Regional Park Authority Turns 50

Walter Mess Recieving Award

(Left to right: Brian Knapp, Walter Mess, & Barry Buschow)

Darrell Winslow Recieving Award

(Left to right: Paul Gilbert, Darrell Winslow, & Joan Rokus)

On December 20, 2008 NVRPA kicked off a year of 50th Anniversary festivities with an event at the Bull Run Festival of Lights.

We took this opportunity to thank our member jurisdictions of: Arlington, Fairfax and Loudoun Counties, and the Cities of Falls Church, Fairfax and Alexandria. For half a century NVRPA has been conserving land and creating destination parks in Northern Virginia. We also took this opportunity to give special awards to two individuals who helped make NVRPA what it is today, Walter Mess, Board Member and founder from 1959 - 2004, and Darrell Winslow, former Executive Director who worked for NVRPA from 1966- 1994.

Some of the comments made during this event are listed below:

William Chesley, Alexandria Parks Department

http://alexandriava.gov/
We are certainly appreciative for our relationship with the [Regional Park Authority]. In fact, listening to remarks here in terms of the economy, we’ve been grateful to be able to take advantage of the Regional Park Authority’s facilities. So, the economy not withstanding, I’d just like to say that NVRPA does a great job, the facilities look nice, and the customer service is outstanding.

Barbara Favola, Arlington Board of Supervisors

http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CountyBoard/meetings/members/CountyBoardMeetingsMembersBarbaraFavola.aspx
I can tell you that Arlingtonians really do appreciate the Park Authority. The community of Arlington is a small community, only 26 miles, and the Park Authority is a big part of that. Thank you for being so progressive. You’ve grown along with the county, you’ve developed along with the county, you’ve been really responsive in increasing our tree canopy, the invasive plant initiative … you’re helping us on a number of things. We appreciate your support, and we’re happy to continue to be a partner with you.

David Snyder, Falls Church City Council

www.fallschurchva.gov/Content/Government/Council/DSnyderBioWeb08.pdf

The saying goes that nothing happens by accident. Nothing is truer than that expression with regard to the wonderful public service that the park authority has provided. Let’s see now, recreation, education, environmental protection, historic preservation. Not bad for one agency. So as we look forward to the next year, I’d like to say congratulations; to all those who started it, to all those who serve on the board, and to all the professionals involved who have truly created a wonderful legacy, not only for the present, but for the future as well.

Robert Lederer, Mayor of Fairfax City

http://www.fairfaxva.gov/electedofficials/MCC/mayor.asp
First of all, let me just add my congratulations on behalf of the city of Fairfax for 50 years of providing a wonderful service to our region and certainly to our community. In the city of Fairfax, we take our parks and open space very seriously. We’re only 6 square miles, but we have 23 separate parks, we have 21 miles of pedestrian and bike trails that tie in the Fairfax County System and open space, added 42 acres of open space the last three years. The Park Authority is obviously a big part of that. Congratulations on 50 years.

Sharon Bulova, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/braddock/
The regional park authority combines things that are of the highest priority to [Fairfax County], such as the preservation of open space, tree canopy and also our recreational opportunities. Looking ahead to our future as well as to our past, I think our future is going to be a great one, and so more and more the opportunity to be able to preserve our green space in the region is going to be of the utmost importance. Thank you for continuing to work with us and helping to create a green future.

Penny Gross, Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mason/
I want to thank the Regional Park Authority for accepting the challenge of the Korean Bell Garden, which is going to be at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens. They tried to find a spot in [Fairfax County] … and they found a home with the Regional Park Authority. It is going to be fabulous. It is going to be that kind of place where more and more people can enjoy their own culture, a place very reminiscent of their homeland. I want to thank the Regional Park Authority for stepping up to the plate and making Fairfax County a better place to live.

Joan Rokus, NVRPA Board Member and former Loudoun County Supervisor Revieved the plaque on behalf of Loudoun County.

Santa's Garage

This year at the Bull Run Festival of Lights we added "Santa's Garage" to our Holiday Village at the end of the light show. Santa had quite a collection of red and white vintage muscle cars. This proves that even St. Nick like his toys. In his stable was a 1968 Mercury Courgar, a replica 1965 AC Cobra, a 1968 Pontiac GTO, and a 1965 Corvette.

Santa was overheard saying that "when you have to travel the whole world delivering toys in just one night, a fast red convertible is very handy." Rodolph could not be reached for comment.

Riverfront land in Loudoun to become regional park

Last week we released the news that we had a contract to buy a 275 acre property on the Potomac River as a new regional park.

