Amended Management Plan
Task Agreement Number 004
Between National Park Service and Friends of the Potomac
Potomac River Forums
September 14, 2004
Forum 1: Constructed Wetlands and Innovative Urban Storm Water Management – Date: 2/9/04 Charles County, MD. Completed
Forum 2: International Best Management Practices. Date: 4/13/04 Washington, DC. Completed
Forum 3: A Tribute to Fritz Gutheim: A look back at 40 years o Potomac River Conservation; Date: 6/24/04 Alexandria, VA. Completed
Forum 4: Green Building: Straw Bale Construction; 6/29/04 VA. Completed.
Forum 5: Sustainable Agriculture in the Potomac River Basin; Date: 7/14/04 Montross, VA., Completed
Forum 7: Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail: Building Regional Coalitions.
Date: 7/22/04 Purcellville, VA . Completed
To be completed:
Forum 6: Greening Watts Branch with Majora Carter – Scheduled date: 9/23/04 Washington, DC. Publicity out, event on schedule.
Budget: Travel for Guest Speaker $350.00 (The speaker will travel from NYC by train)
Honoraria for Guest Speaker $250.00
Food $400.00 (finger food for approx. 30 people)
FOP Labor/Personnel $960.00 ($24/hour x 40 hours for FOP staff)
Supplies $40.00
Total $2,000.00
Roles and Responsibilities:
For each forum, contractor will identify and secure program partners. Update partners weekly on the event status. Handle all the financial issues, background information, etc.
- Identify and secure forum venues. Book the location. Site visits, signage, audiovisual and other equipment rental, site set up, etc.
- Identify forum participants. Creating the individual distribution lists, which we’ll assure the right attendance for the event. Promote the event through the various local channels, handle the follow-ups and RSVP’s.
- Design and deliver forum invitations.
- Be a contact person for all necessary forum background information.
- Plan and implement all details of the actual forums – agenda, printing materials, speaker presentation.
- Provide all financial information, such as invoices, receipts, etc., to Helen Nelson, CPA for Friends of the Potomac.
- Handle all acknowledgements and post-event details.
- Provide a detailed summary of forums on the Friends of the Potomac web site.
- Summarize forum results in 5 individual portfolios (hard copy and CD) as well as in a report to the National Park Service.
Status: All Workshops have confirmed dates and locations.
Date of Task Agreement completion: September, 2004
Total Disbursement: $20,000
$10,000 upon completion and NPS approval of project management plan
$10,000 upon completion of forums
Received to date: $20,000
Amended Management Plan
Task Agreement Number 004
Between National Park Service and Friends of the Potomac
Green Infrastructure Workshops
September 14, 2004
Workshop 1 – Southern Maryland (targeting Charles, Calvert, Prince Georges, and St. Mary’s Counties) Participants: Friends of the Potomac in partnership with The Conservation Fund, Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), National Park Service, and Potomac River Navigator. Local partners: Charles County Department of Planning and Growth Management, Nanjemoy-Potomac Environmental Coalition, Conservancy for Charles County.
Date completed: 4/21/04
Workshop 2: Western Maryland (targeting Frederick County, Frederick City, and Washington County). Participants: community leaders, senior planners, NGO representatives, developers, homeowners.
Date completed: 5/12/04
Workshop 3: Green Urbanism in the Washington, DC area – Date: 7/30/04; Location: Partners: National Capital Planning Commission, Friends of the Potomac, and the National Park Service – Potomac River Navigator. (See River Navigator’s May 2004 Report) Speaker, Timothy Beatley, Ph.D., University of Virginia.
Date Completed: 7/30/04
TO BE COMPLETED
Workshop 4: Building Green in a Real World - Accokeek Foundation’s New Education Building – Accokeek Foundation Headquarters, Accokeek, MD. Date: October 2, 11:30 AM to 3:00, picnic lunch under tent on grounds overlooking Potomac. Back to back event with Accokeek Foundation Board that will meet in the morning and be invited to join in the picnic and afternoon program. PM. Moderator Sigi Koko confirmed.
