hand. It’s easy to plan a visit. To get started, visit www. nrpa.org/park-champions where you can sign up to be a Park Cham-

pion and use the Park Champion Advocacy Toolkit.

David Tyahla is NRPA’s Senior Government Affairs Manager (dtyahla@nrpa.org).

ORLP Grant Quick Facts Funding Opportunity Number: P16AS00065 Title: Land and Water Conservation Fund Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program Deadline to Apply: Friday, May 20, 2016 More information: www.grants.gov Reminder: Your lead state agency will have their own earlier deadline for applying, so you need to work in cooperation with them.

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L AW R E V I E W

Governmental Immunity for Deadly Mountain Goat

By James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D.

U

nder the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), the federal government in general, and the National Park Service in particular, is held liable for negligence under the state law of the jurisdiction where an injury occurs. Immunity from liability, however, is retained under the FTCA discretionary function exception. In general, immune discretionary functions include governmental decisions grounded in social, economic and political policy considerations. For federal agencies that provide resource-based public recreational opportunities, such immune discretionary functions usually involve an exercise of agency discretion in balancing resource preservation and visitor safety.

States and local governmental entities in many jurisdictions have similar statutory immunity that precludes negligence liability under an applicable state tort claims act for agency decisions that involve an exercise of discretion and judgment in balancing resource protection and public safety in public parks and recreation.

As illustrated by the case described

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herein, under the FTCA discretionary function exception, the National Park Service was found immune for alleged negligence in the management of aggressive wildlife in Olympia National Park.

When Goats Attack In the case of Chadd v. United States of America, National Park Service, 794

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F.3d 1104; 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12943 (9th Cir. 7/27/2015), the issue before the federal appeals court was whether the National Park Service could be sued for negligence under the FTCA after a mountain goat attacked and killed a visitor to Olympic National Park.

Established in 1938, Olympic National Park (“Olympic” or the “park”) spans 922,650 acres and hosts 3 million visitors each year. Among the many species of animal residing in Olympic is the mountain goat, which is not native to the area, having been introduced into the park decades ago.

Mountain goats possess dangerously sharp horns and males typically weigh around 242 pounds. Prior to the incident in this case, there had

been three reported, non-lethal attacks on people by mountain goats at other national parks, none of which were known to officials at Olympic.

Normally, mountain goats are reclusive animals, but the goats at Olympic frequently seek out areas visited by humans because of the salt humans leave behind. After repeated exposure to humans, goats can become habituated to their presence, which entails the loss of the mountain goat’s fear response. Around 2004, when the goat population at Olympic was near 300, officials at the park began receiving reports that some goats were becoming habituated. By 2006, goats began displaying aggressive behavior, such as standing their ground, following or chasing humans, pawing the ground and rearing up.

Park officials decided to investigate the situation personally. They hiked the trails and observed the mountain goats demonstrating progressively habituated and sometimes aggressive behavior. Officials placed collars on the goats with Global Positioning System devices in order to track their movements and to collect further data.

Based on these observations, the park began warning visitors about the goats’ behavior. Visitors were given verbal warnings and warning signs were posted on trails. Officials began employing aversive conditioning techniques, such as shooting the goats with paint balls and bean-bags, in order to change the goats’ behavior. Officials focused their efforts on a few areas, including Klahhane Ridge.

Nonetheless, officials continued to receive reports in 2009 and 2010 about a large male goat chasing visitors and displaying other signs of aggression.

Officials began discussing other management options for the problematic

goat, but, as stated by Park Ranger Sanny Lustig, the solution “was not clearcut.” Sometime before July 30, 2010, Olympic Superintendent Karen Gustin, Wildlife Branch Chief Dr. Patti Happe and Lustig met to discuss management options for the goat. They coordinated their reporting and hazing efforts and decided to intensify the aversive conditioning. Happe was to investigate the possibility of relocating the goat.

wound. Within hours of the attack, park officials found and destroyed a 370-pound male goat with blood on its horns.

Plaintiff Chadd, on her own behalf and as representative of Boardman’s estate, filed suit against the United States and the National Park Service under FTCA, alleging that park officials breached their duty of reasonable care by failing to destroy the goat

Park officials decided to investigate the situation personally. They hiked the trails and observed the mountain goats demonstrating progressively habituated and sometimes aggressive behavior.

On July 30, she emailed Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist Dr. Donny Martorello to ask whether they “had an option for translocation.” She described the goat and stated that it was “not responding to [their] efforts to have him keep . . . a greater distance from people.” Happe wrote that, because the goat had been “increasingly aggressive,” Olympic wished to “explore other management options for [the goat], including relocation from the area.”

During the next two months, there were continued reports of goats pawing the ground, preventing hikers from passing and acting aggressively.

On October 16, 2010, Robert Boardman and his wife, Susan Chadd, were hiking on the Switchback trail to Klahhane Ridge with a friend, Pat Willits, when a large male goat attacked Boardman, goring his leg with its horns and severing his femoral artery. Boardman died of his

in the years leading up to Boardman’s death. The federal district court dismissed the suit and Chadd appealed.

Discretionary Function Immunity As noted by the federal appeals court, “the United States has waived its sovereign immunity with regard to tort liability under the [FTCA] under circumstances where the United States, if a private person, would be liable to the claimant in accordance with the law of the place where the act or omission occurred.” 28 U.S.C. § 1346(b)(1). However, under the FTCA “discretionary function exception,” the court acknowledged the United States retains “sovereign immunity for any claim based upon the exercise or performance or the failure to exercise or perform a discretionary function or duty on the part of a federal agency or an employee of the government, whether or not the discretion involved be abused.” 28 U.S.C. § 2680(a).

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As described by the court, the FTCA discretionary function exception “marks the boundary between Congress’ willingness to impose tort liability upon the United States and its desire to protect certain governmental activities from exposure to suit by private individuals.” Further, the court acknowledged that the FTCA discretionary function exception is “designed to prevent judicial ‘second-guessing’ of legislative and administrative decisions grounded in social, economic and political policy through the medium of an action in tort,” i.e., a claim for damages for negligence that resulted in injury or death.

As noted by the federal appeals court, “the Supreme Court has established a two-step process for evaluating whether a claim falls within discretionary function exception.” In the first step, the court would examine “whether the government’s actions are discretionary in nature, acts that involve an element of judgment or choice.”

In making this examination, it is the nature of the conduct, rather than the status of the actor, that governs whether the discretionary function exception applies in a given case. If there is . . . a statute or policy directing mandatory and specific action, the inquiry comes to an end because there can be no element of discretion when an employee has no rightful option but to adhere to the directive.

Specific Action Mandated?

In this particular instance, Chadd alleged that the National Park Service “should have destroyed the goat before it killed Boardman, and that [its] failure to do so constituted negligence.” Accordingly, in determining the applicability of the FTCA 34 Parks & Recreation

discretionary function exception, the federal appeals court would first determine whether “a statute or policy directing mandatory and specific action” required the National Park Service to destroy the goat before it attacked Boardman.

As a result, the federal appeals court concluded “the means by which public safety concerns are to be addressed is left to the discretionof superintendents and other decision-makers...

As noted by the federal appeals court, if no such mandate existed, then “the [National Park] Service’s management of the goat necessarily involved an element of judgment or choice,” and “the first prong of the discretionary function exception is satisfied.”

As described by the federal appeals court, “the [National Park] Service’s Management Policies manual (the “manual”) is the basic service-wide policy document of the National Park Service and is mandatory unless specifically waived or modified by the Secretary, the Assistant Secretary or the Director.”

Further, the National Park Service did not dispute “this manual governed the [National Park] Service’s actions in the lead-up to Boardman’s death.” In particular, the federal appeals court noted that Section 8.2.5.1 of the manual provided the following instruction: “The saving of human life will take precedence over all other management actions.” That

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being said, the court also found “the manual qualifies this obligation” in the following manner: The [National Park] Service will do this within the constraints of the 1916 Organic Act. The primary — and very substantial — constraint imposed by the Organic Act is that discretionary management activities may be undertaken only to the extent that they will not impair park resources and values. Moreover, the obligation to “reduce or remove known hazards” is limited by what is “practicable and consistent with congressionally designated purposes and mandates.”

In the opinion of the federal appeals court, these statements in the manual indicated “there are many factors the [National Park] Service must consider while ensuring human safety in the national parks, such as ‘park resources and values,’ what is ‘practicable’ and ‘congressionally designated purposes and mandates.’” Further, the court noted that the manual explicitly provided that “these management policies do not impose park-specific visitor safety prescriptions.” As a result, the federal appeals court concluded “the means by which public safety concerns are to be addressed is left to the discretion of superintendents and other decision-makers at the park level.”

In the opinion of the federal appeals court, “such discretion includes whether to eliminate potentially dangerous animals.” In particular, the court noted that the manual contained “guidance specific to exotic (that is, non-native) species, such as the mountain goats at Olympic.”

Specifically, the manual provided that non-native species “will be managed — up to and including eradication — if (1) control is prudent and

feasible and (2) the exotic species creates a hazard to public safety.”

Since the manual did not specify how exotic species were to be managed, the appeals court found “no particular, mandatory course of action for managing an exotic animal that is threatening public safety.”

Similarly, the court found Olympic’s park-specific “Nuisance and Hazardous Management Animal Plan” did not specify “a particular management technique when confronted with a dangerous exotic species.” On the contrary, the plan outlined various “management objectives” and “management alternatives.”

Chadd, however, claimed a mandatory directive had been issued when the park superintendent had

testified that the National Park Service “moves to the next level of management techniques or series of levels if the problem isn’t going away or doesn’t seem to be resolved.” The federal appeals court disagreed. As characterized by the court, the superintendent’s statement “does not indicate that there is a general policy or directive requiring such action or prescribing the timing of it.” (Emphasis of court.) On the contrary, the court found “nothing in the plan mandates an escalation of management techniques.” Similarly, the court found Olympic’s “Mountain Goat Action Plan” did not mandate a particular course of action.

Olympic’s Mountain Goat Action Plan lists three forms of hazing as

appropriate incident management techniques, but it does not specify how or when they should be deployed. The Mountain Goat Action Plan does not even mention animal destruction, in contrast with the Cougar Action Plan. There was, therefore, no extant statute, regulation or policy directive that required park officials to destroy the goat prior to Boardman’s death.

Negligence Irrelevant While acknowledging that there was no “mandatory directive prescribing a specific course of conduct,” Chadd argued that “reasonable care” required park officials to “shoot the goat.”

As noted by the court, “reasonable care” is only required when there is

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a legal basis for a negligence claim.

If discretionary function immunity were applicable, the federal appeals court acknowledged that there is no basis for negligence liability, even if “park officials abused their discretion” in “deciding how to manage the problematic goat.” According to the court, “at step one of the discretionary-function-exception analysis, all that matters is that there was, in fact, discretion.”

Policy-Based Decision?

Having found no mandatory directive or policy for managing this particular mountain goat, the federal appeals court proceeded to the second step of the process established by the Supreme Court to determine the applicability of the FTCA discretionary

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function exception. Specifically, given some degree of discretion and “element of judgment” on how to manage the situation, the court would consider whether “that judgment is of the kind that the discretionary function exception was designed to shield,” viz., “government actions and decisions based on social, economic and political policy.”

As noted by the court, such discretionary immunity is “not confined to the policy or planning level,” but extends to “the actions of government agents” at all levels from the agency director to agents in the field, like park rangers.

It does not matter, then, if the decision at issue was made by low-level government officials, rather than by high-level policymakers. It is the nature of the con-

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duct, rather than the status of the actor, that governs whether the discretionary function exception applies in a given case.

In this particular instance, Chadd contended, “park officials had only one choice: Comply with their own policies requiring them to prioritize human life and kill the goat.” As characterized by the court, Chadd’s argument simply reiterated her claim that reasonable care under the circumstances necessitated killing the goat. According to the court, in determining the applicability of the FTCA discretionary function exception, it was irrelevant “whether there was only one reasonable course of action.” Rather, the relevant question before the court was whether the course of action chosen was “susceptible to a policy analysis.” (Emphasis of court) In other words, “the design of a course of governmental action is shielded by the discretionary function exception,” but “the implementation of that course of action is not.”

Chadd had argued that Olympic’s “failure to escalate up the levels of the Nuisance and Hazardous Management Animal Plan” was a failure to implement a designed course of governmental action, viz., safety measures already in place. According to Chadd, “the goat was an obvious health hazard that was a matter of safety and not policy” based upon “repeated acknowledgments by park officials that the goat was dangerous and aggressive.” Further, Chadd noted testimony that the hazing techniques used by officials were known to have only a “temporary effect.”

In addition, as evidence of a failure to implement a designed course of action, Chadd cited the park superintendent’s own statement that “the usual practice is to ‘ramp up’ management techniques when one

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L AW R E V I E W

is not working,” in particular, given “the history of incidents surrounding mountain goats in Olympic.”

The federal appeals court rejected Chadd’s argument.

Competing Policy Interests According to the federal appeals court, “so long as a decision involves even two competing policy interests, it is ‘susceptible’ to policy analysis and is thus protected by the discretionary function exception.” (Emphasis of court) In this particular instance, the court found two such policy considerations existed — one involved visitor safety and the other addressed the public’s desire “to see the goats.”

Both Dr. Happe and Olympic Deputy Superintendent Todd Suess submitted declarations stating, “The mountain goat is an appealing, iconic animal within Olympic . . . and is an attraction to park visitors. In the past, the park has encountered significant opposition to possible plans to remove some of the goats.” In light of the public’s interest in preserving Olympic’s goats, park officials implemented several non-lethal management options, such as hazing, and explored the possibility of relocating the goat.

Accordingly, in the opinion of the federal appeals court, “the [National Park] Service’s policy of prioritizing human safety over all other considerations,” did not necessarily create a directive that park officials exterminate problematic mountain goats. Contrary to Chadd’s public safety assertions, the court found “nothing that forbids park officials from protecting the goats to facilitate the public’s enjoyment of the species.” According to the court, there was “no contradiction between the goat’s status as an exotic species and Olympic’s desire to implement safe38 Parks & Recreation

ty measures short of destruction.”