First the Washington Post wrote a story on it and then it was picked up by the Associated Press and has been run on too many newspapers to list, including the International Herald Tribune, numerous local radio shows and TV. Below is the piece put out by AP.

Riverfront land in Loudoun to become regional park
By the Associated Press
December 4, 2008
LEESBURG, Va. - Officials say a 275-acre swath of land with ties to the Civil War will be protected as a regional park in Loudoun County. The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority will buy the tract along the Potomac River north of Leesburg. The park authority will pay private landowners about $2.8 million for the parcel. The property was once the home of Confederate Lt. Col. Elijah White and was used as a strategic route during battle. The park, which includes a half-mile of Potomac shoreline, will be known as White's Ford Regional Park. It will include a boat ramp, picnic pavilions, campgrounds and cabins. There also will be interpretive exhibits explaining the park's Civil War history.

Here are some links to other articles written about this land deal:

Washington Post
http://loudounextra.washingtonpost.com/news/2008/dec/04/historic-tract-along-potomac-set-become-regional-p/?local

Leesburg Today
http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2008/12/02/news/fp343park120208.txt

Loudoun Times
http://www.loudountimes.com/news/2008/dec/03/whites-ford-could-become-new-regional-park/

Col. White is the second person from the left seated.

We believe the two women standing were the Ball sisters who lived at Temple Hall Farm during the war. At one point the Ball sisters were arrested smuggling medical supplies from Maryland across the ferry.

Parks Win the Election!

The votes are in and Parks are in the winner’s circle in Fairfax County. On the ballot on November 4th in addition to the Presidential, Senate and Congressional races was a bond referendum on Parks. This bond will provide $66 Million to the Fairfax County Park Authority, and $12 Million to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to buy land, equipment, and development of park amenities over the next four years.

County-wide the three winners were:

345,978 Votes for Mark Warner of Senate (68%)
333,882 Votes for the Park Bond (68%)
310,359 Votes for Barack Obama (59%)

Fairfax County makes up portions of the 8th, 10th and 11th Congressional Districts. Jim Moran retained his seat in the 8th, Frank Wolf won reelection in the 10th, and Gerry Connolly won election in the open 11th District seat.

The high level of support for the park bond confirms the high value the public places on parks. Having open areas to reconnect with nature is critical to our quality of life.

Economically parks are also important. In Fairfax County Tourism makes brings in $1.9 Billion annually and parks play a large role in supporting tourism. Particularly destination parks like those of the Regional Park Authority are designed to draw people from a wide area. Campgrounds like those at Pohick Bay and Bull Run Regional Parks both offer a service to the local population as well as help support tourism. Parks like the W&OD Trail and the Bull Run Special Events Center and Festival of Lights attract hundreds of thousands (or millions in the case of the W&OD) from throughout the region and beyond. Jean Packard who serves on the Regional Park Authority Board representing Fairfax County address the connection between supporting park bonds and the health of the local economy. Her quote is in the bond endorsement published by the Fairfax Times Newspapers below.

Park bonds go to a vote
Fairfax CountyBy StaffSource: Fairfax County TimesWEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 2008
Like everyone else searching for money, these are nervous days for park officials in Fairfax County.
On Nov. 4, county voters will be asked to weigh in on nearly $80 million in park bonds. This year's slate includes $65 million for the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) and $12 million for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA).
Fairfax County Park Authority, which operates 24,000 acres of parkland, proposes to invest the capital as follows: 30 percent for renovations, 30 percent for park development, 22 percent for land acquisition and 18 percent for stewardship.
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, which oversees 8,000 acres in Fairfax, would spend:
38 percent on new facilities/renovations, 30 percent for capital maintenance projects, 21 percent for equipment and 11 percent for land acquisition.
Former Fairfax County board chair Jean Packard, now a member of the NVRPA board, said the soft economy shouldn't be used as an excuse to shortchange parks.
"I have seen investments in parks contribute to the overall health of the community in times of recession before," said Packard. "With home values down, we need to vote for the park bonds to help improve our communities. With the bond, we can stimulate the economy, and without it the condition of our parks will start to decline, bringing down real estate values even more."

Entrepreneurial Approach Helps Budget

The current economic challenges are causing all levels of government to rethink what they are doing and how they are doing it. With interest income down, cost of living up, and taxes from real estate and sales (primary sources for local government) down, the challenges to maintain a balanced budget are daunting.