Budget:
Honoraria for Guest Speaker $500.00
Food $700.00 (light lunch for approx. 50 people)
FOP Labor/ Personnel $960.00 ($24/hour x 40 hours for FOP staff)
Travel for Personnel $ 74.00 (Mileage for Accokeek, MD - 2 roundtrips)
Supplies $ 50.00
Total $2,284.00
Green Infrastructure Task Agreement Budget
Budget: $45,000
$ 25,000 upon approval and execution of the task agreement
$ 20,000 upon delivery of FOP Forum Report
$ 5,000 upon delivery of GI/LID CD Rom and Web Site
Funding received to date: $25,000
Date of Task Agreement Completion and report with exception of GI/LID CD Rom and Web Site: October, 2004
Amended Management Plan
Task Agreement Number 004
Between National Park Service and Friends of the Potomac
Congress for the Potomac
September 14, 2004
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND
Friends of the Potomac identified Congress for the Potomac as a way to help community leaders establish a locally developed and agreed-upon agenda for the conservation, protection, recreation use, and restoration of the Potomac River watershed. Through a series of small meetings and workshops leading to a conference involving watershed practitioners and policy makers, Congress for the Potomac was envisioned to help local leaders in their efforts to improve communication and create a shared vision for the future of the Potomac River watershed and its natural, cultural and economic resources.
The previous Executive Director of the Friends of the Potomac or his successor unfortunately did not deliver a satisfactory work plan to the National Park Service for completion of this task. These staff departures left the bulk of Friends’ operations, including the Congress on the Potomac project, dependent upon the volunteer efforts of the organization’s Board of Directors and the efforts of the Potomac River Navigator whose position terminated in August 2004.
Although the satisfactory, final work plan was not submitted nor approved, the Friends did make progress on developing and organizing deliverables aligned with the first three of the following goals and objectives of the program:
- The establishment of a Leadership Committee to serve as the leadership body for developing the Congress for the Potomac program, implementation strategy, and report;
- The organization of four sub-committees dealing with issues such as resource development, community outreach and education, implementation of community forums, and the development of a “State of the Potomac” report; and,
- The beginning organization and development of community issue forums dealing with issues such as the status of working lands in the basin, recreation and access, diversity, human health and the environment, water quantity and quality, land use and transportation, as well as protected lands.
- The eventual development of a “State of the Potomac Report” based upon the aforementioned activities.
LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE
The Congress for the Potomac Leadership Committee was organized by the Friends and charged with developing and directing program strategy and implementation. The Committee’s first meeting was held in September 2003; meetings have been held monthly or bi-monthly since that time, with the most recent meeting being held on August 2, 2004. Committee members represent the following organizations:
- Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship
- Environmental Diversity Working Group
- Environmental Law Institute
- Friends of the Potomac
- Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin
- Maryland Department of Natural Resources
- National Park Service, Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail/ and the National Capital Region
- Northern Virginia Regional Commission
- Potomac Conservancy
- Potomac Heritage Partnership
- Potomac River Sports Foundation
- Potomac Watershed Partnership
- The Wilderness Society
- University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center
- US Army Corps of Engineers
- Washington D.C. Council of Governments
As of September 2, 2004, these partners continue to regularly meet and make progress on the following:
Leadership Committee Friends of the Potomac launched four subcommittees – Fund Development, Public Education and Outreach, Forums Implementation, and Report Committee.
Fund Development: The Fund Development Subcommittee has taken the lead on identifying new sources of support for the initiative. The group is focusing on both public funding sources as well as private foundations.
Public Education and Outreach: the Outreach Subcommittee has focused on developing educational materials for disparate stakeholder groups around the basin. Brochures (attached) and web sites have been produced that provide a common tool for participating organizations to use to better educate communities on our efforts and how they can get involved
In addition to creating outreach materials, the Public Education and Outreach Subcommittee is working to identify other initiatives, programs, and organizations that can further the goals of the Congress effort. For instance, the Congress for the Potomac team has offered to assist the Potomac Shared Strategies Working Group in their efforts to develop a series of regional forums to discuss tributary strategies implementation throughout the basin.
The development of the “State of the Potomac” report will begin with the organization of community forums on the above topics, to be carried out in 2004-2005. These forums will bring together approximately 20-30 regional experts, leaders, and practitioners involved with the particular forum subject in order to gather information, data, and indicators for the development of a report that will evaluate and characterize the health of the Potomac River watershed. The goal of each forum is to allow community leaders to define and characterize the Potomac River basin and develop measures of success that will contribute to the watershed’s protection and restoration. These forums also will contribute to the development and eventual approval of an action plan for the Potomac River at the Congress.