Moreover, in implementing “the policy of prioritizing human safety,” the federal appeals court found “the means by which local officials ensure human safety is left to the discretion of superintendents and other decision-makers at the park level.”

Accordingly, in this particular situation, the court found “park officials need only point to some support in the record that the decisions taken were ‘susceptible’ to policy analysis...”

Such discretion includes decisions about animal destruction. Moreover, the [National Park] Service’s policy manual lists several competing objectives that park officials had to consider in assessing the goat situation, including “park resources and values.”

Thus, in addition to the policy issues mentioned by park officials, the [National Park] Service’s guidelines cite many competing considerations that Olympic should have taken into account when deciding how to deal with the problematic goat. Whether park officials actually took into consideration the policy objectives listed in the… guidelines is irrelevant because the challenged decision “need not be actually grounded in policy considerations, but must be, by its nature, susceptible to a policy analysis.” (Emphasis of court)

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Further, as noted by the court, “if a regulation allows the governmental employee discretion, as it did here, there is a strong presumption that a discretionary act authorized by the regulation involves consideration of the same policies which led to the promulgation of the regulations.” Accordingly, in this particular situation, the court found “park officials need only point to some support in the record that the decisions taken were ‘susceptible’ to policy analysis for the discretionary function exception to apply.” Specifically, in the opinion of the court, “the implementation of the safety regulation was itself subject to competing policy concerns.”

Conclusion As a result, since “the decision to use non-lethal methods to manage the goat was susceptible to policy analysis,” the federal appeals court held “the discretionary function exception applies,” barring federal liability in this case. The federal appeals court, therefore, affirmed the order of the federal district court dismissing Chadd’s claims against the United States.

[Ed. Note: In contrast, the federal district court in Francis v. United States denied discretionary function immunity for a similar fatal wild animal attack in a national forest. See: “Fatal Bear Attacks Test Immunity Laws,” Law Review, Parks & Recreation magazine, Dec. 2009 Vol. 44, Issue 12 http://cehdclass. gmu.edu/jkozlows/lawarts/12DEC09. pdf]

James C. Kozlowski, J.D., Ph.D., is an attorney and Associate Professor in the School of Recreation, Health and Tourism at George Mason University (jkozlows@gmu. edu). Webpage with link to law review articles archive (1982 to present): http:// mason.gmu.edu/~jkozlows.

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FUTURE LEADERS

Contrasting Modalities of Post-Graduate Studies

By Anthony Iracki, MS, CPRP and Derek Donlevy, M. Ed.

P

ark and recreation professionals are afforded many opportunities to engage in professional development. The biggest undertaking of these is often the decision and commitment to pursue a master’s degree.

Achieving this next level of higher education offers the benefits of personal and professional growth, qualifying for higher administrative positions, higher salaries and future career-change opportunities. After deciding to take this next step in career advancement, the question is whether to go the route of an online or on-campus program. Anthony Iracki, MS, CPRP, and Derek Donlevy, M. Ed., both graduates of master’s degree programs and both currently serving in positions with the Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Recreation and Community Services, highlight the personal benefits and challenges they encountered when pursuing a master’s degree through differing paths.

Anthony Iracki — Obtained a Master’s Degree Online Having previously earned a bachelor’s degree, I knew I wanted a master’s degree that would equip me with the necessary tools to succeed in a leadership position. My role with Milwaukee Recreation requires me to work afternoons during

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the week and on Saturdays. Because of this, I knew night school was out and finding a traditional, on-campus program to fit my schedule would be challenging, so I decided to pursue the online option. I chose to enroll in an online degree program from a local university in Milwaukee because of its established reputation

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Anthony Iracki

for offering quality programs for working adults. Additionally, I liked that I had the option to visit campus to seek assistance if needed.

There were multiple benefits of pursing a degree online. An online

program allowed me to work on my classwork on my own time. I was able to respond to discussion questions at my leisure through an app or on my computer and work on papers whenever I was free between my busy work schedule and personal commitments.

I read the course materials when it suited me and I could work ahead if I knew I had busy weeks coming up.

I enjoyed the mobile aspect of an online program and the opportunity it allowed me to focus on all areas of my life and create balance.

The challenge of pursuing a degree online was that it was very much a self-guided study. The role of the instructor was to act more as a conversation facilitator and not a lecturer. Lecture notes and PowerPoints sometimes were posted, but it varied instructor to instructor. Additionally, each weekly set of discussion questions and responses required a great deal of time writing and editing.

Think of all the conversations you have at work in a staff meeting and then imagine typing all those conversations out word for word. Finally, it felt very isolating. Interactions with your instructor and your cohort exist solely online. Without face-to-face interaction, it was difficult to connect to my instructors and peers. I will admit the experience finally felt real and complete when I received my diploma in the mail.

Derek Donlevy — Obtained a Master’s Degree on Campus After my undergraduate studies, my first position working in the park and recreation field lasted only seven months because of budget cuts.

With minimal full-time opportunities available in Wisconsin at the time, I decided to obtain a master’s degree to continue moving forward with

Derek Donlevy

greatest benefit I received was serving as a graduate assistant at the campus recreation center. This allowed me to work part-time, gaining valuable experience equivalent to an entry-level professional position, and it paid for the full cost of my tuition. I was able to build on the knowledge I gained from the classroom, which made me a very competitive candidate when I re-entered the job market after twoand-a-half years of school.

The greatest challenge of being a full-time graduate student is the

Achieving [a master’s degree] offers the benefits of personal and professional growth, qualifying for higher administrative positions, higher salaries and future career-change opportunities. my career aspirations. Remembering an online course I had taken in high school, and finding the format antithetical to my learning style, I made the decision enroll in a traditional, on-campus program and commit to once again being a full-time student.

It was the best decision I ever made in my life.

Being on campus made me feel like a part of the university and kept me accountable to attend class and do my homework. I enjoyed being part of classroom discussions and group presentations at the graduate level — the topics were more challenging and thought-provoking than my undergraduate studies. I felt the professors invested more in me as a student and I took advantage of it, viewing them more as mentors and visiting during their office hours.

Aside from my education, the

delay it caused, both professionally and personally. Classmates from my bachelor’s degree program are further along in their professional careers and some have already advanced to administrative positions. The loss of a salary and benefits during that time means I am behind my peers in saving for retirement and a mortgage down payment. In the long run, I know the benefits of my experience and the opportunity of free tuition will continue to outweigh the drawbacks as my career advances.

Anthony Iracki, MS, CPRP, is a Recreation Supervisor for Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Recreation and Community Services (anthony@milwaukeerecreation. net). Derek Donlevy, M. Ed., is a Recreation Supervisor for Milwaukee Public Schools Department of Recreation and Community Services (derek@milwaukeerecreation.net).

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Commit to Health and Conservation: Seven Simple Activities

By Daniel W. Hatcher

P

romoting conservation and appreciation for nature is a key aspect of park and recreation programming across the country. In addition to increasing youth and families’ exposure to the great outdoors, conservation activities are wonderful opportunities to encourage children to eat better and move more!

Here are seven activities for you to try this spring:

1

Cultivate personal awareness.

Start with a nature walk. It doesn’t matter if you’re walking down a city block or strolling around a pond — take time to reflect and reconnect with your love of the environment. Now, share that love with your students. Provide simple supplies and make nature journals with children. Encourage them to write down what they hear, smell and see. It may seem easier to just take pictures with your camera, but slowing down and writing creates a deeper

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impact and helps you stay connected to the earth. Turn nature journals into art projects like posters, dioramas and plays. Use these to prompt deeper explorations. Activities rooted in personal experiences will last longer and have deeper meaning.

2

Start small and let ideas grow.

The tallest sunflower starts as a seed. Find your seeds of inspiration, like making butterfly snacks with children. It’s as simple as a slice of banana

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with two pretzels as wings and raisin eyes. As you make this healthy snack, ask children, “When was the last time you saw a butterfly? Where was it?

What was it doing? What type was it?

Was it a monarch?” Now that you’ve started the conversation, explore NRPA’s Parks for Monarchs initiative (www.nrpa.org/parks4monarchs).

The best way to build support for such efforts is to make the issue relatable.

This can be as simple as a healthy snack that starts a conversation.

3

Serve and celebrate.

Whether your agency is interested in saving monarch butterflies, beach cleanups or trail maintenance, let service to your community instigate conservation-related activities.

Information about grant opportunities to fund your service-learning project is available through Youth Service America at www.ysa.org.

4

Make connections and develop new partnerships.

You don’t have to be a wellness or conservation expert to make the connection — that’s what collaboration is for. Work with university agriculture extension agents or local culinary experts to create your own healthy cookbook that highlights native plants and edible herbs. Invite a town historian to present on the local history of neighborhood parks. Does your community have a history rooted in agriculture or fishing? Explore the connection between natural resources and health.

Hit the streets and have students collect oral histories from community members. Use this activity to spread awareness of your recreation agency and build support.

5

Integrate efforts and break silos.

Reach out to your school district or library and explore what partnerships might exist to further your wellness and conservation goals. Would a math or science teacher be interested in giving a presentation to your teens to help them assess and learn more about cafeteria food waste, recycling or composting? If your agency doesn’t have a community garden, perhaps discuss how to partner with your local school to build one and use the produce for healthy cooking lessons. Use conservation to bridge the divide between community agencies and programs.

6

Focus on activities children enjoy.

Let’s say your children like art proj

ects (if you don’t know what they like, ask!). Start small, perhaps creating healthy messaging for your community center. It can be as easy as decorating your water fountains or displaying posters in your facility that encourage everyone to get outside and play. Now, build on that by exploring how public art impacts the use of parks and outdoor space. Have students research artists, photograph local spaces and brainstorm about how they could lead their own public art project to revitalize a space. Prompt students to think about how public art can be used to share positive messages that not only encourage healthy behaviors, but also social action.

7

Get hands-on.

Studying the lifecycle of animals can be fun! Children will never forget getting their hands dirty build-

ing bat houses, butterfly gardens or new beehives. Make the connection between what animals and insects need to live and the importance of children staying hydrated, getting enough sleep and eating fruits and vegetables. Share your successes by presenting to your local school board, city council or writing an article for your local newspaper.

Which of these seven activities will you try? Start small, raise youth voices, have fun and make an impact.

For more simple ideas and resources, visit https://host.healthiergeneration. org/new__notable. And, don’t forget to take the Commit to Health Pledge at www.nrpa.org/committohealth.

Daniel W. Hatcher is a National Out-ofSchool Advisor with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation (daniel.hatcher@ healthiergeneration.org).

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HEALTH AND WELLNESS

Fracking on Parkland in Appalachia Study looks at the impact of hydraulic fracturing on public park usage

By Jonathan Casper, Ph.D., Timothy Kellison, Ph.D., Kyle Bunds, Ph.D. and Josh Newman, Ph.D.

H

ydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is becoming an increasingly prevalent issue for park and recreation professionals. Energy companies are becoming increasingly active stakeholders in parks and recreation because of the valuable pockets of natural gas that underlie many public spaces. Recently, there has been growing interest in placing exploration and extraction wells in or adjacent to a number of public park and forest systems across Europe and North America. Opponents of fracking leases on public land have argued that in addition to air contaminants and polluted greywater on recreational fields, park acreage will be lost to fracking operations and park attendance will decrease. For administrators and policymakers, these outcomes would be especially troubling given the role that public green spaces are expected to play in contributing to health and well-being. In 2015, we conducted a study to understand perceptions of fracking by park visitors.

Our Study We conducted a preliminary exploration of the potential effects of fracking on or near publicly accessible parkland, focusing in particular on the possible implications for park users and administrators. To achieve

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this aim, a purposive sampling technique was used to distribute surveys to self-identified park users living in five states (Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia) in the Appalachian Basin of the eastern United States (n = 255). This re-

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gion was selected because it is home to a number of state and national parks — public land used for sport and recreation — currently considering or having already consented to fracking. The study covered three general themes: (1) general attitudes toward fracking, (2) attitudes toward fracking on public land and (3) perceived impact of fracking on park usage.

Each respondent reported visiting a local, state or national park at least once per year, with more than 40 percent visiting at least once per month.

Respondents reported the following characteristics: self-identified gender was 58 percent female and 42 percent male; average age was between 34 to 44 years old; average family income was $50,000 - $79,000; level of

education — 81 percent possessed a higher level of education above high school; and political affiliation — 42 percent Democrat, 33 percent Republican and 24 percent Independent or no affiliation.

Key Findings In general, most respondents expressed familiarity with the process of hydraulic fracturing. More than 60 percent reported being either somewhat familiar or very familiar with the term “hydraulic fracturing;” on the other hand, 10 percent had never heard of the term before taking the survey. Almost one-third of the sample lived in a region impacted (either currently or expected to be) by fracking. Most respondents (40 percent) opposed fracking in any form; while 23 percent were supportive, 25 percent were on the fence, and 12 percent were unsure.

Park users expressed concern that fracking, occurring on or near their public parks, would negatively impact their participation. Only one-third of participants indicated their willingness to participate in recreational activities near fracking operations (33 percent, compared to 38 percent unwilling and 29 percent neutral). More than half of all respondents also expressed the following: • Concern that a fracking operation would limit their ability to access their park (52 percent) • Willingness to travel further to visit a park unaffected by fracking (56 percent) • Support for legislation prohibiting fracking near their favorite park (58 percent) In general, park users believed that fracking on public land was unnecessary and bad for the environment. More park users agreed that

1

2

3

fracking on public land was bad for the environment (48 percent) compared to those who agreed fracking had no impact on the environment (16 percent). More park users also supported banning fracking on public land (46 percent, as opposed to 20 percent who agreed with promoting it). Fifty percent of respondents believed fracking on public land should be subject to greater oversight and regulation, while 13 percent believed it should be subject to less oversight and regulation. When neutral responses were removed from calculation, the contrasts were much starker.