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) is a regional agency made up of three counties and three cities in Northern Virginia. We do not have any taxing authority, but we do receive some tax dollar support from our six member jurisdictions. With tax revenues down substantially at both a state and local level, NVRPA will be coping with a leaner budget as well.

In our FY'2010 budget just approved by our Board last week, we were able to keep our per person cost for our member jurisdictions at the same rate as 2007. This is three years without any cost of living adjustments during a period of time with substantial inflation. We did this by reducing our general fund by 10%. This is the part of our budget that supports our headquarters and central maintenance functions. We also put in place a full time hiring freeze, and greater controls on all spending to control costs.

NVRPA has long been one of the leanest and most efficient park agencies in the nation. We now generate 81.5% of our operating expenses through self generated revenues. In 2007 the Pioneer Institute gave us a national award for entrepreneurial service delivery. Since 1990 we have gone from over 30% taxpayer support of our operations to our current 18.5%.

We faced considerable economic challenges in 2003 & 2004 and responded proactively. In 2005 we went through a reorganization that substantially brought down our overhead, and increased our productivity at the same time. We also started reinvesting in our own facilities, and approached the marketing of our parks in a business like manner.

As a result of our business like approach to running parks, we have seen annual double digit increases in the use of our parks over the last few years. Our enterprise revenues have increased nearly 30% in the last three years, and our facilities have never looked better.

Even with this great success story, our budget for FY'2010 is just barely balanced. This is due to a number of external factors including:

• 18% increase in energy costs


• Substantial increases to retirement program due to the stock market crash


• Local government appropriations that have not kept pace with inflation


• Sharply declining interest income

These factors are not unique to NVRPA, organizations everywhere are facing these and other issues that will challenge and strain budgets over the next few years. Currently the residents of Northern Virginia pay less than $5 per person for combined capital and operating support for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. For this modest investment they get a 10,000 acre park system with 100 miles of trails, five water parks, historic sites, campgrounds, botanical gardens, three golf courses, five marinas and much, much more. And all of this operated as one of the most efficient park agencies in the nation.

One example of the entrepreneurial approach NVRPA has become known for is the themeing of Pohick Bay pool in 2008 into Pirate's Cove Water park. The renovations and marketing resulted in a $125K improvement in financial performance, without an increase in rates. Another result was many more happy park patrons.

Park Bonds Offer Opportunity in Fairfax County

In addition to the Presidential election, voters will get to vote on new park bonds on Election Day in Fairfax County.

Voting to spend money on parks may seem counter-intuitive to some in a time of economic crisis but, in reality, this may be one of the best investments possible in the local community and economy. Here are some of the reasons:

In a year when all local governments in Northern Virginia will be working with a smaller budget due to a declining tax base from home values, the park bond will provide funds for long-term assets like land, new facilities and renovations. This money will help stimulate the local economy now, and will be paid back over the life of these improvements at a very low interest rate.
At a time when many neighborhoods are seeing a declining value, the improvements brought by the park bond can help shore up the appearance and property values of distressed neighborhoods.

With declining property values, there is a great opportunity to purchase new parkland at a good value for the public. Studies have shown that properties adjacent to or near public open space are valued measurably higher than similar property not near parks.[1]
This park bond will not be increasing the long-term debt of the County, but will be replacing other bonds that are being paid off. So, the long-term debt of the County will be held at roughly the same level. Fairfax County’s solid financial management has resulted in the highest rating for Fairfax County bonds (AAA).

“As both a former Chair of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, and a long time park supporter, I have seen investments in parks contribute to the overall health of the community in times of recession before. With home values down, we need to vote for the park bonds to help improve our communities. With the bond, we can stimulate the economy, and without it the condition of our parks will start to decline, bringing down real estate values even more,” stated Jean R. Packard, Fairfax County Board Member to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

This year’s park bonds include $65M for the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA), and $12M for the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). In Fairfax County, the County Park Authority operates 24,000 acres of parkland, and the Regional Park Authority operates 8,000 acres of parkland. These funds will be spread over the next four years to cover long-term improvements to area parks.

Fairfax County Park Authority proposes to invent this capital as follows:
30% for Renovations
30% for Park Development
22% for Land Acquisition
18% for Stewardship

Detailed information on FCPA capital plans is at: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/2008bond.htm

Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority proposes to invest capital for the next five years as follows:
38% for New Facilities/Major Renovations
30% for Enhancements/Capital Maintenance Projects
21% for Development Support/Equipment
11% for Land Acquisition

Detailed information on NVRPA proposed Capital Improvement Plan is at:
http://euclid.willetts.com/www.nvrpa.org/documents/file/CIP%20handbook.pdf

In a park needs survey conducted by NVRPA of residents in Northern Virginia conducted in 2007, the public expressed a great interest in acquiring new parkland and seeing existing parks well maintained. These are priorities that are accomplished through the park bonds.