As a result of these forums, we expect to:
- Have a clearer understanding of the issues, indicators, and condition of the Potomac River, its watershed lands, and communities from throughout the region;
- Access data and resources necessary for developing a robust, accurate, and complete assessment of the River and its associated resources;
- Have a better understanding of how the report will benefit conservation and community development efforts around the basin; and,
- Develop a team of experts and practitioners willing to participate in the development of the report.
These forums are currently being planned by the Leadership Committee and will focus on the following themes:
- Recreation and Access
- Resource Lands
- Green Infrastructure
- Aquatic Habitat
- Protected Lands
- Water Quantity
Notes from the most recent Leadership meeting of August 2, 2004, indicate the following additional progress made possible by the National Park Service’s initial support of this project, identification of the Army Corps of Engineers, which recently completed a comprehensive Middle Potomac Study, as a possible data respository and html portal for sharing data amongst Congress for the Potomac partnering organizations, and as a potential funding source for forum(s) completion.
- Scheduling of a Resource Lands forum on November 10, 2004, at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife National Conservation Training Center. Additional support for this event has been indicated from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program.
- Continued interest and participation by the Leadership Committee, with the next meeting scheduled for September 8, 2004, at The Wilderness Society.
CLOSING SUMMARY
While the Congress on the Potomac project has been hampered by Friends of the Potomac staff departures, significant progress was achieved in developing, outlining and completing Congress organization and work plan components. These accomplishments are consistent with and contribute to the original goals of the Potomac American Initiative, which were:
- Protect and restore water quality and living resources;
- Promote enjoyment of natural, recreational and heritage assets;
- Encourage more citizen involvement in community decision-making, and foster sustainable economic development.
On behalf of the Friends of the Potomac, we thank the National Park Service for its past and continued essential support of the Congress of the Potomac project and the Potomac American Heritage Initiative.
Date of Completion: With this report, Friends of the Potomac’s participation has been completed to the extent possible.
Congress on the Potomac Budget
Total Disbursement: $25,000
$15,000 upon approval and execution of Task Agreement
$5,000 upon delivery of FOP report on first two community forums
$5,000 upon delivery of FOP report on final four community forums.
Funding Received: $15,000 – FOP Task Force Report attached.
Request for reprogramming of remaining $10,000 from Congress as well as $5,000 from the Occoquan for two projects that have been approved:
Approximately $15,000 available. (Status Reports and Revised Budgets attached)
Great Falls Park Potomac River Project – Budget request $6,500
Lonaconing Silk Mill – An Action Plan for the Future – Budget request - $8,500
Status Report
April 21, 2015
Great Falls Park Potomac River Project
One Three-Hour Forum on the ‘Story of water’
Challenge: Great Falls Park, a site that is part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, attracts more than 500,000 visitors every year. The large number of visitors and uncommon natural resources of the region present a unique opportunity to educate and communicate the role and importance of water at the site. At the present, several parts of the interpretation facilities at the site are weathered and detract the visitors’ desire to learn and understand the close relationship among water, the Potomac watershed, natural history, sustainability, and river life. Moreover, the area of the park with the highest rates of visitation – the immediate landscape surrounding the Visitor’s Center - offers a unique background to create a “water” interpretation area that simultaneously informs the public and addresses ubiquitous water quality and management challenges at the site.
Objectives: This forum has two objectives. The first is to create a process that will share ideas with the visiting and neighboring public about a potential “water” interpretation area at the Great Falls Visitor’s Center. The water interpretation area could inform and educate guests at Great Falls Park about the inter-relationship between water and life, the Potomac watershed, recreation, and sustainability. The second objective is to create a process that will lead to development of an interpretation center that also applies “low-impact” and ‘green’ infrastructure stormwater practices – such as rain gardens, rain barrels, vegetation swales - by building on recommendations made by an earlier consultancy.
The process of sharing (and eliciting) ideas for the possible Great Falls water interpretation center will be comprised of one three-hour forum.
Deliverables: Friends of the Potomac, in partnership with the National Park Service (George Washington Memorial Parkway), will design, manage, and implement the forum. The forum will result in the production of written proceedings and recommendations about content, design, and organization of possible water interpretation center and low-impact development project. The proceedings of this forum will be summarized and disseminated to local leaders and posted on the Great Falls Park homepage.