While park users generally held strong opinions that fracking had a negative impact on the natural environment, most park users surveyed for this study were less critical when it came to its economic benefits. Park users’ attitudes toward the economic impact of fracking on public land were far more neutral (e.g., regarding its contribution to traffic and gas prices), and in some cases, were positive (such as its impact on the creation of temporary jobs).

4

Conclusions Based on the results of this study (http://plaza.ufl.edu/tkellison/_/ Fracking.html), it is clear that some park users in Appalachia are concerned about the future of their public green spaces. Park users who participated in this survey expressed concern that their ability to access and enjoy their favorite local, state or provincial, or federal parks systems could become hindered if nearby land was to be leased for natural gas exploration and extraction. While it is somewhat unclear why park users might have this suspicion, their survey responses yield some insight. Although some park users may believe

their access to a park could become limited due to increased traffic or park closures, there is some evidence to suggest park users would avoid parks near fracking operations out of personal preference: 38 percent disagreed with the statement, “I am willing to participate in recreational activities near a fracking operation,” and 56 percent indicated they were “willing to travel further to visit a park that was not affected by fracking operations.”

The results offer insight related to the implications of fracking and provide evidence to use caution on the acceptance of fracking near public lands. For example, for park directors living in areas where fracking might soon take place, this study suggests your park visitors might be less likely to attend your facilities. Therefore, it is important for concerned parties to speak up and share anxieties with legislators. Our results are fairly clear: People seek to avoid areas near fracking operations. Thus, park directors should be at the forefront of the current debates around privatization of public lands and fracking leases.

Detailed references for this article may be found at [http://plaza.ufl.edu/tkellison/_/Home_files/Fracking-Parkland_ Report.pdf].

Jonathan Casper, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University (jmcasper@ncsu.edu).

Timothy Kellison, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health at Georgia State University (tkellison@ ufl.edu). Kyle Bunds, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University (ksbunds@ncsu.edu). Josh Newman, Ph.D., is Associate Professor, Department of Sport Management at Florida State University (jinewman@fsu.edu).

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SOCIAL EQUITY

Diversifying for the Benefit of People and Parks

By Tyler Tapps and Tim Wall

O

ur parks are gateways to new worlds, allowing us to meaningfully connect with the beauty and wonder of natural places while learning, growing and fostering a profound appreciation of natural resources.

Yet not all groups of Americans have the opportunity to take equal advantage of park and recreation facilities. Families from marginalized, under-represented communities comprise 22 percent of park and rec users, which is well below the comparable rate for 80 percent of Caucasians based on results of a study released in 2011 by the Department of the Interior. Also, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, under-resourced children have disproportionately high incidences of several health concerns: infant mortality, chronic diseases such as asthma and poorer nutrition. They also face access barriers to quality health care, and have lower immunization rates and higher levels of obesity and its complications. Meanwhile, we know access to parks and open green spaces can help increase health, community and longevity.

Parks and recreation foment healthy, naturally connected living.

So, what can we do to extend opportunities for participation to a broader spectrum of society, including more racially and economically diverse Americans, who would gain great

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benefits from being in nature and participating in recreation?

Broadening Professional and Recreational Access When considering future park and recreation leaders, we must confront

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When considering future park and recreation leaders, we must confront the challenges of access on two fronts. the challenges of access on two fronts: engaging all communities to share the benefits of participating in parks and recreation, thereby developing a connection to and love for such activities, and recruiting and preparing new leaders from diverse backgrounds.

City, state and federal parks and recreation entities differ in many ways. Some are rural, some are urban and some have designated fund-

ing sources while others do not. Some focus on adult programming and facility development while others focus on youth, outdoor, conservation, preservation and health issues. Some provide financial support for people with economic disadvantages to have better access engaging in recreational activities. Some design special programs for groups with different cultural and ethnical backgrounds. This collective diversity among the mission and purpose of various park and recreation entities is one of the great strengths of our field. Preserving that diversity, and taking care to ensure those who carry out their agency’s respective missions are equally diverse, is essential if we hope to serve the needs of our modern clientele.

It is our professional obligation to improve inclusion. As global diversity evolves, the park and recreation field should positively and proactively

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Promotes healthy communication skills. We do not have to go far to find the research-driven benefits of being outdoors and participating in recreation programs. Diversity challenges stereotypes, encourages critical thinking and helps people to improve communication with people from different backgrounds.

It is our professional obligation to improve inclusion.

As global diversity evolves, the park and recreation field should positively and proactively embrace this change. It is essential to determine and implement best practices that encourage more inclusivity and access for families from diverse and under-represented backgrounds to the natural, healthy settings provided by parks and recreation. It is time that we as professionals promote and enhance diversity within the park systems to broaden the culture and bring the parks to the people.

Tyler Tapps, Ph.D., CPRP, is a Graduate Coordinator/Assistant Professor at Northwest Missouri State University’s School of Health Science and Wellness (tytapps@nwmissouri.edu). Tim Wall, Ed.D, is the Dean of the School of Education at Northwest Missouri State University (timwall@nwmissouri.edu).

embrace this change.

In our experiences working or participating with park and recreation agencies, we have discovered that many share a common belief: It is vital to embrace diversity to fulfill their primary missions. We should advocate for diversity in policy, programming and personnel. Park and recreation organizations must strongly express how racial and ethnic diversity should be considered in strategic, land and capital planning. Diversity:

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Strengthens communities and workplaces. Park and recreation programs within diverse settings support citizenship while developing respect for others and nature.

Enriches educational experiences. Education is a staple for all park and recreation agencies. We learn from those whose experiences, beliefs and perspectives are different from our own, and those lessons can be best taught in diverse environments by diverse park and recreation professionals.

Enhances America’s economic competitiveness. Financial constraint is a primary issue for agencies at the national, state and municipal levels. Sustaining prosperity requires us to make effective use of the talents and abilities of all citizens.

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THE ONLY CROWDFUNDING SITE DEDICATED TO PARKS AND RECREATION To find out how your agency can get involved visit

www.nrpa.org/FundYourPark

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Introducing California’s Newest

National

By Paula Jacoby-Garrett

Sand to Snow

y erness Societ ings, The Wild Mason Cumm

Jack Thompson, Camp aign for the Californi a De

sert

Castle Mountains

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Monuments I

n February, with the stroke of his pen and the authority granted under the 1906 Antiquities Act, President Obama created three new national monuments in the California desert.

Together, the new monuments protect 1.8 million acres of sweeping desert landscapes, dozens of sensitive species and thousands of cultural heritage sites, while providing an array of recreational activities. Notable features of the national monuments include the tallest mountain peak in southern California, stretches of historic Route 66, a fossil bed site, a towering volcanic cinder cone, and a dense high-desert Joshua tree forest. Two of the monuments are near the Los Angeles metropolitan area; the third is located at the California-Nevada border, an hour’s drive from Las Vegas.

The presidential declaration mandates that each monument, consisting of land already owned by the federal government, be given a higher protective status and be managed with the over-arching goal of preserving and protecting it for generations to come. All current use of the land — existing mining operations, recreational off-road travel, utility corridors and military training drills — continue

to be allowed in these areas now defined as national monuments.

The monuments will be managed by the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and National Park Service (NPS).

The Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Sally Jewell, lauded the creation of the Sand to Snow, Mojave Trails and Castle Mountains national monuments, saying, “The California desert is a cher-

Mason Cummings, The Wilderness Society

Mojave Trails

ished and irreplaceable resource for the people of southern California.

It is an oasis of nature’s quiet beauty just outside two of our nation’s largest metropolitan areas. Its historic and cultural resources tell the stories of armies, travelers, ranchers and miners, and of the original caretakers of this land. [The] designation by the President furthers the longstanding work of public land managers and local communities to ensure these areas will remain preserved and accessible to the public for future generations.”

Secretary Jewell also commended the long-standing leadership of California Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D), whose more than two-decades long vision, established with the passage of the California Desert Protection Act of 1994, has been completed with the addition of these new national monuments.

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Amboy Crater

Bureau of Land

t Managemen

CA MONUMENTS

Sand to Snow National Monument Located just east of Los Angeles and within a two-hour drive for more than 24 million people, the 154,000-acre Sand to Snow National Monument offers distinctively diverse topography.

From the Sonoran Desert landscape to the rugged San Gorgonio Peak at 11,500 feet, visitors to this national 50 Parks & Recreation

monument can immerse themselves in starkly arid desert and lush forest.

The monument’s proximity to the Los Angeles metropolitan area offers both opportunities and challenges for the Forest Service and the BLM, which will jointly manage it. As urban centers become dense with residents, everything from neighborhood pocket parks to protected lands, like the nearby Sand to Snow National Monument, become essential for main-

Sand to Snow Patrick Donnelly, Campaign for the California Desert

The act created Joshua Tree and Death Valley National Parks as well as the Mojave National Preserve. The newest national monuments fill in important landscapes in the California desert and interconnect with the parks and preserves created in the 90s.

During the past six years, Sen. Feinstein introduced legislation several times to create the national monuments but was stymied by congressional inaction. Thousands of supporters, including ranchers, miners, tribal members, conservationists and desert recreationists, along with community leaders and elected officials, advocated for the monuments with resolutions before local governments, letters to the editors, town hall meetings and, eventually, a letter-writing campaign to President Obama that resulted in the creation of the monuments.

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taining the human connection with nature and the outdoors. Intriguing historical and cultural sites, rare and fragile wildlife, and rich biodiversity are protected by Sand to Snow. In addition, it encompasses 30 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (made famous in Cheryl Strayed’s book Wild and the subsequent movie of the same title, starring Reese Witherspoon).

“Sand to Snow’s peaks and valleys have long provided physical and spiritual sustenance to native people,” says U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, whose department manages the Forest Service. “Today, they are also an inspiration and recreational beacon to millions. We are honored to ensure the permanent protection of these cherished places.”

“Visitors have been hiking and camping in the San Gorgonio’s since the 1920s, which prompted a call for a national monument as early as 1923,” says John C. Heil III, press officer for the Pacific Southwest Region of the U.S. Forest Service.

Heil says that, over the years, various forms of protection, ranging from “primitive” to “wilderness” designations, have been put in place to balance protection of the resources and the rec-

Castle Mounta in

s

Mojave Trails National Monument The largest of the three newly designated monuments, Mojave Trails National Monument is a jaw-dropping 1.6 million acres, vastly larger than the 22 national monuments designated during Obama’s presidency. Almost a quarter-million acres within the new monument was land purchased 15 years ago

by The Wildlands Conservancy and donated to the Department of the Interior in anticipation of one day achieving national monument status.

Dubbed the “Heart of the Mojave,” this new monument links Joshua Tree National Park and the Mojave National Preserve to assure biological connectivity. Populations of desert bighorn sheep, for example, will be able to move between vast swaths of land to sustain future generations of the species. The Mojave Trails National Monument also links 15 federally designated wilderness areas.

Natural and cultural features in this new national monument include the Pisgah Lava Flow, which provides essential research on the effect volcanoes have on evolution; Sleeping Beauty Valley, a dry playa that is home to more than 350 species of plants, including rare species; Marble Mountains Fossil Beds, an area abundant with well-preserved trilobites dating back 500 million years; and an undeveloped stretch of Route 66.

Beloved by historians for linking road travelers in the 60s between the Midwest and California, and made famous by author John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, Route 66 was recent

ly introduced to a new generation in Disney’s animated movie “Cars.”

The historic route has been noted by the World Monuments Fund as a threatened resource and also called out by Smithsonian magazine as one of “15 Must-See Endangered Cultural Treasures.”

BLM management responsibilities, formerly under BLM’s multiple-use mandates, shift to longterm preservation of the monument’s resources.

“The BLM has a tremendous opportunity to manage an area with high cultural, historical and environmental significance,” says Dana Wilson, public affairs officer in the BLM’s California state office.

“In order to manage these areas successfully, the BLM relies heavily on its partnerships with local communities and the public in developing a management plan for the monument that identifies priority areas for conservation, recreation and visitor amenities,” says Wilson. “In particular, the BLM will work with the local communities of Barstow, Needles and Amboy to help us in the process.”

David Lamfrom, Camp aign for the Californi a Desert

reational appeal of the highest peak in Southern California. “The protection of cultural and natural resources will both be considered before we implement any changes,” he adds, and he anticipates that the Forest Service and BLM will rely on consultation with tribal governments and field surveys.

Castle Mountains National Monument At 21,000 acres, Castle Mountains National Monument is not only the smallest of the three new monuments but is also the most remote. Situated on the California/Nevada border, far closer to Las Vegas than Los Angeles, the new monument fills in a pieshaped cutout on the northern boundary of the 1.6 million-acre Mojave’s National Preserve. The area was not included in the preserve’s establishing legislation in 1994 because of active

mining operations in the area.

Visitors access the national monument near Searchlight, Nevada, by navigating a bumpy dirt road that yields surprising vistas of distinctive mountain ranges and glimpses of thriving wildlife, including golden eagles, desert tortoise and bighorn sheep.

Castle Mountains supports a lush Joshua tree forest — considered one of the best in the Mojave Desert — and high desert grasslands that some say may be prime for the reintroduction of pronghorn antelope. Petroglyphs in the area, remnants of old mining claims, and a gold rush-era railroad track confirm the area’s colorful Old West history.

National Park Service personnel associated with the Mojave Preserve are anticipated to staff the new national monument, and their enthusiasm is evident. Within days of the president’s designation, the National Park Service had already erected and posted a sign at the Castle Mountains entrance.

Paula Jacoby-Garrett is a freelance writer based in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also a board member of the Mojave National Preserve Conservancy (paula.jacoby.garrett@ gmail.com).

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Parks Saving the

Monarch Parks are critical partners in the nationwide effort to restore habitat and increase the population of this beloved insect

By Richard J. Dolesh

A

little over a year ago, NRPA announced the Parks for Monarchs campaign, an initiative to encourage park and recreation agencies across the nation to collectively show the power of parks as we work to save the monarch butterfly, a remarkable wildlife species whose numbers have declined more than 90 percent in the past two decades.