In another poll conducted of Virginia voters by the Trust for Public Land in 2008, 84% of the public were interested in conserving lands that protected rivers and lakes that were drinking water sources. Most of the 10,000 acres of total parkland that NVRPA owns is directly connected to drinking water source protection. We have 13 miles of shoreline along the Potomac River, over 25 miles of shoreline along the Bull Run/Occoquan Rivers, and hundreds of acres adjacent to Beaver Dam Reservoir, all of which are drinking water sources for the residents of Northern Virginia.

In park bonds in Fairfax County over the last decade, the voters have demonstrated a track record of approving these important community investments by at least 70%.

[1] Economic Impact of Protecting Rivers, Trails and Greenway Corridors, National Park Service, 1995

Lafayette - American Liberty with a French Accent

The crowd cheered, the militia fired salutes, and the dignitaries gave patriotic speeches. This was the scene at Temple Hall Farm Regional Park on Saturday August 9th, as a crowd of over 300 people joined in the second annual Lafayette Day celebrations. The scene mirrored the events of August 9th 1825, when the Marquis de Lafayette, President John Quincy Adam and former President James Monroe visited Temple Hall Farm.

Lafayette Day is becoming one of the major events at Temple Hall Farm Regional Park that highlights the history of this farm. Temple Hall Farm was established in 1810 by William Temple Mason, a nephew of George Mason. Today, it is a popular farm park that hosts the annual fall MAiZE which attracts over 12,000 visitors. The public can enjoy farm tours, horse drawn wagon rides, playground and picnic areas most of the year.

Lafayette visited Temple Hall Farm as part of a year and a half tour of the United States, forty-five years after the American Revolution. Everywhere he went, large crowds came out to see the last surviving general of the Revolution. Prior to going to Temple Hall Farm, Lafayette, Adams and Monroe spent most of the day celebrating in Leesburg.

Lafayette was one of the most amazing figures in American and world history. In addition to being George Washington’s closest friend, he was responsible for bringing the French army and navy to help defeat the British at Yorktown, winning the Revolutionary War. After the American Revolution, he started the French Revolution. Lafayette was committed to liberty and lobbied for the end of slavery at the time of the Revolution. In the early 1800’s, he used some of his money to buy a farm in Tennessee for freed slaves.

Last Saturday, Michael Halbert played Lafayette, Brian Lewis played John Quincy Adams, and Jay Harrison played James Monroe. Other re-enactors included Bonnie Fairbanks as Mrs. Mason and Jenna Gilbert as Mary Mason (age 8); and Steve Doss, Todd Brighton, Andrew House and John Davidson played the local militia/honor guard.

Among the public was a group of French tourists who were interested in seeing one of their countrymen celebrated for his role in securing American freedom.

Temple Hall Farm is one of 21 parks owned and operated by the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA). NVRPA has over 10,000 acres of parkland in Loudoun, Fairfax and Arlington Counties and the Cities of Fairfax, Falls Church and Alexandria. Other major historic sites in the NVRPA system include the Carlyle House in Old Town Alexandria, Aldie Mill, and Balls Bluff Battlefield in Leesburg.

For more information on the Marquis de Lafayette see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marquis_de_Lafayette

http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/95sep/lafayette.html

http://www.marquisdelafayette.net/

http://www.ushistory.org/Valleyforge/served/lafayette.html

http://www.americanrevolution.com/LafayetteCitizenship.htm

Summer fun in the water

Whether you like to paddle on it or swim in it, summer is the time to hit the water. And with fuel prices what they are, more people are looking for fun close to home.

This summer we have seen a significant increase in swimmers at our five water parks:



Algonkian's Down Pour

http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/downpour/

Bull Run
http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/bullrun/?pg=waterpark.html

Cameron Run's Great Waves
http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/cameronrun/index.php

Pohick Bay's Pirate's Cove
http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/pohickbay/?pg=outdoorpool.htmlohickbay/?pg=outdoorpool.html

Upton Hill
http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/uptonhill/?pg=pool.html

Great Waves at Cameron Run is our flagship water park with the only wave pool in the region, and some of the best water slides and other features you can find anywhere. Upton Hill was completely renovated last year and continues to be more popular than it has ever been. Pirate's Cove is a great success story with almost a 300% increase in usage this year.


