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 …show more content…
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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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
“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.
"Yosemite: Management Problems and Issues." Yosemite National Park. N.p., 29 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.
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.
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
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
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.
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
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.
Well that’s simple. It was designed way back in the 1800, for the public. The land, over 750 acres, was given from the New York State Legislator, in 1853, to create the first major landscaped park, in central Manhattan. The state held a competition of what design the park was going to have. Frederick Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won the competition in 1858. The park held up well at first. People respected the land. During the early 1900’s, the park took a great downfall. Instead of it begin known for its beauty, it was known for the illegal activity that was going on. Eventually the state got together and realized they were failing on their duties. Robert Moses, the park commissioner from 1934-1960, got approved from federal funding’s, to restore most structures. Again, after he left office, the depression was also in place, the park went back down a dark path. The people lost care in the park. In 1974, park funders got management together to raise more money to restore the park once again. Latter down the road Doug Blonsley started working with a woman, named Betsey, in 1993- 2008. The park hasn’t seen any better days, than the days of today. All it took is a little care and the park is looking better than it ever have in the last 150