Allegheny County Parks Master Management Plan
This Master Management Plan is a an enormous document for all the functions of the Allegheny County Parks. It addresses the need for a financially sustainable park system with a long-term strategy that strikes a balance between development and preservation while using the resources effectively and efficiently. This document helps establish a clear vision and key principles that inform the decisions necessary to manage both the active use and conservation areas in the parks. The first plan was established in 1977. The current plan initially began in February 2000 and relied heavily on input from the residents of Allegheny County. This final plan was completed in 2002. The plan is a little out
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of date and needs updating. My supervisor told me that they are going to be revising and updating all the Allegheny County Park Plans at the end of 2017. The planning process currently has four major phases, which include: inventory and analysis/needs assessment, mission statement, recommendations, and finally the master plan development. In my next paragraph, I will be informing and explaining these four categories. The plan has been prepared using an open planning process that has included extensive input from Allegheny County residents.
Policy direction in developing the plan has been provided by a dual citizens committee. Chaired by Senator Tim Murphy, the parks 2000 Committee is comprised of representatives of a variety of civic, non-profit, business, and recreational interests in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. The Parks Advisory Board is comprised of representatives of the communities adjacent to the county parks.
Inventory & Analysis Phases
In this phase, background information on park facilities, programs, and operations; natural and cultural resources; and other topics relevant to the parks was collected and evaluated. Issues important to the future of the parks were identified through analysis of the background information, interviews of people with specific knowledge of or stake in the parks, and input received from a series of five public meetings conducted in April 2000. Finally, the recreational needs of park users were evaluated using a variety of measures, including a mail survey of a cross- section of Allegheny County residents.
Mission Statement, Recommendations, & Master Plan
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Phases In this phase, a mission statement and policy framework were formulated to guide long range planning for the parks.
A preliminary version of the mission was prepared in June 2000. With recommendations the potential approaches to addressing the issues identified in the inventory and analysis and needs assessment were formulated as a basis for evaluating options for the future of the park system. This began with a series of five public meeting conducted in November 2000 to present the results of the inventory and analysis and to gain input from residents regarding what they perceive as priorities for the parks system as a whole. In the master plan phase, the recommendations and options from the previous phases were developed into the full Comprehensive Master Plan. A third round of public meetings were conducted on the Draft, after which the plan was adopted by County.
Two key issues addressed in this plan are maintenance and promoting and maintaining native plant species. Dealing with aging structures is nothing new throughout parks. Within, the last five years, the parks have been getting grants from the RK Mellon Association and from the Regional Asset District (RAD) to help out with these problems. RK Mellon, within the last three years have donated close to one million dollars to help support Allegheny County Parks. The Public Works Department takes care of all the maintenance throughout the nine county
parks. With the vegetation, the county wants to encourage native growth. One plan that the county has is to educate and train park management personnel at all levels regarding this issue and watch to look out for. The managers also have to provide yearly reviews and site inspections on the property as well. Also, more vegetated buffer strips along waterways is encouraged to allow natural succession to occur on banks and slopes to establish riparian zones. Another item stated, is to minimize the amount of chemicals used in the landscape. Confining the use of herbicides to just invasives as a last ditch effort is beneficial. Ultimately, the park manager at each site is responsible for the maintenance and the vegetation. There is a myriad of information to take in reading all this. A vast majority of these documents are written in legal term and way over my head. Since Pittsburgh in general has a huge union background, I will have no role in the facility aspect of things. I cannot even pick up trash in the park because that is part of a union members job. On the other hand with the invasive species, I can inform park visitors about the damage they cause and educate them on some local species. During our wildflower hikes we can stop intermittently and talk about this issue and clarify any questions and concerns. Throughout this entire plan I think the most crucial think I learned was that it takes a wide variety of people with a wide variety of skills to achieve a goal. Each park in the county has comprehensive plans for every little aspect of the park. For example, they have what color paint they have to use on all the county benches. I would never even think about that. I have a great deal to learn but, it all comes with experience.
“The irony of thousands of ash trees being cut down this Arbor Day marks a tragic chapter in the history of Metroparks,” Jack Gallon, President of the Board of Park Commissions wrote in a letter to TCP, “One way we can channel our disappointment in a positive way is to urge our federal lawmakers to close the door to exotic species that arrive on American shores at the rate of one every eight months. The cost of prevention is small compared to the cost to our native plants and animals. Pearson Metropark is proof of what we stand to lose.”
Committee on Senate Energy and National Resources Subcommittee on National Parks. 3 June 2003: ESBCO. Mission Viejo Library., Mission Viejo, CA. 31 July 2005. http://web31.epnet.com/citation.
The area surrounding the Cuyahoga River is notorious for being extremely polluted and industrialized. An exception to this is Cuyahoga Valley National Park. This area has a rich history and has been used as a source of livelihood, industrialization, and recreation for centuries. This rural oasis takes up nearly thirty two square miles in northeastern Ohio and is the only National Park in the state. It became recognized as an official National Park in 2000 and before was known as the Cuyahoga Valley National Recreation Area. Cuyahoga Valley National Park preserves a rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River and serves as a contrast to the otherwise metropolitan setting.