If you are seeking a more natural environment, there is nothing better than boating. I was paddling this weekend at Fountainhead Region Park on the Occoquan Reservoir and the boat launch area was buzzing with activity. The REI Adventure School was taking out a group to learn how to kayak. Individuals and families were renting canoes, kayaks and jon boats as fast as they could and those with their own boats were launching and joining the fun on the water.

Great Blue Herons and Bald Eagles put on a show in the sky, while the anglers were busy reeling in the fish.

Whether you want the excitement of going down a speed slide at a water park, or the peacefulness of gliding along the water and interacting with nature, now is the time to be one with the water, for summer will be over sooner than it should be.

Turning Point Dedication

The dedication of Turning Point Plaza at Occoquan Regional Park was a great success. This is the memorial to the Women's Suffrage Movement that we developed in partnership with the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area.

Over 100 people were in attendance. Senator George Barker and Delegate David Albo gave an official state commendation to both the League and the Regional Park Authority.

Lynne Garvey Hodge, who serves on the Fairfax History Commission did an amazing first person narrative of what it was like for those women who were arrested and put in prison near this site for protesting for the right to vote. She was in Character and period correct dress. Other living history reenactors contributed to make this event one to remember.

Now that the plaza has been dedicated and the interpretive signs are in place, the next step is the League will be fundraising to build a memorial brick wall to further the development of this important site.

For more information on how you can contribute to this project see the July 23 post on this blog.

Women Suffragist

Occoquan Workhouse 1917

91 years ago women seeking the right to vote were the first group to protest in front of the White House. Over the course of several months, hundreds of these women were arrested and put in prison. Many of them found themselves at the Occoquan Workhouse, a women's prison on the Fairfax County side of the Occoquan River. The exact site of the Workhouse is right on the edge of Rt. 123 by the entrance to the Fairfax Water treatment plant.

The news reports of these women's imprisonment were a key turning point in the effort to gain the right to vote. Because of these event, the 19th Amendment to the Constitution granting women the right to vote was passed. In order to highlight this important history the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority has been working with the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area to create an area within Occoquan Regional Park called Turning Point Plaza that can help interpret this history.

This site has three interpretive panels. The first one covering the begining of the movement that started with Abigail Adam asking her husband to "remember the ladies" during the dafting of the constitution up to the early 20th Century. The center panel covers the turning point role that the Occoquan Workhouse played in gaining the right to vote. The third panel covers some of some of the key efforts since the 19th Amendment to achieve equality for women, and points to the future of this movement.

This Sunday, July 27, 2008 at the Occoquan River Festival, we will dedicate The Turning Point Plaza, as a memorial dedicated to the suffragists imprisoned at the Occoquan Workhouse. “The League of Women Voters was started by the suffragists who continue to be models of courage for us,” said Mary Grace Lintz, acting President of the Fairfax Area League of Women Voters.

The struggles of people to gain the right to vote and participate in society as equals are stories that need to be told and retold to every generation. The stories of the suffragists, the end of slavery, and civil rights are the events that helped define America as the democracy it is today.

Future plans of the Turning Point Plaza suffragist memorial include a long, brick wall with inserted plaques to commemorate the suffragist struggle for American women’s right to vote. If you would like to contribute to this fundraising effort, please visit the League of Women Voters’ website, http://www.lwv-fairfax.org/. Or you may send monetary donations to:

The League of Women Voters
4026 Hummer Rd., #214
Annandale, VA 22013-2403

For more information on the Women's Suffragist Movement I would suggest visiting the Sewall-Belmont House Museum in Washington D.C. or visiting their web site at :http://www.sewallbelmont.org/

No Child Left Inside

Last Child In the Woods by Richard Louv brought to national attention the stark facts about how today's children are spending much of their time indoor. This is contributing to the childhood obesity increase, possibly an increase in ADD, and a disconnect in our connection with nature.

The No Child Left Inside Coalition now has 500 member organizations including the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, and is pushing to get more nature based education into the standards of learning.

Every year NVRPA offers our Junior Naturalist Camp at Potomac Overlook to engage children in nature. Most children love beeing outside and exploring the natural world and giving children these opportunities that most of us grew up taking for granted can help develop problem solving, an appreciation for nature and a curiosity about natural sciences.

Last week I met with folks from the Virginia State Park System to discuss how we could partner to offer more programs and opportunities that would help engage childen in natural world. I think we are going to have some good programs evolve from these discussions.

For any of you who have not read Last Child in the woods yet I would highly recommend it. It is probably the most powerful force in environmental education today.