Not so long ago, monarchs were taken for granted by just about everyone. In most parts of the country, you could easily find this graceful, floating, dancing splash of orange and black in the landscape in backyards, farm fields or along roadsides. Wherever you found milkweed plants you could generally find a monarch — either as an adult butterfly feeding on the nectar of the milkweed flowers, as an egg on the underside of its leaves, or as a caterpillar relentlessly munching away. And, if you were lucky, perhaps you could find a chrysalis hanging from a twig or under a leaf, looking like a Chinese lantern, almost pulsing with a mysterious energy because you knew that in less than two

52 Parks & Recreation

weeks, a fully formed adult monarch would emerge and continue north in an incredible multi-generation migratory flight. But, those days are almost gone unless we do something to reverse the decline of the monarchs.

One of the most amazing things about monarch migration is that it continues within a season through several generations of butterflies. The entire population that leaves Mexico dies before reaching the furthest distance of that season’s migration.

However, before they die, they lay eggs for the next generation, which continues the flight northward. This pattern continues through several generations, the current generation never seeing or knowing where the

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next generation will travel. And at the furthest northward and eastward points of their migration, the final generation of the season decides by signals known only to them that it is time to head south. This generation of monarchs, in a single stupendous flight, migrates all the way to Southern Mexico to live out the winter in a group of mountain forests that they have never seen or ever visited in their lives. The migration of the monarchs is the longest known migration of insects and it is an incredible marvel of nature.

Monarch Population Crash Prompts International Concern Beginning in the mid-1990s, the population numbers of this once-abundant and common butterfly began to crash, particularly the Eastern population. [Ed. Note: The migratory patterns of monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains are not as well-known as that

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MONARCHS

of their eastern counterparts — they do migrate, but do not make as long a migration. Their migratory patterns are generally different than the eastern population.] The root cause was a massive loss of habitat, primarily from the disappearance of milkweed plants in the vast corn fields of the heartland.

The so-called “corn belt” forms the most important habitat on the monarch migration highway that literally hundreds of millions of monarchs previously traveled on their migration north. Genetically modified corn that is resistant to the primary herbicide used for weed control, glyphosate, rapidly replaced all other types of unmodified corn. Often called “Round-up ready” for its ability to resist the weed-killing effects of the herbicide Roundup, this corn does not die when sprayed with glyphosate, but all weeds do die, including milkweed. For monarchs,

this proved to be devastating.

Because of the rapid embrace of this GMO corn, which now totals almost 90 percent of all U.S. corn and more than 95 percent of soybean crops, a huge swath of what was once high-quality monarch habitat has disappeared. More than 150 million acres of monarch habitat has been lost and in that timeframe, what was once a population of 1 billion monarchs fell to barely 50 million.

Many other factors also played a role — extreme weather, logging of the Oyamel firs in the Mexican wintering forests, loss of other non-agricultural habitat and other factors.

Fate of Monarchs Balanced on a Knife’s Edge Since the monarch population crashed from its highest number in 1996, combined with legitimate fears about the future viability of the entire monarch migration, there has been a massive outpouring of public support that has spurred a dramatic conservation effort to save this much-loved

Parks across the country are developing innovative projects to provide monarch habitat.

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species. Recent developments point to just how delicate is the balance of the monarch’s recovery.

First, the good news: After 20 years of long-term decline in the eastern population of monarchs, the estimates of the 2016 wintering monarchs showed the total population was up significantly — 225 percent from the previous year. However, even though the numbers were up by a significant percentage, 2016 marks one of the lowest counts ever recorded and there may be more bad news ahead.

A just-published study in the journal Scientific Reports by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and the U.S. Geological Survey, estimates that there is a “substantial probability” of an extinction-type event for the entire population of monarchs if they were subjected to events such as severe winter storms or extended periods of extreme heat or drought, or other environmental causes. The researchers estimate the probability of the complete loss of this subset of the monarch population from such an event as between 11 percent and 57 percent. If the monarch population were decimated in such a manner, recovery of the species would be impossible.

Chip Taylor, head of Monarch Watch and one of the authors of the study says, “There is annual variation in the monarch population and that is natural. The problem is that we can always have unanticipated or unexpected bad weather.” For example, Taylor noted, there was a heavy late winter storm in Mexico this year that caused the blow-down of trees and other damage in the monarch wintering areas. “There were clusters of monarchs in the trees covered with snow, but we were fortunate. A lot of our monarchs had already left the wintering forests. This is just one

The city of Hagerstown, Maryland Department of Parks and Engineering, in partnership with the local Kiwanis Club, dedicated its new trailside park near Antietam Creek as a monarch waystation.

example of the great uncertainty from year to year.”

Taylor says to double or even quadruple the present number of monarchs would still not be a success.

“We need a much bigger overwintering population. The bottom line is that we have to increase the number of monarchs [by creating more habitat] so that the population is resilient enough to withstand extreme events.”

What Park and Rec Agencies Say They Need In late December 2015, NRPA surveyed a group of almost 900 park and recreation agencies to ask what they were doing for monarch conservation and what their greatest needs were.

The survey generated 120 responses. Some of the topline findings were: • 53 percent of agencies are already engaged in monarch conservation and 45 percent are also working on other pollinator conservation activities.

• 84 percent are planting milkweed plants or seeds and 76 percent are creating monarch waystations.

• Among agencies that have installed a monarch waystation, 73 percent have between one and five, and 27

percent have installed more than five.

• A significant amount of agencies — 36 percent — said they had more than 10 acres dedicated to monarch habitat restoration.

With regard to engaging and educating the public, 64 percent of agencies said they had educational displays or signs and two-thirds said they held educational programs for children and adults in their parks and centers. Regrettably, 16 percent of agencies said they were providing no education to the public about monarch conservation.

Many agencies are already engaged in advanced monarch conservation activities such as tagging and releasing, monitoring monarch larva with citizen volunteers, holding butterfly counts or surveys and hosting monarch festivals or plant sales.

Regrettably, 33 percent of agencies are not utilizing volunteers at all for monarch conservation.

Key takeaways from the survey questions and comments included a strong desire for low-cost or free milkweed plants (80 percent); training for staff and volunteers through webinars, conference sessions or on-

line information (77 percent); and funding for monarch conservation projects and programs (76 percent).

The survey results give a good picture of where NRPA member agencies are engaged on the spectrum of monarch conservation actions. Forty-six percent said they were “just getting started;” 30 percent rated themselves as “adequate — could use some additional resources and training;” and 20 percent of agencies rated themselves as “advanced” in working on monarch conservation and education activities.

Overall, most agencies said they needed more funding and resources. One commenter said, “Our agency has ample land for monarch habitat creation, however, we lack the staff time and resources to take our efforts to the next level.”

Many respondents took time to reply to this request: “Please comment on your agency’s monarch conservation efforts, particularly what you think has been most successful and what you see as the greatest challenges.” To read more about the survey, including com-

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ments on the above, visit www.nrpa. org/parks4monarchs.

“Seize the Milkweed Day” and Other Cool Monarch Conservation Ideas In response to online queries and a continuing dialogue on NRPA Connect (www.nrpaconnect.org), it is evident that several park and rec agencies are displaying considerable creativity in developing monarch conservation activities. They are planting milkweeds in new or restored habitat with new volunteer partnerships, engaging the public in citizen science or conservation projects in new ways, and involving children and youth through hands-on education programs.

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Alexandra McFadden, education coordinator for New Bedford Parks, Recreation and Beaches in New Bedford, Massachusetts, says, “We have an after-school program at Hayden-McFadden Elementary School that has been participating in a weekly pollinator education program.

Every Friday after school, about 50 students work with a local college student to learn about pollinators like monarch butterflies and why they are so important. They do all kinds of research and arts and crafts projects relating to pollinators and plant milkweed seeds in soil to take home to replant in their own gardens for monarch conservation. The program will culminate with a trip to a local university to present their research and see Jane Goodall give a presentation on environmental conservation.”

Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has gone hog wild for monarchs. Residents Clark McLeod and Cam Watts have organized an effort to plant 25,000 milkweed plugs in and around Cedar Rapids and grow them in tented enclosures to produce the highest possible number of monarchs from eggs. Twenty-five organizations have mobilized to plant the milkweeds and raise monarchs during a two-year cycle in protected environments called Monarch Zones.

Jenny Corbett, lead naturalist at Wickiup Hill Learning Center of Linn County Parks says her agency will conduct public education programs and tours of a large bio-tent to show the various stages of monarch life cycle. The Learning Center is working with a local beekeepers group to teach a yearlong beekeepers class to promote planting nectar

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plants, also essential to monarchs during their life cycle, and promote habitat creation for all pollinators.

“By helping one,” says Corbett, “you are helping others.” Corbett loves a special Wickiup Hill event called “Seize the Milkweed Day,” during which 1,000 locally grown milkweed plugs are distributed.

In Fort Worth, Texas, Gail Manning, entomologist and education team leader at the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens, part of the Fort Worth Parks and Recreation Department, says “I collect wild milkweed seeds from local native milkweed plants, package them up with an instruction sheet and distribute them to the public.” She says the center has an extensive program for monarchs and other pollinators. “I came up with the idea for distributing milkweed seeds simply because I wanted to give people an opportunity to provide habitat for monarchs. We talk a lot about creating habitat for monarchs, and this just seemed one of the best ways to do it.” She noted the importance of planting other nectar-bearing plants on which a variety of pollinators can feed, but it is monarchs that the public loves most.

“When the weather cools and monarchs come through Fort Worth, our residents might see a dozen monarchs. When they come here to the botanic garden they might see hundreds. People really look forward to the migration of the monarchs.”

Rodney Tissue, professional engineer for the Hagerstown, Maryland Department of Parks and Engineering, reported on a partnership project with the local Kiwanis Club, which dedicated its new trailside park near Antietam Creek as a monarch waystation. He said on the day they planted the milkweed, “monarch butterflies were landing on the milkweed plants. It was amazing.”

The Kansas City, Missouri, Department of Parks and Recreation is partnering on a monarch demonstration garden at Loose Park in Kansas City, according to Director Mark McHenry.

This project is funded in part by a monarch conservation grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

The garden will be the site of educational programs and will be maintained and monitored by volunteers from a local garden club. The volunteers will report results to monarch monitoring organizations and the Field Museum in Chicago as part of the EPIC program (Ecological Places in Cities).

How to Help Save the Monarch What you can do to help save the monarch is simple: Create habitat and educate the public. Taylor says, “Parks can create habitat for monarchs and other pollinators. We have lost tens of millions of acres of habitat. Parks can play a big role in restoring that habitat.” He continues, “The second, and possibly more important role that parks can play, is to educate the public. The conclusions of two presidential working groups and a host of conservation organizations is that if we are to save the monarch, it will take an all-hands-on-deck effort.

We need parks.” Taylor says we must come to grips with the fact that we continue to lose a million acres of monarch habitat per year. “We won’t save the monarch unless we make it national priority,” he says.

So, here are four simple things you and your agency can do to help save the monarch: Restore monarch habitat by planting milkweed in parks and on other public lands. It is not too late to request free milkweed plants from Monarch Watch for larger plantings in landscape restoration projects more than 2 acres in size, as well as smaller flats. Visit www.monarch

watch.org and click “Free Milkweeds for Restoration,” and remember to check “NRPA member.”

Educate the public in whatever ways you can of the need to become engaged in monarch conservation — exhibits, signs, festivals, programs, citizen science projects, etc.

Encourage your mayor to take the Mayors for Monarchs Pledge. Visit www.nwf.org/How-to-Help/Garden-for-Wildlife/Community-Habitats/Mayors-Monarch-Pledge.aspx to learn more.

Join NRPA’s Parks for Monarchs campaign (www.nrpa.org/ parks4monarchs) and tell us what you are doing. We want to hear about how you are meeting challenges, developing new partnerships, and achieving success, and we want to share your inspirational achievements.

Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Conservation and Parks (rdolesh@nrpa.org).

Trojan Park Stormwater Management Areas Provide Habitat for Monarchs Trojan Park, a new neighborhood park in Wellston, Missouri, along the Great Rivers Greenway (GRG) in St. Louis County, is NRPA’s 2016 Parks Build Community project. An integral part of the park’s design is the installation of four bio-retention areas that will capture and hold stormwater on the site during rainstorms. What is innovative about the installation of these required best-management practices for stormwater (BMPs) is that all four will be planted as pollinator gardens and butterfly conservation areas. One of the gardens will be specifically planted as a monarch butterfly waystation.

Trojan Park is a compact neighborhood park designed by Forum Studio in conjunction with GRG staff and located right on the St. Vincent Greenway. Michael Sorth, director of conservation and community for GRG, said the decision to include pollinator gardens as part of the stormwater mitigation requirements is “a trend that we are seeing across the St. Louis region.” He continued, “Park agencies are starting to see a different way to develop more sustainable landscapes.”

Angie Weber, GRG’s conservation program manager, says, “Bio-retention areas like these are ideal for increasing wildlife habitat. The right plants will produce the right habitat.” She says that often park agencies or landscape design firms will choose showy or exotic plants that provide color and appeal, but don’t contribute to producing quality wildlife habitat.

“Because of the great concern for pollinators, a conversation we are having across the St. Louis region, we chose to plant pollinator-friendly plants,” Weber says. “We believe that all landscaping should contribute to the goal of creating productive landscapes with good ecological function.”

When Trojan Park’s pollinator and monarch gardens are planted, the partnership that is managing the park — The City of Wellston, St. Louis County Parks and Recreation and GRG — will invite the support of local volunteers including Master Gardeners, the St. Louis Audubon Society and homeowners and residents of Wellston to maintain them.

As Weber says, “People who are uninitiated in saving the monarchs and other pollinators learn what it’s about and then become excited to help provide stewardship.”

— Richard J. Dolesh, NRPA’s Vice President of Conservation and Parks

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JuanCarlos Chan, Photographer, City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

DOUBLING on Water and Energy

F

or more than 10 years, the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks has been implementing conservation practices in our journey toward safeguarding the environment. By changing our operation techniques and integrating different efforts at existing parks and in the design of new locations, we have made the transformation to being a conservation-driven park agency.