The Deep Creek Conservation Park was full of wildlife and plants. Many people in the group saw lots of kangaroos and bird species that live in the area (See figure 8). We saw a few animal tracks on the camp as well which shows that the area is full of wildlife. While there the group also noticed some human impacts such as paths, long drops or other sustainable practices that humans have made to make the environment more sustainable in the long run. Although these practices were effective many small improvements could be made such as teaching people who use the park correct usage such as not feeding the animals. Other improvements that could be made could be things such as putting lights in the toilets so people can see or making paths easier to walk on.
"Yosemite: Management Problems and Issues." Yosemite National Park. N.p., 29 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
There should be no man made machinery operating in the park unless absolutely necessary. The creation of the National Park Service is to preserve wilderness in a way that gives people the opportunity to experience nature in all its wonder. It was never intended to create amusement parks where people never leave the safety of the modern age and look at the natural world through glass. Being completely enveloped in nature has many benefits, from physical such as lowering blood pressure, to psychological in boosting moods. According to Tyler Tapps in Parks & Recreation: “Recent research indicates that outdoor activity is associated with positive mental and physical benefits, including increased cardiovascular function, decreased stress levels, and reduced blood pressure” (Tapps). Abbey understood this, as did many Americans. Today however the number of people willing to immerse themselves in the nations parks is decreasing. In Desert Solitaire, abbey puts it this way: “A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourist can in a hundred miles” (Abbey). Today many members of the younger generation have lost that sense of joy and wonder in the outdoor setting. This change would bring back the love of nature in this
There are more than twenty-thousand employees that work in a wide reaching variety of organizations and disciplines. The employees work from the parks, to covering specific regions, to working in national programs throughout the National Park Service. At the top of the National Park Service is a Director who is supported by senior executives who manage national programs, policy, and budget in the Washington, DC, headquarters, and seven regional directors responsible for national park management and program implementation. In addition to the employees there are park partners and volunteers who work in a boots on the ground type of role in the
Camping, hiking, kayaking, rafting, mountaineering, and backpacking are all recreational activities that a group of people may do together when visiting the park. Flightseeing, birdwatching, and sport fishing are other activities people may do
Regaldo, Nanciann. Planning for South Florida's future: The Central and Southern Florida Project. Online. National Park Service Homepage. Internet. 21 September 1999. Available: www.nps.gov
In Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, there are over 1 million acres of non-federal inholdings to which access is, and has been a major issue of controversy. Park managers and landowners alike are trying to reach an agreement which would provide for the access to private property, as well as towns such as Nabesna, McCarthy, and Kennecott. The following information will be used to convince park managers and conservationist groups that access via R.S. 2477 rights-of-ways are not only necessary, but also guaranteed by state and federal law.
... piece of wildlife within a city. The purpose of the project is to restore the refuge into a place that it really meant to be, an ecosystem fit to support the refugees within. It will bring back a real slice of nature back to everyone backyard. The improvement to water quality of the lake can finally support the organisms that used to live there. The improvement can be sighted with the appearance of the river otter and the disappearance of the smell. The smell that once drive away joggers and children will be gone enabling them to experience the beauty of the lake within its blemishes causes by humans. Children can finally experience the true of an actual sanctuary for all creatures both aquatic and terrestrial when the return of aquatic life recovers. This project is a small step to bring back the former glory of Oakland’s main aspect of attraction to the world.
Since its creation in 1916, the National Park Service (NPS) has had to balance between its two goals, which are to preserve wilderness and nature and to provide the public with access to these wonders in a monitored environment. These two goals tend to create a conflict for the NPS because as soon as one goal is given more priority than the other, the administration of national parks is harshly criticized by the public. The accusation that by allowing people to experience the wilderness, the NPS is corrupting the natural environment is very common, as well, as the criticism towards the lack of government funding to preserve nature and history. However, regardless of arguable criticism and a certain need for improvement, after one hundred years,
Every year, over nine million hikers and adventure seekers travel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park making it the most visited national park in the United States. There are abundant reasons for this, but many popular reasons include over 150 hiking trails extending over 850 miles, a large portion of the Appalachian Trail, sightseeing, fishing, horseback riding, and bicycling. The park houses roughly ten thousand species of plants and animals with an estimated 90,000 undocumented species likely possible to be present. It is clear why there was a pressing interest in making all this land into a national park. My research was started by asking the question; how did the transformation of tourism due to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park affect surrounding cities such as Gatlinburg and Sevier County, and in return, its effect on the popularity of the park?
A waterfront area located in Philadelphia, known as Penn’s Landing, has become a central area of redevelopment over many decades. What used to be trees and shrubs has transformed into an area of hotels, museums, restaurants, casinos, stadiums, and much more. This 35-acre site has so much to offer and has become an important area of public space for anyone to visit and enjoy. Penn’s Landing is a public space that benefits the public by containing a mixture of residential life, entertainment, and retail that is supported by a long history of creation and redevelopment.
Glenn, Stacia. "Youths Push for New Park." Student Research Center. N.p., 22 Aug. 2006. Web. 6 Dec. 2013.