DC Environmental Agenda 99: Next | Table of Contents
Washington is blessed with an unusually high proportion of parkland within its borders, approaching 25% of the City's total area. It also enjoys a relatively high number of trees. But we have taken these resources for granted, allowing many parks to be used for inappropriate development (e.g., Washington Harbor) and others to slide into disuse (MacMillan Reservoir and Kingman Island). Rejuvenating our network of parks, forests, and street trees will require the adoption and adherence to reasonable policies, rather than the expenditure of large sums of money.
Adopt a General Policy on Parkland Conservation
Parkland has always, and will always be vulnerable to inappropriate development, because it can generally be acquired for "free", and because it obviates the displacement of residents and businesses. Federal law recognizes that parkland is vulnerable to development and places special restrictions on parkland use. For example, the Federal-Aid Highway Act prohibits the use of parkland for highways unless there is "no reasonable and prudent alternative."
Recommendations for Action:
The District Government should formally adopt a parkland protection policy that includes:
(1) a prohibition of parkland development, unless there is "no reasonable and prudent alternative;" and
(2) a prohibition of parkland use, except for uses that require parkland for the benefit of the general public (such as a public nature education center, or a public boat rental facility).
This policy should be enacted into law to apply to land over which the District has regulatory jurisdiction. With respect to land under Federal control, the policy should be adhered to by the Administration and by its representatives to regulatory bodies such as the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts, etc. All efforts should be made to persuade other entities, such as Federal agencies, the Congress, regulatory entities, and development interests, to respect and/or adopt this policy.
Contact for more information: Gwyn Jones, New Columbia Chapter of the Sierra Club
Restore Washington's Street Trees - Our Urban Forest
The importance of our street trees in Washington D.C. - our "urban forest" - to the quality of life in Washington is difficult to overstate. Urban trees provide energy savings, water pollution abatement, flood control, privacy, wildlife habitat, and feelings of community well being. Further, because of shading and evapotranspiration, trees dramatically reduce the "heat island effect" that makes the city 5-9 degrees hotter than the suburbs in the summer, discouraging tourism, businesses, and residents. Though once known as the "City of Trees" because of the majesty of its tree resource, D.C. has significantly reduced the size and health of its street tree population over the last decade.
Approximately 100,000 trees now grace our streets. This figure is a guess because the latest inventory is more than 20 years old. About 5 % of these trees, or 5,000, die each year. However, we have planted fewer than 500 trees per year since 1994. Therefore, we are losing 4,500 trees per year, net. To return to a sustainable level of tree maintenance and planting, a significant investment (approx. $5-6MM/year) is required. Over the short term, however, $2.5MM from the defunct Barney Circle Highway is available for planting; it needs to be unblocked immediately.
Dutch elm disease (DED) threatens 8,000-10,000 elm trees. Most cities suffer from a DED infection rate of 3% annually. D.C.'s rate is 6% annually. Although there are no cures for DED, there are well established methods of control, including sanitation, fungicidal treatment, and bark beetle control, which greatly improve the chance of retaining these superb trees.
Public works crews often damage tree root systems while performing maintenance activities. For example, the root systems of trees along the 1800 and 1900 blocks of Park Road, NW, were recently devastated by repair crews.
Until 1991, a network of volunteer associations, such as Trees for the City, Trees for Capitol Hill, the Dupont Circle Citizens Association, American Forests, the Sierra Club, and some 60 other organizations was actively engaged in tree planting activities. Volunteer tree planting programs are important not only because they contribute "free" resources to this important endeavor, but because local residents are far more likely to water and protect new trees when they have been involved in the planting. Although DPW failed to maintain this public/private partnership, these organizations remain available to forge a new partnership with the City, involving potentially thousands of children and adults in a collaborative effort of neighborhood improvement.
Recommendations for Action:
(1) The Mayor should announce a "Citywide Tree Rescue Plan,"
featuring the following components:
(a) Remove all dead and dying elms by April, 1999 (a total of 450 trees
from a population of 8,000; cost of $320,000)
(b) Remove an additional 3,000 dead or hazardous street trees in 1999.
(cost of $2 million). Also, by Sept. 1999, inventory remaining hazardous
trees which require removal. The backlog of hazardous trees and limbs is
a very serious legal liability for the city.
(c) Plant 5,000 trees (indigenous species wherever possible) in 1999
and prepare a new tree planting plan for D.C. (cost of $1.5 million).
(d) Prune 10,000 trees in 1999 (cost of $650,000.).
(e) Restore alliances with D.C. community tree-planting groups.
(2) The Mayor should appoint a blue-ribbon panel of urban forestry experts to provide on-going guidance to the city. The panel should be comprised of experts from the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service, D.C. Parks and Recreation, and two urban foresters from other U.S. cities. This panel should meet 2-4 times per year and submit its findings to the Mayor's office. (Matching U.S.F.S. funds are available to support costs of such a panel at $12,000- $20,000 annually.)
(3) The Mayor should release $2.5 million from the defunct Barney Circle Freeway and make it available for elm tree removals and tree planting. This money has been set aside and is "on hold" at the U.S. Department of Transportation. Within 6 months of its release, DPW can have 2,000 trees planted.
(4) DPW should develop new policies to minimize tree damage by road crews and public utilities. All activities that involve invasive work within the area occupied by street trees should be reviewed by Tree Division personnel for best management practices to reduce detrimental impacts to tree resources.