Every new project and practice has helped bring us closer to our conservation goals while positively impacting the communities we serve. We’ve kept our park patrons informed of our efforts along the way, and it has helped us strengthen our department while enhancing our parks and communities. We are proud of our efforts and our ability to continue to create new parkland while still maintaining our conservation goals. Our first step in this transformation began with water.

Water When people think of parks, they envision green space. It is not surprising,

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then, that recreation and parks is the largest water user of any city of Los Angeles department. With more than

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16,000-acres of parkland to look after, water usage is and will always be a critical component of daily maintenance and operations. Like so many park agencies, a majority of our water consumption is used to keep our parks green. Ninety-two percent of our water usage is for irrigation and reducing that number called for a new way of thinking, designing and maintaining our parkland.

The old ways of managing water were no longer applicable or appropriate for our drought conditions, and short-term relief measures were

DOWN Conservation not options for true success. To be responsible stewards, park water use should be based on the climate of the city or town, rather than on traditional impractical, wasteful models. Our semi-arid environment was not considered in our old methods, but, now, our practices revolve around it. This new way of thinking called for a combination of practices and efforts. The department needed to replace, install and implement techniques, equipment and designs to maximize our conservation efforts, and those efforts have paid off. We have reduced our potable water usage by more than 30

percent from the mid-2000s and for the most recent fiscal year, a total of 769,656,000 gallons (30 percent) were saved over the prior fiscal year. This reduction in water usage was achieved even though the number of parks and park acreage increased.

Smart Irrigation Systems The first step in reducing water consumption was the most obvious: install new irrigation systems. In 2008, the department began its Smart Irrigation Retrofit Program, whose goal was to maximize water savings by upgrading outdated irrigation sys-

By Amy A. Garcia tems to newer, more efficient ones, repairing existing systems and reducing the amount of irrigated turf areas. Smart Irrigation Systems are climate- and soil-based equipment that measure temperature, wind and rainfall while also accounting for differing soil types, topography and other site conditions. The smart systems can save an average of 325,000 gallons per acre annually.

Taking the program a step further, we created the Smart Irrigation Youth Training Program that provides an intensive, hands-on training opportunity for at-risk adults, ages 18-24. Participants gain skills for entry-level jobs in irrigation, maintenance and green technology while helping to improve their parkland. Departmental staff provides skills in basic landscaping irrigation construction, including the replacement of sprinkler systems and re-piping. The 51-week program in-

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W AT E R & E N E R G Y C O N S E R V AT I O N

cludes two 8-hour field work days and one 4-hour in-class workforce training day a week. After 1,020 hours, participants receive a certificate of completion. More than 103 smart irrigation participants have been hired for landscaping positions after completing the program. In the past three years, our maintenance division has hired more than 12 Smart Irrigation graduates.

Synthetic Fields and Turf Replacement The Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks has also incorporated the replacement of turf as a successful strategy for conserving water. Turf removal strategies include replacement with organic and hardscape materials, such as drought-tolerant plants, mulch, decomposed granite, gravel and permeable pavers.

The DWP estimates that each square foot of turf removed will save up to 32.4 gallons each year. While there will always be cases where turf continues to be incorporated in our parks (such as picnic areas and active recreation areas), in general the department continues to evaluate our parks for potential areas of turf removal.

JuanCarlos Chan, Photographer, City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

Recycled Water The second step in our water-reduction efforts was to maximize the number of the city’s large parks, lakes and golf courses that are converted to recycled water. This requires close work with the Department of Water and Power (DWP) that installs all of the needed recycled water pipelines (which typically are routed through existing city streets). Through our DWP partnership, several golf courses and largescale parks have been converted to recycled water. As of fiscal year 20142015, recycled water usage has increased to one-third of total water consumption and more recycled facilities

will be completed in the near future.

The department’s goal is to develop a plan to convert 85 percent of public golf course acreage to recycled water by 2017, and to also determine the feasibility of converting all golf courses to 100 percent non-potable water.

South Park Soccer Field, one of 38 synthetic fields that contribute to an estimated 62.8 million gallons of water saved annually by the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

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In fiscal year 2014-2015, an estimated 23 million gallons of water were saved because of turf replacement.

For the past 10 years, the department has been installing synthetic fields as a replacement for natural turf fields. Synthetic fields offer several advantages over natural turf fields: they require far less maintenance, are much more durable, require no chemicals or fertilizers and, perhaps most importantly, greatly reduce the need for water. Los Angeles Recreation and Parks has developed our own synthetic performance specification turf which includes a higher quality (thicker) turf with a shock pad included in the design. Our current design specifications call for Zeolite, a natural volcanic material, rather than crumb rubber infill, and also require that (to the greatest extent possible) water drained from the field is kept on-site. Eleven of our 38 synthetic fields have our Los Angeles Synthetic Turf Specification. We currently save an estimated 62.8 million gallons of water annually thanks to our synthetic fields. As more fields are completed, additional savings will accrue.

Energy Actions To help us meet our energy conservation goals, we began installing LEDs and replacing High Intensity Discharge (HID) technology at all existing and new parks. To further optimize the energy savings and efficiency, we utilize motion sensors, photocells and dimming controls to reduce light output to 30 percent or 50 percent during times when the areas are not occupied. LED retrofitting projects and new LED lighting installations are core components of our long-term park planning, construction and maintenance program.

These plans involve the eventual replacement of most HID lamps being used for our outdoor sports fields and

JuanCarlos Chan, Photographer, City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks

indoor gyms, as well as the replacement of indoor florescent lighting at all buildings and recreation facilities.

The motivation for selecting LED or Solid State Technology in our energy savings and efficiency goals is that the payback for LED is relatively short — 3–5 years — and LED is maintenance-free. Some manufacturers confidently provide 10 years or more on warranty for their products.

Additionally, the energy savings on LED is immediate, from 30 percent to 45 percent and 70 percent, depending on the applications.

In 2011, the department dedicated and opened the city of Los Angeles’ first Leadership and Excellence in Environmental Design (LEED) certified building at Lafayette Park. Since then, the department has adopted new “green” design techniques. All of our new facilities are “green” buildings and LEED compliant, and improvement/renovations to existing buildings are designed to meet LEED guidelines as well. LEED, the Green Building Council’s rating system, measures sustainability, green design and building performance.

LEED certification is a point rating system that credits or applies points for implementing LEED aspects in several categories such as sustainable sites, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and innovation and design process. There are four levels of LEED certification, and a building requires at least 40 points for LEED certification.

Los Angeles has adopted a policy requiring all new buildings larger than 7,500 square feet to meet the minimum certification level.

By 2035, 75 percent of the built environment in the United States will have been constructed new or renovated since 2005. With buildings accounting for 39 percent of carbon

In 2010, solar roof panels were installed at Pecan Recreation Center, seen here.

dioxide emissions, there is an opportunity to significantly contribute to carbon reduction when designing and constructing new structures.

Right now is the perfect time to implement green building standards and techniques in your park agencies.

Every step and new effort has strengthened our knowledge of what works and what does not in our park designs. Our 50 Park Initiative has put a focus in the past couple of years on the development of small neighborhood parks. Community meetings are held and residents are provided with information on the park’s basic design elements and included in the design discussions. They are also educated on why sustainable and conservation elements are needed and their benefits. This collaborative-driven process allows for unique elements in each park and keeps the community informed about our conservation efforts. Each new park also includes sustainable design practices, as well as water and energy conservation elements such as native land-

scaping, LED lighting and smart irrigation systems.

The increasing population, scarcity of water, growing waste levels and escalation of global warming are intensifying the demands on limited resources around the world. Energy- and water-efficient practices are needed on every level. From water reduction to LED technology, park agencies have multiple opportunities for implementing conservation techniques and practices and sharing them with their park patrons to help their communities become environmentally conscious. Providing knowledge and examples of conservation efforts can have a strong impact on the communities we serve.

We have helped build strong communities through recreation, and we can help encourage them to be stewards of the environment. This most likely will require changes to our operations and park-design process.

Amy A. Garcia is a Public Relations Assistant at the city of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks (amy.a.garcia@lacity.org).

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Citiz en Prog rams Building confidence and stewardship in the outdoors using science and research program techniques

By Greg Kearns, Melinda Fegler and Michelle Schreiber

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A

s populations increase and become more urbanized, there is a serious need to increase environmental literacy in citizens in order to mitigate environmental damage. Creating citizen science and service learning projects is an engaging tool to mend this concern and promote outdoor activity. These projects, a collaboration of volunteers and scientists to create new science-based knowledge, benefit individual facilities and citizens by increasing habitat stewardship and confidence in a range of opportunities related to outdoor recreation, natural resource conduct and stewardship action.

There are many national citizen science projects that your facility can participate in to get comfortable with data collection and the process before you create your own project. There is a project out there for any interest you have, from the Monarch Larva

Monitoring Project (www.mlmp.org) to Nature’s Notebook (tracks seasonal changes in plants and animals — www.usanpn.org/natures_notebook), Audubon Christmas Bird Count (www.audubon.org/conservation/science/christmas-bird-count), and FrogWatch (www.aza.org/frogwatch) to name a few.

Restoring Habitats and Wetlands The staff of Patuxent River Park, part of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC) in Prince George’s County, Maryland, has been successful in involving citizens of all ages in exciting and significant research projects that have impacted the survival of many species. Initially, projects at Patuxent River Park were more pure research — conservation and wildlife management conducted by senior naturalist Greg Kearns — and the public was not usually allowed to participate in any appreciable numbers. Through our river ecology boat tours, the primary mission being environmental education, the community was made aware of ongoing projects. As public interest grew, the programs evolved from using a few intern assistants into a public science and education collaboration.

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CITIZEN SCIENCE PROGRAMS

One major project consists of more than 30 years of osprey (pandion haliaetus) monitoring and banding and includes putting up more than 50 nest platforms over 10 miles of the Patuxent River. Numerous Boy Scouts have received Eagle Scout honors for assisting with the construction and placement of these nests. This long-term, bird-banding project gives numerous interns the opportunity to get “hands on” with the birds, gain tremendous experience working with nature and, at the same time, help allay their fears of nature or birds. Many students have gone on from this experience to work in environmental fields of study, have gained a greater appreciation of birds and learned the importance of studying their populations. The famous naturalist, Roger Tory Peterson once said, “Birds are the litmus paper of the environment,” because they are good indicators of environmental change and degradation.

To date, as part of this long-term monitoring project, we have banded more than 1,100 juvenile and adult ospreys at the Patuxent River Park during the past 30 years and another 3,000 on the rest of the river. More

than 2,000 people of all ages in the past five years have participated in this program with extremely positive results. Groups of up to 25 people accompany Kearns on a specialized program to learn about the biology of the osprey and how to tag them safely.

Participants also learn the procedure involved, what data is collected from the birds and how it comes back to the bander. The training usually starts with the group gathered around a live osprey camera that was installed 15 years ago at the park’s visitor center to monitor and learn about osprey behavior. Then, participants go on the pontoon boat and get to handle the birds as part of the banding process.

This is always a highlight and, year after year, brings back people who have great interest and enthusiasm. Program demand is high and the funds generated from it are used to sustain other programs and part-time staff.

Another major citizen science program we conduct is the restoration and conservation of wild rice (zizania aquatica) marshes on the Patuxent River. Wild rice is one of the most important wetland plants in the Patuxent River/Jug Bay ecosystem. This project

Seventh-grade middle school students from Prince George’s County, Maryland, get ready to plant rice plants they started from seed in the Patuxent River wetlands.

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began in 2000 with grant money from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which was used to buy fencing to protect the wild rice and to hire summer interns.

During the past 15 years, this program has grown to involve hundreds of volunteers and students who receive wild rice seeds to grow in their classrooms with special lights. In April and May, they bring the seedlings back to plant on-site in the Patuxent River wetlands. These hundreds of students get to have a first-hand experience in chest waders working in the marsh, learning about the importance of wild rice in the ecosystem and its value to wildlife and water quality. The college interns, who work the entire summer, get invaluable experience to add to their résumés in a nationally recognized wetland restoration project that is a great example of service and citizen science. This project has helped many of them secure jobs in the environmental field.

The goal of these projects is to not only restore the wetlands and habitats but also to provide extremely useful, hands-on experience to as many people as possible. More than 60 research interns have participated in this program since it began and hundreds, if not thousands, of other volunteers. Much of the work has been published in science journals, in cooperation with federal biologists, and seen internationally.

Designing Your Own Citizen Science Project How do natural resource managers meet the potential of citizen science?

When designing a project, it is important to include the data collectors in the objectives. The data is important, but the real treasure is the opportunity to develop stewards for natural spaces,

to encourage informed and responsible user groups, and to grow an army of messengers to spread the passion.

One of the first steps in designing your own project is figuring out what kind of commitment you want from your volunteers. Contributory projects are ideal for one-day or off-site volunteers who simply collect and submit data to the researcher. Collaborative projects have the volunteers help with designing the project as well as with collecting data. Co-created projects involve volunteers from the outset, from developing the question all the way to interpreting the results. If you have long-term volunteers, co-created projects can provide them with a great experience.

Once you have laid out the objectives of the study, the types of data need to be decided. Quantitative data is easiest for most citizen science groups because they can be clearly defined. There should be minimal to no opportunity for subjectivity. Checkoff boxes work great in many cases and are easily incorporated into a digital form that can be exported into a spreadsheet. Decide if data collection will be done independently or as planned events that require volunteers to work as a group.

Regardless of how it occurs, protocol should be simple and clear.

When it comes to finding volunteers, recruitment possibilities are endless — from schools to community centers, churches, volunteer databases, social media, etc. — but not always easy to harness. Give yourself enough time to market and, when possible, have multiple training opportunities to fit your audience’s schedule. Prior to training workshops, be sure you develop a pre-participant survey to assess knowledge, outdoor confidence and ecological service values.