Venue: The Auditorium at the Great Falls Visitor’s Center, Great Falls Park.
SPONSORS: Friends of the Potomac
Participants: Approximately 40-50 participants, including representatives of the National Park Service, community representatives, designers, local elected officials, homeowners, architects, and representatives from the NGO community.
Dates: Fall 2004 (late September or early October – subject to the availability of Herbert Dreiseitl). Date has not yet been determined. Meeting planned the week of September 6 to set dates confirm location.
SPEAKERS: Herbert Dreiseitl, Atelier Dreiseitl, Ueberlingen, Germany; Katrin Scholz-Barth, Scholz-Barth Consulting, Washington DC
FRIENDS OF THE POTOMAC POINT OF CONTACT: Merrily Pierce, Chair of the Board
NPS POINT OF CONTACT: Jesse Reynolds
Responsibilities of the Friends of the Potomac
1) Reserve auditorium with NPS
2) Organize and provide lunches
3) Organize all presentation materials for forum (e.g. computers and projectors)
4) Organize and administer travel costs/honorarium of all guest speaker(s)
5) Develop, dispatch, and collect flyers for forum
6) Record, organize and publish notes from forum
7) Develop and disseminate proceedings from forum
Budget
Travel for Guest Speaker $1,500 (assuming that Herr Dreiseitl is present in DC area in context of Four Mile Run Project.) Costs would cover 4 nights in hotel, local travel, and potential cost-share with Arlington County and Alexandria. Note. Herr Dreiseitl would like to visit Great Falls at least one day prior to the talk in order to prepare his talk.)
Honoraria for Guest Speakers $2,500 for both guest speakers ($2,000 for Dreiseitl and $500 for Katrin)
Food $1,000 ($20 x 50 participants)
FOP Labor/Personnel $1,500 ($30/hour x 50 hours for FOP staff )
Total $6,500
Forum Agenda
12:00– 12:15 Welcome by Park Superintendent, Audrey Calhoun, and ‘Friends’ Chair Merrily Pierce
12:15 – 1:00 Presentation on “The Story of Water”
- Herbert Dreiseitl, Atelier Dreiseitl, Ueberlingen, Germany
1:00 – 1:45 Presentation on Applying Low-Impact Development at Great Falls
- Katrin Scholz-Barth, Scholz-Barth Consulting, Washington DC
1:45 – 2:30 Question and Answer
2:30 Adjourn
Lonaconing Silk Mill Charette at Lonaconing
9:30 AM to 3:00 PM plus Lunch/Refreshments
Follow-up Meeting in DC Metro Area
Updated (9/3/04)
Challenge:
The town of Lonaconing, Maryland is located south of Frostburg in the northwestern part of the Potomac River watershed. Originally established in 1835 as a coal mining town, Lonaconing is the site of one of the last intact silk mills of a bygone era. The owners of the mill and the town are looking for opportunities to adaptively reuse the building. They hope to find a way to restore the silk mill building and highlight the mill’s operation, the people who worked there, and its historic place in the community, and find an economically viable use for the building. To reuse the mill would protect the resource and the town’s cultural heritage and develop economic opportunities for the community.
When the mill ceased operation in 1957, its equipment was left in place. The building is a snapshot in time with an appreciative owner but time is taking its toll. The main challenge is to find a sponsor to facilitate purchase of the property so the building can be stabilized and its contents warehoused and protected while restoration is in progress. Restoration of old Mills and adaptive reuse has been successfully accomplished in New England. A local example of adaptive reuse of a building that is now used for the creative arts that includes shops, displays, and classes include Alexandria’s Torpedo Factory. The Lorton Arts Foundation is now raising funds to create an art center at Laurel Hill in southern Fairfax County in buildings that once housed the D. C. Department of Corrections Facility.
Objectives:
To hold a Charette in early November that will emphasize the importance of the Mill in the historical economy of the region and in the textile industry in the eastern United States with emphasis on the urgent need to find an owner willing to purchase the site and help in restoration. The Charette will build on the work completed from the 2001 Workshop.