Last Child in the Woods:

http://richardlouv.com/

No Child Left Inside Coalition:

http://www.cbf.org/site/PageServer?pagename=act_sub_actioncenter_federal_nclb_problem

No Child Left Inside Video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRR1feHqZPY

Saving Kids from 'Nature Deficit Disorder' - NPR Radio Interview with Richard Louv:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4665933

Virginia State Parks:

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/index.shtml

Environmentalist Joe Gartlan Dies

Virginia, and the whole Chesapeake Region was greatly enhanced by the wisdom and activism of the late State Senator Joe Gartlan. Joe passed away yesterday after a long and productive life of serving the public and making the world a better place.

I have had a number of mentors over he years and I count Joe Gartlan as one of them. I met Joe in the 1980's when he was the most senior member of the Northern Virginia General Assembly delegation. He served in the Virginia State Senate for 28 years. Around 2000 Joe joined the Board of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust when I was the President of that land conservation organization. In 2002 Joe served as one of my advisers for my Masters Degree project, which related to building environmental coalitions, something Joe was great at.

Joe was a giant in the environmental field. He Chaired the first multi-state commission on the Chesapeake Bay that led directly to the first Chesapeake Bay Agreement. Joe had the unique ability to be tenacious about the causes he was pushing, and at the same time so kind and gentlemanly that even his opponents liked and respected him.

Joe Gartlan lived a life of contribution. I feel very fortunate to have known him, and the Chesapeake Bay and all the life it supports including the millions of people that live in the region are better off because off Joe Gartlan. What a great way to have lived a life!

STATEMENT OF GOVERNOR KAINE
~ On the death of Senator Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr. ~

RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine issued the following statement on the death of former Virginia State Senator Joseph V. Gartlan, Jr., who represented the 36th senatorial district from 1972 to 2000. He has also ordered the state’s flags flown at half staff to honor Senator Gartlan.

“Senator Gartlan was a true statesman. He wore his heart on his sleeve when it came to issues of social and economic justice,” said Governor Kaine. “He was a tireless and effective advocate for the environment, the mentally and physically disabled, and for abused and neglected children. He spearheaded efforts for funding natural resources and human service programs during his almost three decades of public service. His role was critical in galvanizing the regional efforts to clean up the Chesapeake Bay.

“He earned the respect of both parties for his intellect, integrity, and force of will. Over the years, he served as chairman of three Senate committees – Courts of Justice, Privileges and Elections, and Rehabilitation and Social Services. He also was a bold and active member of the Senate Finance committee, where he chaired the human services subcommittee.

“This is a sad day for Virginia, and our hearts are with Senator Gartlan’s family and many friends.”

Global Dimming

Everyone has heard of global warming but much less known is global dimming.

Global dimming is the result of pollution in the atmosphere that reflects some of the suns rays, dimming and cooling the earth. The growth in global dimming and global warming have gone hand in hand since the dawn of the industrial revolution. And the effects of global dimming have masked the impact of global warming, so we have experience much less increase in world temperatures than we would have without the dimming.

Over the last 30 years we have been doing a better job of cleaning up the pollution in the atmosphere that causes the dimming. We banned CFCs in aerosols in the 1970s, and we have cleaned up smoke stack, and automotive emissions. This has been great for human health. The down side is with less global dimming, some experts are predicting much faster global warming in the coming years. If this turns out to be true we will need to accelerate our reduction of carbon emissions faster than we had planned... This will be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st Century.

For more information on global dimming check out the following links:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sun/
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php?p=105
http://www.documentary-film.net/search/sample.php
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2007/aerosol_dimming.html

As one would expect, global climate change affects everything including parks. The National Park Conservation Association release a study on the affects of global warming on National Parks called Unnatural Disaster: http://www.npca.org/globalwarming/

Last spring I led a session on reducing your agency's carbon footprint at the National Recreation and Park Association's Environmental Summit and asked the group what impact they had seen. Officials from parks all across the United States and Canada are seeing the effects of global climate change today.

Occoquan Water Trail League

If you want to get out and explore nature and hone your kayaking skills, Northern Virginia has some of the best kayaking places one could hope for. To help build the paddling community in our area, the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority helped create the Occoquan Water-Trail League.

last week I had the opportunity to go on a late afternoon paddle to four other kayakers out of Pohick Bay Regional Park. All but one of the group were involved in the establishment of the Occoquan Water-Trail League (OWL). This is a friends group of paddlers the Regional Park Authority helped establish about a year ago.