Training day is the most important piece of your project. You don’t want to recruit 100 people and then suffer

75 percent attrition after the training because you lost their interest. It’s important to choose the right person to lead the training; it might not be you. A project’s front person should be enthusiastic, charismatic, a friendly face who is open to questions and knowledgeable about the project. Great informal educators spread their passion, knowledge and needs clearly in a manner that centers around all learning types so that participants are engaged and confident to move forward as a team member once training is over.

Resources are also vital to the success of your project. Whether you are sending volunteers off on their own to collect data or holding collection days, there needs to be a visual method of review that participants have readily available and know how to use. Trifolds, both as paper and stand-up boards, are a great tool with either of these methods.

Make your citizen science team feel like just that: part of the team.

Give them a space to share their experience. Social media is a priceless marketing tool that can be used to express participants’ motivation and your endless appreciation of their hard work. It is also the perfect place to share the results of the project.

Participants are less likely to involve themselves in something that never has a means to an end. Citizen scientists want to understand the management decisions that resulted from the study, not to mention, they are your first line of action when appropriate.

Post-participant surveys give your team closure so it can get ready for any possible next steps.

Citizen science is a way to fulfill the data needs of projects on limited budgets. Consequently, the participants find a serious interest in research subjects and become forever stewards of natural resources. It’s been found that infrequent participa-

Citizen science volunteers learn how to band osprey as part of a long-term monitoring project at Patuxent Park.

tion and stewardship of natural spaces is not because of a lack of interest, but because of a lack of know-how and empowerment to feel confident using these spaces appropriately.

It may seem daunting to design a big project, but remember, you can start small. Your project can grow and expand as your own confidence increases. You can make a huge impact just by staying local and keeping your projects small and still make lifelong stewards of your participants. They will also gain environmental literacy through their experiences. Many studies show that exposure to nature has a positive effect on the physical and emotional health for both children and adults.

Give the citizens you serve the opportunity to become comfortable with nature by designing citizen science projects they can assist with so they can discover nature’s great benefits.

Greg Kearns is a Park Naturalist II in the Department of Parks and Recreation at Patuxent River Park, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (greg. kearns@pgparks.com). Melinda Fegler is a Park Naturalist at Patuxent River Park, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (melinda.fegler@pgparks.com).

Michelle Schreiber is a Park Naturalist at Patuxent River Park, The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (michelle.schreiber@pgparks.com).

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Coastal California

By Robert García, Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš and Amy Trainer

B

“

eaches are not a luxury. Beaches are public spaces that provide a different set of rhythms to renew public life. Beaches are a democratic commons that bring people together as equals.”

— Robert García and Erica Flores Baltodano, “Free the Beach! Public Access, Equal Justice and the California Coast,” Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties California is known around the world for its spectacular coastline.

From the beaches of San Diego to the rugged bluffs of Big Sur and the mist-shrouded Lost Coast, our coastal parks are like our shared front yard — a place where people come together. But our beaches are under pressure from a double threat of climate change and mounting development pressure.

More than four decades ago, Californians came together to protect our coastline and beaches as a public commons. The passage of the California Coastal Act in 1976 through a 66 Parks & Recreation

ballot initiative was a landmark victory by the people, of the people and for the people. That legacy is now in danger of being lost unless we the people come together again, 40 years later, to hold our state’s leaders accountable for the stewardship of this shared resource.

The Coastal Act created a panel called the Coastal Commission to serve as trustees on behalf of the public interest. The commission is charged with upholding policies to protect and enhance public access, coastal resources and equal justice for all

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along the California coast. Achieving these goals involves social, policy, legal, health, economic and environmental principles. And, it depends on public engagement at commission meetings, the commitment of commissioners to the public interest and a strong and independent commission staff that reflects the new California.

We have recently seen just how important it is for the people of California to remain engaged in Coastal Commission decisions. In February, the Coastal Commission voted 7-5 to fire its executive director, Dr. Charles Lester. It did so behind closed doors without disclosing its reasons, disregarding more than 30,000 letters of support. That day, more than 1,000 people made their way to the hearing

Access

and Climate Justice for All

in secluded Morro Bay. Two-hundredninety-five people waited patiently to speak in support of Lester, while only one spoke against him during the 10-hour hearing, and 155 out of 163 commission staffers risked their jobs to express their support for Lester.

Mobilizing for the Coast A “gang of 100,� comprised of diverse social justice, civil rights, Native American, health, education, spiritual, environmental justice and mainstream environmental groups representing millions of people

throughout the state and beyond have submitted a joint statement to the Coastal Commission in support of coastal access, climate justice and an independent staff. While some observers see the business of coastal management as only an environmental concern, it is, in fact, a civil rights, public health and economic justice issue. The people who testified at

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C A C O A S TA L A C C E S S

the commission’s February hearing made this abundantly clear.

Civil rights attorney Erica Baltodano spoke passionately about the value of the beach in her and her family’s life.

“I was born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, where childhood trips to the beach were necessary as a matter of survival during triple-digit summer heat waves. As an attorney with The City Project in Southern California, I spent nearly 10 years working to ensure equal access to public resources, including our beloved beaches, for the benefit of all Californians. I now live on the Central Coast with my husband and two children and we visit our local beaches regularly.”

Fred Collins, spokesperson for the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, spoke with simple eloquence about how Grandmother Ocean would take back the beach and coast as a result of climate change and rising sea levels. Indeed, the Coastal Commission unanimously adopted its Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance report in 2015 (www.coastal.ca.gov/climate/slrguidance.html). The report is a notable step forward for the commission — it includes environmental justice as a core principle and devotes a chapter to environmental justice.

People have asked why civil rights and social justice groups are working with coastal advocates. There are many

reasons. The more difficult question is why mainstream environmental groups traditionally have not done enough to work with people of color and low-income people on our common goals.

The coast and climate belong to all of us. People of color and low-income communities who live in or depend on vulnerable areas along the coast suffer first and worst from the lack of coastal access, and from economic and environmental catastrophes like climate change. These people do not have the options available to beachfront billionaires. They do not have the alternative of wintering in places like Rio or buying higher land if rising temperatures and seas wash away the beach.

Places to play at the beach are not luxuries or amenities. A child’s right to play, for example, is a fundamental human right under the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of the Child. But, the beach access and coastal trails we have fought so hard to protect are threatened by rising sea levels and temperatures. And, there is far more at stake than places to surf, swim or sunbathe. Native Americans will lose priceless and irreplaceable sacred sites and artifacts. Workers whose livelihood depends on tourism, gardening and housekeeping along the beach would lose jobs.

The Coastal Commission’s August 2015 Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance document paints a bleak picture of California’s vulnerability. In 2100, when the ocean is projected to have risen 4.6 feet, more than 200,000 people will be living along the open coast in areas exposed to flooding from a 100-year flood. Approximately 56,000 are lower-income people (earning less than $30,000 annually), 45,000 are renters and 4,700 are linguistically isolated and less likely to understand flood warnings.

Maintaining the Coalition While they are often on the front lines

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of environmental and justice fights, and among the strongest supporters of environmental protections, people of color and low-income people are nevertheless marginalized by mainstream environmentalists, government agencies and public officials, funders and the media. Recent polls show that Latinos are far more likely to view climate change as extremely or very important to them personally, and are among the strongest supporters of actions to curb climate change.

Climate change will disproportionately hurt low-income people, exacerbating the economic divide. Climate change worsens a range of health problems that are particularly problematic for communities of color.

Asthma rates will go up, for example, increasing healthcare costs, hurting performance in school and costing parents time from work. However, responding to the climate challenge and sea level rise can create jobs, improve people’s health, protect places to play, reduce heating and cooling bills, and reduce the damage caused by production of fossil fuels.

Part of the reason we work together is that historically, people of color and low-income communities disproportionately have been denied the benefits of coastal access. Most beaches were off limits to people of color throughout much of the 20th century because of racially restrictive housing covenants that prohibited people of color from owning or even using beachfront homes. More recently, the city of Malibu has restricted public access for all through illegal “No Camping” signs on the beach and coastal zone. Wealthy Broad Beach property owners posted phony “Private Beach” signs on public beaches. Media mogul David Geffen tried to keep the public out of the access path next to his beachfront mansion and had his case dismissed six times before letting

people enjoy the public beach. A lack of reliable, inexpensive and efficient transportation to the beach deters inland residents without access to a car.

Lack of affordable accommodations at the beach, a trend that is rapidly escalating, poses another significant deterrent.

Since the hearing in Morro Bay, it is clear that the public’s trust in the Coastal Commission is near an alltime low. Our broad coalition of organizations has continued to work together for our common goals to enhance public access, improve accountability and transparency at the commission, and ensure climate justice remains part of the conversation.

Relying on state and federal equal-justice protections, we presented a draft resolution to the Coastal Commission at its March hearing in Santa Monica, asking it to renew its commitment to comply with these laws. We anticipate the commission will act on the resolution at its April hearing. The draft resolution is available at www.cityprojectca.org/blog/ wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Resolution-CCC-20160309-draft.pdf.

Similar to the California Coastal Act, federal civil rights laws guarantee equal access to publicly funded resources and prohibit intentional discrimination and unjustified discriminatory impacts by recipients of federal funding, including the Coastal Commission, based on race, color or national origin. The U.S. Supreme Court recognizes that the prohibition of disparate impact discrimination, regardless of intent, is necessary to help move our country beyond a legacy of discrimination and toward opportunity for all.

To truly safeguard the public trust the California Coastal Commission needs strong and independent staff leaders who are accessible and accountable to the people of California.

We are urging the commission to draw

from a diverse applicant pool and hire an outstanding new executive director who is committed to upholding the core principles of the Coastal Act and equal protection laws.

In addition, we ask the Coastal Commissioners to agree to the importance of engaging members of the public in the hiring process for the new executive director. We ask them to invite one public member from the social justice and civil rights community, one Native American member, one public member from the conservation community and one public member representing the educational and scientific perspective. We believe that engaging public-interest stakeholders in the process will help improve the commission’s transparency and accountability that has now sunk below sea level.

Just as the people of California came together 40 years ago to claim the coast as a public commons, we are again working together to ensure this commons endures. We can protect the coast for all, slow sea level rise, grow the economy and promote human health, the environment and equal justice at the same time. But in order to do this, we need leadership on the Coastal Commission that shares our values, represents our interests and reflects the diversity of the new California. The coast, climate and government belong to all of us.

Detailed references for this article are available at www.parksandrecreation. org/2016/April/California-Coastal-Access-and-Climate-Justice-for-All. Robert García is the Founding Director and Counsel at The City Project, a nonprofit environmental justice and civil rights organization based in Los Angeles (rgarcia@ cityproject.org). Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš is the Founder and Director of Azul (mar@ azulproject.org). Amy Trainer is Deputy Director at the California Coastal Protection Network (calcoastaladvocates@gmail.com).

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NRPA Update Spring for a #SuperJuly

By Roxanne Sutton

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pring is known as a time of renewal. Especially for those of us subject to cold winters, spring brings new energy as we gear up for summer activities. It’s also the perfect time to start working on your plans for Park and Recreation Month. With a super cool theme, we’re extra excited about July 2016.

This year, we are challenging everyone to discover their super powers at their local parks and recreation facilities. To help, the Park and Rec Brigade — Captain Community, the Fit Twins and the Green Guardian — will be showing everyone the superpowers that can be discovered by visiting local parks and recreation facilities.

We’ve already got lots of great materials ready for you to use and many more on the way. To help you plan and promote your Park and Recreation

Month activities, NRPA provides: • Graphic design materials like posters, banners, web materials, calendars, logos and more (available now) • Social media tools (available now) • Advocacy support and template proclamations (available now) • Press materials (coming soon) • Event calendar for your events (coming soon) • Comic book (coming soon) • Contests and fun (available now with more to come)

We are often asked, “What can we do with these materials?” The answer: Almost anything! There are only three rules: (1) the materials should be used for Park and Recreation Month 2016; (2) the materials cannot be used in a vulgar or inappropriate manner; and (3) NRPA’s branding needs to remain on the materials.

We encourage you to take these materials and tailor them to be the most helpful for you and your community. You can add your own logos and web information to the design materials, use the hashtag in your communications, customize the press releases — the sky’s the limit!

We’re also happy to provide design files so you can create custom items.

Right now, you can also get involved by nominating someone in your agency or community as a Park and Recreation Superhero. We’re looking for those individuals who make an impact in your community through parks and recreation. We will select up to three superheroes and recognize them during July for all that they do!

You can find all of the materials and the Park and Recreation Superhero nomination form at www.nrpa. org/july.

We can’t wait to celebrate a #SuperJuly with you!

Roxanne Sutton is NRPA’s Senior Marketing and Communications Specialist and undercover superhero (rsutton@nrpa.org).

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PARK AND

RECREATION MONTH JULY 2016

TOOLKIT NOW AVAILABLE

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NRPA Update

Henry L. Diamond — an Appreciation

By Richard J. Dolesh

H

Courtesy of Rockefeller Archive Center

enry Diamond, one of the most influential Americans for the cause of parks, recreation and conservation during the past 50 years, died recently, but his remarkable legacy lives on. Close friend Pat Noonan, chair emeritus of The Conservation Fund, said of Henry, “In my mind, he helped build the framework for the parks movement we have in America today.”

Henry Louis Diamond (19322016) became an advocate for parks and conservation in his earliest days.

Upon graduation from Georgetown’s National Law Center in the 1960s, he began work on Capitol Hill and played an important role in editing the final report of the Outdoor Resources Review Commission (ORRC), chaired by Laurence S. Rockefeller, the first president of NRPA. This seminal report is widely credited as forming the foundation for a range of national legislation including the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), the Wilderness Act and the designation of a national system of Wild and Scenic Rivers.

Early in his career, Henry was named as the first commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) by then-Governor Nelson Rockefeller.

His 533-mile bicycle ride across New York State promoted a $1.2 billion 72 Parks & Recreation

bond issue to protect the state’s water and air quality and to acquire public lands. He later went into private law practice and the firm he helped establish, Beveridge and Diamond, became one of the foremost national law firms for the practice of environmental and natural resources law.