(5) DPW should fill positions that are needed to support an expanded tree planting program. These include two new horticulturists and one pruner/trimmer for tree care staff; three contract supervisors for the tree division; and one new equipment operator/horticulturist for the landscape division. (Est. cost of $275,000 annually.)
(6) DPW should review the qualifications required for the position of Director of the Tree Division. Consider a requirement for an urban forestry professional.
(7) DPW should initiate a comprehensive tree inventory and establish a GIS-based management program (est. cost $250,000.). Update tree inventory every 3 years on average.
(8) The Mayor and Council should ensure ongoing funding of the Tree Division at a level of $5-6 million per year, or about $10 per capita.
Contact for more information: Keith Pitchford, Pitchford and Associates.
Reject the Oxon Cove Prison Proposal
In a Congressionally mandated land swap, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) has obtained 42 acres of National Park Service land on the north side of Oxon Cove (part of the Potomac River) in Ward 8.
The land affords the only access to the riverfront for the local community in an already environmentally stressed and economically depressed area. Bolling Air Force Base and Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant occupy the rest of the waterfront.
CCA has proposed to build a 2,200-bed penitentiary on this parcel and hopes to acquire an additional 30 acres from the District -- approximately 10 acres from the existing D.C. impound lot and approximately 20 acres from D.C. Village. The National Park Service was an unwilling party to the transfer and had planned this parcel for a hiker-biker trail to be contiguous with the existing trail on the Maryland side, and possibly a golf course.
Recommendations for Action:
(1) The Mayor and Council should act to protect Oxon Cove land as parkland and oppose attempts to use the land for commercial/industrial development.
(2) The City Council should reject pending legislation that would permit approximately 30 acres of City land adjacent to the CCA parcel in Ward 8 to be declared surplus. This land should be retained by the District.
Contact for more information: Eugene Dewitt Kinlow, Ward 8 Coalition; Anna El-Eini, Friends of the Earth.
Protect Kingman and Heritage Islands
For more than 15 years private developers have sought to build a theme park, known as "Children's Island," on 46 acres of Anacostia Park land, including the southern half of Kingman Island and all of Heritage Island. Since the Control Board's February 1998 rejection of the Children's Island proposal, representatives of neighborhood and environmental groups have met several times in an ongoing effort to produce a consensus as to the best way of developing the islands in an environmentally responsible way.
Environmentally sensitive development of these islands would take full advantage of the enormous recreational, educational, and ecological potential of this wild, forested area and would be in line with efforts to protect and restore the water quality of the Anacostia River. It would also serve as a southern bulwark against further development of Anacostia Park.
Recommendations for Action:
(1) Establish a task force to prepare a plan for development of the
islands into a park whose character is similar to Rock Creek Park.
The park development plan should:
- preserve the predominantly forested character of the islands;
- provide opportunities for enjoyment of wildlife and nature;
- include an environmental educational facility;
- enable recreational access to the Anacostia;
- ensure broad public input and comment; and
- address possible funding sources.
The task force should be composed of representatives of the Administration, the Council, neighborhood groups, the two nearest ANCs, environmental/civic groups, and development interests.
Contact for more information: Jim Dougherty, Sierra Club New Columbia Chapter; Anna El-Eini, Friends of the Earth.
Speak Out on the General Management Plan for Rock Creek Park
One look at a map of the city makes obvious the enormous significance of Rock Creek Park to the District of Columbia. The activities and opportunities found in this urban forest park play a major role in the quality of life experienced by D.C. residents.
In 1997, the National Park Service began to develop a general management plan ("GMP") for Rock Creek Park. During that process, four different scenarios outlining the general direction of that GMP emerged: Status Quo, Recreational Emphasis, Scenic Driving Emphasis, and Wilderness Emphasis. In response, over 35 organizations have come together in a loose alliance called the People's Alliance for Rock Creek ("PARC"). PARC has developed its own compilation of scenario elements into a new scenario known as "Alternative 2 ½." This alternative calls for the partial closing of Beech Drive to commuter traffic. Other areas identified in Alternative 2 ½ that the GMP needs to address include: increasing educational opportunities, eliminating combined sewer overflows in the park, mitigating surface runoff from the surrounding watershed, improving existing trails, improving non-motorized access from surrounding neighborhoods and increasing access via public transit and school buses to facilities like the Nature Center and Pierce Mill.
Recommendation for Action:
The Mayor and the Council should formally urge the National Park Service to --
(1) give full consideration to the adoption of the community-supported
Alternative 2 ½;
(2) enforce existing regulations: Minimize stormwater runoff, adjacent
development on the park.
Contact for more information: Rick Morgan, PARC.
Complete the Georgetown Waterfront Park
The proposed Georgetown Waterfront Park, a ten acre park along the Potomac River from Rock Creek and Thompson's Boat House to Key Bridge, linking with the C&O Historical Park, is the missing piece of the National Park Service's Potomac riverfront parkland. Congress allocated $1 million for the park in 1998, to be matched by the Georgetown Commission. The National Park Service will implement and manage the park. However, in order to start work on the park, the D.C. Department of Public equipment currently on the land must be relocated to new facilities.
Recommendation for Action:
(1) The Mayor should identify the funds in the current budget surplus, or in the FY 2000 budget necessary for relocation of the Department of Public Works' equipment
Contact for more information: Anne Satterthwaite, Georgetown Waterfront Commission.