The Regional Park Authority owns 25 miles of contiguous waterfront along the Bull Run/Occoquan Rivers from Bull Run Park in Centerville to the Occoquan Dam near the Town of Occoquan. We designated the water-trail as a 40 mile resource that continues on the down stream side of the dam to include Occoquan Regional Park, Mason Neck State Park and around the Mason Neck Peninsula to Pohick Bay Regional Park.

The Park Authority converted our annual car-top launch pass into an annual OWL membership with unlimited launch privileges at NVRPA sites and also at Mason Neck State Park. The goal with OWL is to create a cadre of dedicated paddlers that could help spread the news about these amazing resources and contribute to their protection through service project.

Lots of recreational boaters love nature and support parks, and one of the groups that is most environmentally focused are sea kayakers. The peacefulness of paddling along on the flat water, and the ability to really travel some distances in these long boats is great for nature watching.

Mason Neck State Park and the Prince William County Park Authority have been great partners in the establishment of this water trail.

If you would like to get more involved with the local kayaking scene here are some good links:

• Occoquan Water-Trail League
  

http://www.nvrpa.org/parks/occoquanwater/?pg=league.html

• Chesapeake Paddlers Association is a great group - The Pirate's of Algonkian group from CPA has regular paddles out of both Fountainhead and Algonkian Regional Parks.

http://www.cpakayaker.com/

• American Canoe Association - Great resource for safety information

http://www.americancanoe.org/

• Woody's Kayak Trips is a great page from a local paddler. Woody has been very involved in the creation of OWL, his site has great information.

http://www.kayaktrips.net/

• Kayaking in Virginia - Good resource page.

http://www.kayakonline.com/virginia.html

• Paddling in Virginia - This site has reports on various paddling locations.

http://www.paddling.net/places/VA/

Get out there and have fun!

Hot Rods Rumble into Occoquan Regional Park

This last Sunday I participated in the first car show held at one of our parks. This show was the "Good Ol Days" car show sponsored by the Prince William Cruisers, a local hot rod club.

It was a great show with 160 hot rods, classics and customs. There was fun for the whole family. You could see and overhear folks with a few gray hairs reminiscing about when these cars were king. I also saw children who had only seen such wild rides with chrome superchargers and side pipes on toys. They were amazed to see that these were real cars.

These classic cars as as much a part of our culture's history as anything else, and it is great to see so many of these cool rides restored to better than new condition.

With the Occoquan hot rod show and a function of the Delmarva Cougar Club this spring at Bull Run Regional Park, NVRPA is becoming known as a great place to have a classic car show!

Some may question the amount of fuel these beasts consume, but in reality almost none of these cars are driven much, they are more rolling pieces of history. One car owner at this event who was asked about the cost of gas replied they he drove his hot rod less than 1,000 miles a year, or about 3 tanks of gas. Restoring and showing these beauties is more about sharing stories, showing craftsmanship, building community and having fun, than it is about rolling a lot of miles on these cars. One of my hobbies is the ongoing restoration of my 1967 Mercury Cougar. Like most classic cars, I take my Cougar to local cruise nights and shows and really do not roll a lot of miles on it. It is interesting that this 40 year old vehicle get about the same mileage as lots of new cars and trucks sold today. That says something about how the average mileage of new vehicles really has not gone up much other the last few decades.

The Club's proceeds from this show were donated to the Wounded Warrior Fund to assist wounded veterans.

Love of Outdoors Defines NVRPA Employees

Love of the outdoors, entrepreneurial, innovative, flexible, non-bureaucratic... These are some of the key characteristics of the employees of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority.

Last winter I took a course in Leading Organizational Change at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. As part of this course Dr. Sigal Barsade taught a session on organizational culture. The message was clear, if you want to create a new initiative like implementing a strategic plan it had better align with the culture of the organization if it is going to be successful.

In the last couple years we have been about a lot of positive change at NVRPA. We have a new mission statement, new falsities, a new energy conservation policy, perhaps the most cutting edge pesticide and fertilizer use policy of any public agency, and the first five year strategic plan in our agency's history. We have been successfully implementing all this change at the same time we have improved the overall condition and marketing of most of our facilities and have seen record public interest in our parks. That is a lot of change!

To help us continue our positive momentum we conducted an interesting study of the organizational culture of NVRPA employees. We did this through both extensive confidential interviews as well as an on-line survey. In this way we were able to collect both qualitative and quantitative data and compare them. The results are posted on the NVRPA web site at:
http://www.nvrpa.org/html/index.php?pg=employment.html

This study covers a wide range of issues that get at employees values, motivations, and expectation. On of the most encouraging elements is that the number one reason people work for NVRPA is a deeply rooted love of the outdoors. With a sincere passion for what they do, it is little wonder that NVRPA staff have achieved so much recently.