Paul Hagen, a law partner of Henry for more than 25 years, said one of the reasons his colleague was so effective in advancing the cause of parks and conservation was that he was an extremely good listener and was always respectful of others’ opinions. “Henry was old school. He was rarely the first to speak, but when he did, he always tried to bring diverse opinions together for the common good.

“Henry realized, perhaps better than anyone, that people wanted to connect to the outdoors through recreation. He was expansive in his view of what outdoor recreation meant to the American people. He was keenly aware that the connections to people and our thinking about outdoor recreation needed to be as broad as possible.”

“He was extremely effective on the Hill,” Noonan said. “Henry had the passion, but he also had the experience and knowledge of how to operate in the political world, as well as in a legal frame of reference. Above all,” Noonan continued, “he believed that cooperation built support, not fragmentation.”

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Barbara Tulipane, NRPA CEO, said, “Henry was humble and quiet, but he was incredibly effective.

His experience, his knowledge and his consensus-building approach brought people together for a larger purpose. He truly was an advocate for parks at all levels.”

Henry worked tirelessly for conservation and parks, not just at the national level, but also for state and local parks, and he was one of the strongest advocates for funding the state and local side of LWCF. He served on more than 30 boards and commissions and was the recipient of numerous awards including the Secretary of Interior’s Lifetime Conservation Achievement Award, the highest civilian award of the Department of the Interior; the Pugsley Medal of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration; and the National Environmental Achievement Award of the Environmental Law Institute.

Henry’s greatest legacy, as is widely acknowledged by those who knew him, was LWCF’s long-lasting success. “His leadership on LWCF was pivotal to its’ success,” Noonan said.

“And he continued to work on LWCF up to his final days,” Hagen added.

Parks, recreation and conservation in America would likely not be what it is today without Henry Diamond’s influence. He was a remarkable man who leaves a legacy of remarkable contributions to that which we love.

Richard J. Dolesh is NRPA’s Vice President of Conservation and Parks (rdolesh@nrpa.org)

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NRPA Update

Great Urban Parks Campaign: Green Infrastructure in Underserved Communities

By Jessica Culverhouse

L

ate last year, NRPA and the American Planning Association (APA) kicked off an expansion of their collaborative Great Urban Parks Campaign in an effort to explore the social and environmental benefits of green infrastructure projects in parks in underserved communities.

What is Green Infrastructure?

The basic purpose of green infrastructure is to capture rain or stormwater and allow it to gradually seep into the ground or return to natural creeks or river systems. This is in contrast to traditional “grey” infrastructure, which functions to remove stormwater as quickly as possible into gutters, storm drains, sewers or other constructed channels, often carrying with it sediment, oil, trash and other pollutants from roads and sidewalks before it is released into waterways. Some examples of green infrastructure that can be found in a park and recreation setting include

rain gardens, permeable pavement, green roofs, native plantings along streambanks and constructed or restored wetlands.

Green infrastructure provides a solution to many of the challenges of grey infrastructure. By slowing the flow of stormwater, green infrastructure reduces pollution due to stormwater runoff that can carry pollutants into local waterways. Using plants, green infrastructure taps into natural processes to filter and clean the water before it seeps into the ground or slowly flows into creeks or rivers. And by reducing the flow of stormwater into sewer pipes during

Attendees of the Great Urban Parks Campaign convening visited the future site of Proctor Park. The 4-acre site in Atlanta’s underserved west-side community will be transformed with green infrastructure improvements to manage stormwater and provide a space for recreation and connecting with nature.

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heavy rainfall, green infrastructure can serve to reduce incidences of combined sewer overflow.

In addition to these important environmental benefits, green infrastructure is beautiful, increases wildlife habitat and can provide opportunities for environmental education and outdoor recreation. These are the so-called “co-benefits” of green infrastructure, perhaps, that most interest those involved in the designing or re-designing of parks. Add to that an opportunity to actively engage the community in the process of designing and implementing green infrastructure projects and the benefits will multiply.

As with many environmental challenges, the problems of poorly managed stormwater — flooding, combined sewer overflows and others — often disproportionately impact low-income communities and communities of color. The application of green infrastructure can help alleviate these environmental hazards while engaging the community and increasing access to nature and green space.

During the next two years, NRPA and APA aim to equip and support park leaders and planners to collaborate and advance the implementation of green infrastructure in parks for the multiple benefits to communities and the environment.

A Gathering of Thought Leaders As a first step in this effort, last month NRPA hosted a convening of experts and thought leaders to help us frame the challenge and delve deep into the

“how” and “why” of green infrastructure in parks in underserved communities. We found an ideal location for this gathering in Atlanta, Georgia — a city that has embraced green infrastructure in its parks and public spaces, particularly in traditionally under-resourced neighborhoods.

We were joined by colleagues from the Trust for Public Land and The Conservation Fund to help us understand initiatives at the national level and how this translates into work on the ground. Representatives from Amigos de los Rios in Los Angeles and the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance shared their recipes for success in engaging people from low-income and immigrant communities and people of color in the process of implementing green infrastructure in parks and public spaces.

We engaged in rousing dialogue and working groups with experts representing a range of perspectives — leaders in the fields of planning, environmental justice and social equity, conservation funding, water management, park design and many others. Topics of discussion ranged from community engagement and financing for green infrastructure to partnerships, operations and maintenance. We heard from representatives from Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Milwaukee — cities leading the effort to place green infrastructure in parks — about their achievements and how they got there.

We were fortunate to have a beautiful spring day for an afternoon tour of Atlanta parks that exemplify what we aim to achieve through the Great Urban Parks Campaign. We visited the future site of Proctor Park, currently a neglected, trash-filled space in the Bankhead neighborhood that regularly floods as runoff from near

by downtown Atlanta is released from underground pipes. The new space will offer the community in Atlanta’s west side opportunities for recreation and a place to connect with nature alongside 4 acres of constructed wetlands that will manage the stormwater. Lindsay Street Park, the first park in the English Avenue neighborhood, boasts more than 30 organizational partners that contributed to this shining example of community engagement to address a critical neighborhood-scale flooding and combined sewer overflow problem. Lindsay Street features rain gardens and other green infrastructure to manage stormwater and control flooding. We drove by Mims Park and Vine City Park — two other examples of parks in underserved areas of West Atlanta that will benefit from green infrastructure while providing community members access to green space and recreation.

Our tour concluded at Atlanta’s Historic Fourth Ward Park — an award-winning example of the opportunity green infrastructure presents to transform a neighborhood.

Located in a former industrial area known for its vulnerability to flooding and debris strewn by stormwater runoff, the 17-acre Historic Fourth Ward Park now offers playgrounds, a skatepark, an outdoor theater, athletic fields and plenty of open green space. The centerpiece of the park — a 2-acre lake — functions to hold stormwater in place, reducing the burden on the city’s grey stormwater infrastructure, minimizing flooding and providing wildlife habitat. The stormwater management features of Historic Fourth Ward Park are not only beautiful and functional — they also save the city money. The cost savings total roughly $15 million as

compared with construction of grey infrastructure to manage the same amount of water.

What’s Next This convening of experts helped to frame the conversation about how park leaders and planners can best advance green infrastructure projects in parks in underserved communities.

During the next 18 months, NRPA and APA will roll out a series of educational tools and resources for our members on topics such as making the case to elected officials for green infrastructure in parks, strategies for funding green infrastructure projects, and best practices for engaging the community in the process. These tools will include a comprehensive resource guide, available for free online, and a series of training webinars and conference presentations.

Meanwhile, we will continue to learn from and support the field by providing three to five grants ranging from $350,000 to $575,000 to support replicable green infrastructure pilot projects in local parks in underserved communities and demonstrate how such projects can positively influence social and environmental outcomes.

We anticipate funding projects such as constructing rain gardens with educational signage, inviting the public to learn about the role of plants in mitigating stormwater runoff or improving the installation of a green roof on a recreation center, complete with a gathering space where the public can enjoy the view and learn about the role of green roofs in cooling buildings and holding and filtering stormwater. Visit www.nrpa.org/ greeninfrastructure to learn more.

Jessica Culverhouse is NRPA’s Senior Manager of Fundraising (jculverhouse@nrpa. org).

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NRPA Update

Are You Ready for Superhero Camp Season?

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t’s time to start preparing for camp season! To make planning easier, NRPA partners with Fun Express to offer our Premier Members 20 percent off products that are perfect for summer programs of every type.

With Fun Express’ reasonable prices and NRPA’s Premier Member discount, you can easily stay in your budget using products that promote creativity, learning and fun, while delivering the keepsakes children and parents love.

Test Your Park and Recreation Knowledge The following question is a sample Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) examination question.

Typical information collected from references for job candidates includes: A. Work history B. Age and gender C. Previous medical history D. Personal contacts

July’s Park and Recreation month theme is #SuperJuly. To help your community discover its super powers at their local parks and rec, Fun Express has an entire suite of superhero-themed items to get you prepared!

Check out superhero balloons, superhero playground balls, gold superhero slap bracelets, superhero pencils and more.

NRPA Premier Members use Fun Express to create camp themes and events on a budget. “We use Fun Express for holiday events because they offer great ornament-making crafts and decorations. Fun Express has also provided great prizes, crafts and supplies for our after-school program. You can’t beat the prices, quality and fast shipping,” says Brooke Wheelock, recreation specialist for the city of Clinton, Oklahoma.

Calling all beginning to mid-level professionals! The Certified Park and Recreation Professional (CPRP) is the national standard for all park and recreation professionals who want to be at the forefront of their profession.

For more information on the CPRP certification program, please visit www.nrpa.org/cprp.

Answer: A. Work history

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Whether you need prizes and incentives for a yearly carnival or craft supplies for your summer camps, this member benefit has got you covered.

Premier Members receive: • 20 percent off current Oriental Trading retail prices • Free shipping on orders $125 or more • Fast delivery — orders arrive within 5-7 days • High-volume discounts — call for quotes on large quantities • Future-ship option — order products now, ship and pay later • Free samples — try it out before you buy Ready to take advantage of your Premier Member benefit? Visit www.nrpa. org/fun-express. Questions? Contact Hayley Herzing at hherzing@nrpa. org.

Member Spotlight: Kathi Muller, CPRP

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athi Muller, director of strategic initiatives for Philadelphia Parks and Recreation (PPR), is a true park and rec kid. “I was a high school kid who shot baskets every day at the neighborhood playground,” she says, recalling her first experiences with parks and recreation. “One day, the recreation leader told me that I could go to college, study recreation and get a job as a recreation leader. I was inspired!” Thirty-eight years later, Muller has built a formidable career at PPR. She’s worked as an ice rink attendant, lifeguard, assistant recreation leader, full-time recreation leader, after-school coordinator and district manager, supervising 25 facilities, 14 pools and an ice-skating rink. Muller was assigned to Carousel House, PPR’s recreation center for people with disabilities.

She recently worked on a team to facilitate the merger of Philadelphia’s Fairmount Park System with the Department of Recreation, and currently manages special projects and partnerships to advance PPR’s mission.

Muller’s personal life, too, is happily suffused with the field — she’s a lifetime resident of the city, her husband of 34 years is a retired PPR employee and the couple’s three adult children all have careers in parks and recreation. “This was not intentional, but a result of [their] participating in a broad range of recreation programs and camps,” Muller explains. “They qualified for employment in camp and lifeguarding jobs through high school and college. They have discovered different paths that connect their personal interests to the broader field of parks and recreation.” We asked

Muller to shed some light on her path in the field — below is a portion of our conversation.

Parks & Recreation magazine: What is one of the most rewarding aspects of your job?

Kathi Muller: It is truly rewarding when young adults come back and tell me that they are OK/successful as a result of participating in a program I ran. Many also worked for me as teens. You never know when you have the opportunity to make a difference in the life of a young person.

P&R: What is one of your greatest professional challenges?

Muller: I find partnerships particularly challenging. The complexity is managing external and internal partners who have a role in the relationship. As with any relationship, people have different interests and needs.

We have a responsibility to figure out what each partner needs, then, we need to deliver on our commitments.

You have to pay attention continuously to all aspects of the partnerships or you will not be successful.

It is an art and a skill that one must continually model and teach.

P&R: What are you most proud of during your time with PPR? Muller: In the mid-1990s I worked with then-Recreation Commissioner Michael DiBerardinis to address issues related to youth violence. An outgrowth of this work was the development of after-school programs in disadvantaged communities. The success leveraged support and resources to bring those programs to every neighborhood in Philadelphia.

It was important work, connecting with citizens in diverse neighborhoods to understand and find solutions to keep children and teens safe.

By addressing a societal issue, we were able to provide expanded recreation services that still exist today.

P&R: What advice would you give to a young professional in the field?

Muller: Be open to new ideas. Never forget where you came from. Respect the community you serve. No task or role is beneath you. Join professional organizations — the friends, support and knowledge will sustain and advance your career.

— Samantha Bartram, Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine

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NRPA Update NRPA is dedicated to providing learning opportunities to advance the development of best practices and resources that make parks and recreation indispensable elements of American communities.

Find out more at www.nrpa.org/education.

ONLINE LEARNING

SCHOOLS AND CONFERENCES NRPA Conferences and Schools are forums where the park and recreation community comes together to exchange ideas and information. Register now for these upcoming events. All NRPA Schools are held at Oglebay Resort in Wheeling, West Virginia, unless otherwise indicated.

Do you want to learn and expand your skills in leadership, marketing, human resources, maintenance or another discipline, but don’t have the budget to attend a conference? Check out NRPA’s online learning courses for quality professional development that you can access from the convenience of work or home. There are more than 70 courses in 14 disciplines to help you achieve your goals. Many of these courses offer Continuing Education Units to help you renew your certification. Visit www.nrpa.org/online-learning to start your course today!

August 28-September 1, 2016

November 6-10, 2016

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January 29 - February 3, 2017

www.nrpa.org/education

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Operations Green Infrastructure: Making a Virtue of Necessity

By Eric Tamulonis, ASLA, LEED AP

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reen infrastructure is a strategy that, effectively applied, elevates parks to a more central role in our communities as part of our vital civic infrastructure. This article merges the two typically cited but different definitions of green infrastructure: a regional land protection strategy (such as greenways, conservation easements and floodplain protection), and a site-based set of technical tools (such as rain gardens and bioswales).