Additional objectives include holding a craft display at the meeting site highlighting the products that were produced at the mill and the kinds of textile and craft products that might be showcased in a restored mill as well as a second meeting in the Metropolitan Washington, DC area. The Charette and follow-up meeting will highlight the dynamics of the textile industry in the early half of the 19th Century and provide an opportunity for discussion and future study of similarities and interconnectivity in today’s global economy.
Deliverables:
Friends of the Potomac, in partnership with the National Park Service as Maryland Historical Trust, Maryland Scenic Byways, C&O Canal National Historic Park, and Brunswick RR, and others, will design, manage, and implement the Charette.
From information collected at the Charette and from archival and contemporary sources, a report will be written that emphasizes goals for finding a purchaser. A vision of what a restored mill might look like and options for use of the property and how such an effort might be integrated into the local economy will be explored. A budget estimate and a timeline for restoration would also be part of the report.
The report will be distributed to potential sponsors interested in textile heritage, crafts, and heritage tourism with the eventual goal that the site could become an anchor as part of Western Maryland’s Coal Heritage Tour, promoted as a weekend destination, a possible location for the study of American textiles, and a focal point for those interested in the region’s textile heritage.
Completion of report depends on how much background can be completed before the Charette and number of participants willing to contribute their time and expertise to writing specific sections. Estimated time of delivery of report from date of Charette – Draft report late November; Final, no later than January, 2004.
Participants: One of the Mill owners has consented and apparently is enthusiastic about a workshop (Charette) that could continue to explore ways to save the Mill. Friends is currently in contact with Rebecca Trussell, a noted expert on the Mill who participated in the 2001 workshop sponsored in part by Friends of the Potomac and is familiar with the community. She has offered to help draw up a list of interested parties who would be valuable contributors to the program. In general, participants could be those interested in the heritage and environment of the upper Potomac River watershed in general, history teachers, Potomac Heritage Trail and Coal Heritage Tour enthusiasts, Appalachian Trail and C & O Canal users, textile heritage enthusiasts, members of the craft community, as well as those interested in trade history and today’s global economy.
Dates: Early November.
Location: Several sites, like the Armory, are available near the Mill for a reasonable cost. Second meeting: The Textile Museum in Washington, DC is one possibility being explored.
Facilitator: Ms. Michelle Harvey
Budget: Total $8,500 for two events. First meeting: $1,750 planning ($1,000 = 58.3/hr x 50), facilitation ($2,500), meeting location and lunch ($1500), craft display $800, and r report preparation and dissemination ($1,950)
The facilitation, partial planning, and report preparation and dissemination for this event will be contracted to Ms. Michelle Harvey. Considerable background information exists, both archival, and from the Workshops held in 2001. It will be necessary to review these documents in order to build on past efforts and plan a successful Charette without undue duplication. In any contract with Ms. Harvey, this should be understood. Ms. Harvey also will need to be consulted about possible participation in the second meeting that could be held at the Textile Museum or downtown Washington, DC location.
If a second meeting and location is approved, additional resources would most likely be needed. Friends should negotiate this task with Ms. Harvey who has agreed to do the first event. If all parties are in agreement that two meetings will be held, then it would be understood that the list of contacts developed for the Charette would also be used for the second event and the events would be planned together and presented as a package. Before Friends negotiates a contract with Ms. Harvey, the scope of the project, including review of background material and a possible second meeting need to be discussed and understood.
Charette DRAFT Agenda
9:00 AM to 3:00 PM
9:00 AM Registration and Coffee
9:30-9:45 Introductions, welcome from town members, and description of Charette’s goals using successful examples of adaptive reuse.
9:45-10:30 Summary: The Mill’s history, importance, and at-risk status, brief review of 2001 Workshop and action agenda – why time is of the essence.
10:30 – 11:45 Facilitated discussion –
a) Where we left off – the Action Agenda from 2001
b) Options for purchase of property/estimated cost
b) Status of the Mill’s contents
c) Restoration plan outline that must be part of purchase plan/National Heritage site designation. Description of process and necessary information gathering.
12:00 noon Lunch (possible short tour of Mill)
12:30 - 2:50 Facilitated discussion – Updating the Action Plan – Choosing the Partners and next steps. Discussion and promotion of the second meeting to be held possibly at the Textile Museum or other location in Washington, DC.
3:00-4:00 PM Tour of the Mill
4:00 p.m. Adjourn