Pool Safety

Today I spent some time with our senior lifeguards, pool managers, and park rangers in charge of our pools and water parks. The best of the best in the aquatics field. This was part of a three day training called Top Gun that is conducted each year by NASCO (National Aquatic Safety Company). Reinforcing, but going far beyond basic life guard skills, Top Gun teaches management to these young people. The quality of this education is fantastic. Dr. John Hunsucker, the founder of NASCO leads these sessions, along with other staff with professional teaching backgrounds.

NASCO also provides the life guard training, and regular auditing of our water safety staff. This company was set up to offer the higher level of safety training that is needed for busy water parks. Their client list is a who's who of major water parks across the nation.

Last year NVRPA received a "World Class" rating from NASCO as a result of their audit. This year we are very fortunate to have 75% of our life guards returning to us from employment last summer. This is a very good sign that most of our guards are familiar with our standards and are receiving their training for the second or third time.

The job of safety in our pools and water parks is perhaps the most important job in the whole agency.

Bill Inman, Cowboy, Rancher, Optimist

Bill Inman rode his horse Blackie all the way across the United States to highlight all that is good about America. He left from Lebanon Oregon on June 2, 2007 and finished his trek by riding in the Memorial Day Parade in Washington D.C.


I got to know Bill when he called me from the road and asked for assistance in how best to make it through Northern Virginia to Washington. Almost every day he would ride 20-25 miles, and his wife Brenda and friend Jonathan would travel ahead of him with their trailer and supplies. Jonathan recorded the details of this journey on http://www.uncoveringamerica.com/

Bill and his team were running ahead of schedule and stayed for almost a week at our campground at Bull Run Regional Park. We put the Uncover America team up next to a grassy field where Blackie could eat the grass and clover, and across from our newly renovated bathhouse.

On Memorial Day Weekend Bill made his final steps of this journey. On Saturday he departed from Leesburg riding East on the W&OD Trail. He and his team camped overnight at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens (something we only give permission to those that have ridden their horse at least 3,000 miles). On Sunday he rode from Vienna to Arlington on the W&OD and camped the night with special permission from Arlington Parks & Rec. Memorial Day Monday he rode into the City in the morning and joined the parade.

In my time with Bill Inman, I never heard a negative comment. He took this trip because he believed that our Country was a better place than the impression you get from watching the news. Throughout his journey he saw interesting places and met good, generous people everywhere he went. Bill also proved that whether riding your horse over 3,000 miles is for you or not, there are plenty of wonderful adventures to be had event in the 21st Century.

Bike to Work

Today I rode my bike to work. This has been something I have been thinking about for a long time. I planed out the safest route, and stored my change of clothes at work in advance. I was planning to do this on National Ride Your Bike to Work Day a couple weeks ago, but when the day came it was raining, and I am not that hard core, yet.

I didn't break any speed records traveling about 7.5 miles in 45 minutes, but it was fun. While I found a good route and will do it more frequently in the future, it was not as nice as riding on the W&OD Trail.

The W&OD Trail stretches 45 miles from Shirlington to Purcellville, and since it is a former rail road, the grades are never too steep. It is estimated that the W&OD sees over 2 million users per year. We know an increasing number of people over the last few years have been using this wonderful trail to commute to and from work. With the price of gas continuing to go up, and a greater understanding of the need to reduce our carbon footprint to help address the causes of global warming, I am sure more and more people are going to be biking instead of driving. Besides all the other reasons, biking is both fun and very good exercise.

NVRPA Endorses Leave No Child Inside Legislation

On May 15th, the Board of the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority endorsed the Leave No Child Inside legislation sponsored by Congressman John Sarbanes (HR 3036).

This legislation would authorize funding for States to develop "environmental literacy plans" for K-12 primary education. The hope is that this would help bring more outdoor environmental education into the curriculum. On of the shortfalls of the Leave No Child Behind law is that it has driven school district to increasingly "teach the test" for the LNCB standards. One result of this has been less time for children to have environmental education and get outside the classroom.

This dynamic has been combined with a growing fear of strangers, fear of nature, and over structuring of children's "free time" to a point that children today are spending less and less time outdoor. Richard Louv outlines all of these factors in his best selling book Last Child in the Woods.

While the Leave No Child Inside legislation will not address all of these societal issues, it is a good step in the right direction, and might start the process of reengaging children with nature.