This range of actions spans the spectrum from state, county and municipal scale, to construction of specific water quality enhancement projects at a site scale.

Application on a Range of Scales Green infrastructure ranges from natural land preservation measured in square miles, and county and municipal efforts measured in acres, to the design of specific stormwater

management bioengineering techniques measured in feet and inches.

These green infrastructure scales apply across public and private lands, and in other city departments, notably streets and public works. In terms

Philadelphia is engaging in cross-departmental collaboration to implement green infrastrucutre projects.

of park and recreation applications, green infrastructure applies to park systems, individual parks and specific projects within parks. Knowing the appropriate scale and strategies is central to devising the best way to apply and manage green infrastructure.

Integrating the strategies across scales leverages the effects of green infrastructure to greater advantage and help to systematize its planning and management. For example, Maryland’s statewide green infrastructure planning policy requires each county to prepare a combined Land Preservation, Parks and Recreation Plan.

Although there is presently no national plan, efforts are being made by Esri, a geographic information systems company, to develop one.

Water Is the Driving Force Affected by climate change, water is an increasingly important issue across the nation — whether too much, too little or the quality of the water itself. Water quality protection is driven by compliance with the federal Clean Water Act which addresses the overall quality of our waterways and water supply.

Flood control is typically governed by the U.S. Army Corps, but both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Corps have adopted an increasing willingness to use green infrastructure to serve their missions. In the past, socalled grey infrastructure — engineering measures such as dams, levees and pipe systems — have been used to solve these problems. These measures, while

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Operations necessary in many cases, do not always represent the best solutions, especially in areas of existing high population where such facilities are harder to implement. As they age, they also require major reinvestment to maintain or to replace them. Green infrastructure, by contrast, has evolved into a suite of low-impact techniques that are more adaptable, less capital intensive and often provide a wider range of benefits.

Re-Thinking Stormwater Runoff Low-impact techniques — specific planning and design tools, such as conservation easements, green roofs and rain gardens and other bioengineering methods — are part of a paradigm shift in our attitude toward stormwater management in a world where stormwater is both overabundant and scarce, frequently in the same year. We cannot ignore the increasing impact of stormwater, and we cannot

presence of more — and more interesting — green space. Parks, themselves, are green infrastructure at a communitywide scale.

Mitigating Floods Many communities face the threat of flooding from heavy precipitation.

Coastal cities also face sea level rise from climate change. Viewed simply as large-scale land conservation, green infrastructure can help soak up stormwater upstream from our communities, by preserving open space and high-value wetlands in floodplains and upland areas, and reduce the volume of runoff headed downstream. In downstream communities, green infrastructure can help buffer developed areas from flood impact and limit damage. Parks and open space in coastal communities can help mitigate the effects of sea level rise and storm flooding.

We cannot ignore the increasing impact of stormwater, and we cannot afford to “dispose” of stormwater by draining it off without making use of it.

afford to “dispose” of stormwater by draining it off without making use of it. In this new way of thinking, our undeveloped lands along water courses in the low lying areas of our communities and also in the uplands will serve as sponges that absorb, filter and infiltrate water into the aquifers below.

Such actions provide other benefits in addition to water quality and control, such as environmental value through increased and enhanced habitat, and social value provided by the simple 80 Parks & Recreation

Improving Water Quality Older cities face the challenge of aging stormwater and sanitary sewer systems that were built as combined systems in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In many of these communities, federal Clean Water Act compliance involves both stormwater and sanitary sewage, which are sometimes mingled in combined sewers that overflow in major storms, dumping untreated sewage into waterways. Previous long-term control

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plans and wet weather plans were based solely on construction of separate systems of huge pipes to store overflow prior to treatment and release. Increasingly, cites are relying on incremental green rather than (or in addition to) gray infrastructure. A community’s park system represents one of the larger “sponges” that can be used to help reduce the flow of stormwater to sewers. For example, Philadelphia has granted approval for a long-term control plan that relies largely on green infrastructure.

This is being undertaken with an exemplary partnership between the water utility, Philadelphia Water, and the city’s park and recreation department. Kansas City and Pittsburgh have been granted approval, and other cities such as Portland are strong examples of places where such approaches are being used.

Reducing the Impact of Drought Western cities and, increasingly, midwestern and eastern cities face the impact of drought of some duration.

Increasingly, parks are being used to capture and store or infiltrate rainwater when it does fall, helping to keep it local longer. For example, in Austin, Texas, the park and recreation department is partnering with the department of watersheds to restore Shoal Creek in Pease Park, part of a strategy to provide shallow infiltration depressions in lawn areas. These areas balance recreational use with a citywide flood control, water quality and conservation mission to preserve the aquifer that underlies the region.

Funding The role of parks in helping to mitigate these major challenges provides an opportunity for a different source of funding for acquisition and green

infrastructural improvements, chiefly through the water management entities in the community. Pressure to alleviate flooding or comply with a Clean Water Act consent decree requires expenditures on projects that might not otherwise happen. While not always directly benefiting recreation, green rather than gray infrastructure almost always increases habitat value and associated anthropocentric values of aesthetics and education. The use of parks to accommodate green infrastructure in a sensitive manner with due public process can provide a related community benefit of stormwater management while remaining true to a park mission.

Partnerships Using green infrastructure requires breaking down departmental and jurisdictional silos. Planning for green infrastructure requires park departments to play a role in a larger community partnership that includes planning, streets, public works and water and sewer entities. This is an opportunity to establish an additional value of parks and to promote a central role in the discussion of community infrastructural investment. This is also an opportunity to envision the park system as part of a larger network of other public, quasi-public and protected private open space, an approach this author refers to as “parks without borders.”

Tradeoffs Green infrastructure is not without the complexity of tradeoffs. Bioengineered facilities that can accommodate water and provide wildlife habitat also take up room in parks and therefore compete for space with traditional recreational use. There is a tradeoff and debate regarding the

More cities across the country are embracing “green” infrastructure techniques, versus traditional “grey” infrastructure, to help mitigate stormwater runoff.

use of parks for recreation to accommodate additional stormwater, sometimes from off-site. To provide the best perspective on the opportunities and tradeoffs of green infrastructure in parks, the issue is most effectively addressed at the time of a community’s comprehensive planning, or at least in park system master planning. This allows broad community input and values to be brought to bear and helps ensure that funding necessary for capital construction and maintenance is external to the existing parks budget.

Conclusion Green infrastructure is a combination of our parks and open space — our wetlands and forests, meadows and lawns, and bioengineered constructions such as green roofs, rain gardens, bio-infiltration swales, flow-through planters and the like. These measures

are most effectively considered together and planned for in an integrated comprehensive master planning process, coordinated with a wide range of partners and associated funding sources. Green infrastructure is best planned for first at the comprehensive plan stage; then at the system-wide planning, individual park master planning and development stages; and in ongoing operations. It is a positive and proactive response to increasing environmental challenges to our communities that places parks at the center of the solution.

Detailed references for this article may be found at www.parksandrecreation. org/2016/April/Green-Infrastructure-Making-a-Virtue-of-Necessity.

Eric Tamulonis is a Principal and Landscape Architect with WRT Design, (etamulonis@wrtdesign.com).

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NRPA would like to thank Disney, ABC and ESPN for their support of local parks through this month’s Parks Build Community campaign, giving 16 parks across the country $20,000 each to help kids in their communities be active, live healthier and connect with nature.

Want to get involved?

Visit nrpa.org/BeInspired throughout April to nominate a park in your community to be entered in a random drawing to win $20,000. Then submit your votes to help us select parks across the country to receive grant funding.

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To see the Edger at work go to:www.turf-aire.com, videos, Gator TX. If you want dealer installation, call us at 615-233-5173 and we will find your local John Deere dealer.

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Bright Idea Shops, LLC Akron, Ohio 800-886-8990 fax 330-258-0167 www.brightideashops.com www.park-signs.net

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12/4/2015 12:45:20 PM W W W. PA R K S A N D R E C R E AT I O N . O R G | A P R I L 2 0 1 6 |

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Request free information from the manufacturers of the products found in this issue.

I prefer to receive the information via

Mail

Phone

Email______________________________________________

Name________________________________________________________________ Phone__________________________ Address______________________________________________________________________________________________ City_________________________________________________State________________ZIP_________________________ What new conservation initiative has your agency started in the past year? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________

reader service

YES! I would like free product information!

Please email your answers to dstorm@nrpa.org.

Check the product(s)/company(ies) that you would like information from: AQUATICS Water Odyssey............................... 11 512.392.1155 www.waterodyssey.com ATHLETIC/EXERCISE EQUIPMENT Go Ape............................................ 85 415.553.0769 www.goape.com Greenfields Outdoor Fitness............3 888.315.9037 www.greenfieldsfitness.com Soccer5 ®USA.....................................7 305.393.5230 www.soccer5usa.com TriActive America........................... 14 800.587.4228 www.triactiveamerica.com BLEACHERS/ SEATING Polly Products................................ 86 877.609.2243 www.pollyproducts.com BUILDINGS/TENTS/SHELTERS Easi-Set Buildings.......................... 85 866.252.8210 www.easisetbuildings.com Shade Systems Inc............................1 800.609.6066 www.shadesystemsinc.com/sails COMPUTER SYSTEMS/SOFTWARE Rec1................................................. 86 800.335.1863 www.rec1.com

GROUNDS MAINTENANCE Bishop Enterprises Inc................... 84 615.233.5173 www.turf-aire.com Jacobsen®....................................... 15 888.922.TURF www.jacobsen.com PARK PRODUCTS/SERVICES Bright Idea Shops........................... 84 800.886.8990 www.brightideashops.com Dogipot..................................... 13, 85 800.364.7681 www.dogipot.com Gyms for Dogs — Natural Dog Park Products......................................... 35 800.931.1562 www.gymsfordogs.com Most Dependable Fountains......... C2 800.552.6331 www.mostdependable.com National Construction Rental....... 86 800.352.5675 www.rentnational.com Paris Equipment Manufacturing Ltd. 19 800.387.6318 www.peml.com Pilot Rock........................................ 21 800.762.5002 www.pilotrock.com Subway..............................................5 800.888.4848 x1398 www.subway.com

PLAYGROUND EQUIPMENT Cemer® Playground and Fitness... 23 +90.232.853.87.04 www.cemer.com.tr GameTime®..................................... C4 800.235.2440 www.gametime.com/expression Landscape Structures®.................. C3 888.438.6574 www.playlsi.com SIGNS/SCOREBOARDS Banners.com................................... 84 866.965.9300 www.banners.com Berntsen ......................................... 84 877.686.8565 www.berntsen.com Major Display................................. 24 800.260.1067 www.majordisplay.com Scoremaster................................... 86 888.726.7627 www.scoremaster.com SURFACING SofSurfaces.................................... 27 800.263.2363 www.sofsurfaces.com TURF PRODUCTS Superthrive®......................................7 800.441.VITA(8482) www.superthrive.com

Mail the completed form to Dana Storm at NRPA, 22377 Belmont Ridge Road, Ashburn, VA 20148-4501 or email to dstorm@nrpa.org.

(ISSN 0031-2215) is published monthly by the National Recreation and Park Association, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148, a service organization supported by membership dues and voluntary contributions. Copyright ©2016 by the National Recreation and Park Association. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Opinions expressed in signed articles are those of the writers and not necessarily those of NRPA. Issued to members at the annual subscription price of $30, included in dues. Subscription: $36 a year in the U.S.; $46 elsewhere. Single copy price: $4.50. Library rate: $48 a year in the U.S.; $58 elsewhere. Periodical postage paid at Ashburn, Virginia, and at additional mailing offices. Editorial and advertising offices at 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148. 703.858.0784. Postmaster, send address changes to Parks & Recreation, 22377 Belmont Ridge Rd., Ashburn, VA 20148.

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Park Bench

Of Pollinators and Partnerships Texas Discovery Gardens makes a daily mission of connecting children and families to the natural environment.

The 76-year-old Dallas-based nonprofit was the first public garden in Texas to be certified 100 percent organic and its grounds are maintained with water conservation and sustainability in mind. An almost 10-year partnership with the Dallas Park and Recreation Department provides a portion of operational funding and allows for creative stewardship of two historic properties located within the garden grounds, while a robust volunteer core and dedicated staff members provide additional support and education for the tens of thousands of visitors who pour into the facility each year. The more than 7-acre botanic garden includes native and adapted plants, as well as the impressive two-story Rosine Smith Sammons Butterfly House and Insectarium. Once inside, visitors are greeted by knowledgeable entomologists and a tropical rainforest teeming with hundreds of sparkling butterflies.

In April, Texas Discovery Gardens hosts its butterfly gardening workshop and butterfly plant sale — both events educate participants about the importance of pollinators like bees and butterflies, and encourage the inclusion of pollinator-friendly plants in backyard gardens. If that’s not enough butterfly action, each day at noon, Texas Discovery Gardens staff host a butterfly release demonstration, where the newly emerged insects are set free to take wing inside the Sammons Butterfly House. Yet more butterfly-themed events take place throughout the year — readers in the vicinity are encouraged to visit www. texasdiscoverygardens.org to learn more and for volunteer opportunities.

— Samantha Bartram, Executive Editor of Parks & Recreation magazine

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Music is Joy Rhapsody™ Outdoor Musical Instruments invite kids and adults of all ages to join the band. This superior collection of chimes, metallophones and drums welcome polished musicians and musical newbies alike to explore the power of rhythm, experience subtle shifts in tone, and discover the many ways individual sounds can be creatively combined. They’re the perfect addition to playgrounds, community centers, schools, senior centers, and more.

Learn more about adding the joy of music to your environment at playlsi.com/rhapsody.

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PARKS&RECREATION APRIL 2016 ◆ THE CONSERVATION ISSUE ◆ 2016 CONFERENCE SNAPSHOT