April 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 45

manages the small team of scientists who inventory and report on the natural communities present in
the county's public lands. " When the department acquires a piece of land, " Matthews explains, " our team
goes in to look at the topography and to evaluate the
habitats, natural resources, and protected species....
We let science determine the best and highest use for
that land. " It is a system where ecosystem and biodiversity priorities dictate park planning practices. And,
of course, there are times when the science of conservation argues against park facilities and services
that residents might want. Like
when a newly acquired flood
plain forest parcel home to numerous amphibian species was
also a desirable spot for a community ball field.
" The thing is, " Matthews
adds, " when we tell the public
the science behind our recommendations, they respect that.
It's not a political conclusion-it's
about how the land can serve us
best. And what other alternatives are available. " And
sometimes the alternative is, literally, right around the
corner. In the case of that community ball field plan,
for example, the Natural Resources Management team
was able to suggest another parcel nearby that was already graded and well suited to active recreation uses.
" This is not about saying no, " Matthews concludes.
" It's more like 'yes, and...,' or 'no, but....' "

A 20-year Plan Covering 2,000 Square Miles
In 2008, following 18 months of stakeholder participation meetings and collaboration between county
park professionals and supervisors, Washoe County,
Nevada released its Regional Open Space and Natural Resource Management Plan. And in 2009, The
Trust for Public Land (TPL) brought national attention
to the plan when Washoe was named as one of three
recipients of TPL's annual County Leadership in Conservation award.
The plan, says Jennifer Budge, park planner for
Washoe County Regional Parks and Open Space,
came about because of a Nevada statute mandating
that the county prepare a regional plan to preserve
remaining open spaces. The original version of the
plan, while addressing open spaces and trails, contained no provision for natural resources. So, says
Budge, with the guidance of a third-party consultant,
the parks department, county officials, and the municipalities of Reno and Sparks worked to create both
an overarching conservation document and a plan
for its successful execution.

Washoe County petroglyphs

" When one tugs at a single
thing in nature, he finds it
attached to the rest of the
world. "
-Naturalist John Muir
The plan is introduced by lines from the naturalist
John Muir: " When one tugs at a single thing in nature,
he finds it attached to the rest of the world. " Running
through the pages of the plan are reminders that the
whole of Washoe's conservation effort is greater than
the sum of the parts-but that the individual parts merit
careful, exact definitions and lists of achievable goals.
Washoe's plan outlines a set of principles to guide
biodiversity support, cultural resources and sensitive lands, natural hazards, recreation resources, visual and scenic character, and water resources. And
its companion document offers a set of strategies for
carrying out the plan incrementally over time-including the cultivation and management of ongoing intergovernmental and nonprofit partnerships to help fund
the work.
Budge says the work of forming the plan has not
only raised awareness in the community-it has also
led to a new level of cooperation between the county and nonprofits like the Nevada Rock Art Foundation, which has stepped forward to help save pieces
of prehistoric rock art in Washoe from vandalism and
destruction. " This is about everyone valuing what we
have here, " says Budge. " It's a 20-year plan, and our
vision is that, by 2030, our open spaces and resources will be valued by the community and managed
effectively by partnerships. "
Elizabeth Beard is Managing Editor and
Maureen Hannan is Senior Editor of Parks &

Recreation.

w w w . N R P A . O R G A P R I L 2 0 1 2 Parks

& Recreation 43

April 2012 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of April 2012 - Parks & Recreation