November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 25
PROFILE:
A Legacy of Preservation
O
Pat O'Brien closes out 22 years
n December 31, a luminary of park leadership will end a career
highlighted by the expansion of his agency
into the largest local park and recreation district in the country. Pat O'Brien,
general manager of California's East
Bay Regional Park District, announced
his retirement in September. O'Brien's
22-year tenure as general manager has
been studded with unprecedented accomplishments, including:
■■ Passage
of Measure WW, a $500 million bond-the largest park bond ever
ratified in the nation-to fund the next
generation of open space and parkland
development in the East Bay.
■■ Expansion of the park district by 33
percent. In leading the park's expansion from 66,000 acres in 1988 to more
than 104,000 acres today, O'Brien transformed his agency into the largest local parks and recreation agency in the
United States.
■■ Dramatically increased public access
to parklands by expanding his park
district from 48 to 65 parks, adding
more 100 miles of new regional trails,
and greatly increasing educational programs and services.
Such accompl ish ments not w ithstanding, his colleagues most admire
O'Brien's career-long passion for conservation and land stewardship. Parks &
Recreation interviewed O'Brien about his
environmental vision and its legacy.
How would you describe your personal environmental philosophy?
I continue to be inspired by the Vision
Statement of the East Bay Regional Park
District. It emphasizes the need to preserve a priceless heritage of natural and
cultural resources, open space, parks,
and trails. That statement not only
expresses my own environmental
philosophy; it has also served as a
guide in my responsibilities as general manager of this great agency.
I am dedicated to the
conservation of open
" Preservation, stewardship,
space resources for
and public access are the
species habitat, the
central themes that have
preservation of culdefined the application of my
tural resources, and
the provision of outenvironmental philosophy. "
door recreational opportunities for present and
future generations. My environmental philosophy also entails a
strong push for acquisition of properties
to preserve threatened habitat and provide public access to these important
How do you see your
resources.
environmental philosophy being
applied in the future?
How have applied your
My philosophy is firmly embedded in
environmental philosophy?
During my administration, we have ac- the East Bay Regional Park District's
quired approximately 40,000 acres- Master Plan. Furthermore, in 2008 the
and we now operate 104,000-plus acres, EBRPD passed, by a sweeping majority,
65 regional parks, and over 1,200 miles the largest local park bond in the histoof trails within a heavily metro-urban- ry of the United States. The $500 million
ized area. My philosophy has spurred capital bond act, Measure WW, allows
more than just acquisition, though. We for open space and regional park achave also accomplished many restora- quisition, restoration, resource protection projects to clean up old industrial tion, and development of visitor centers,
areas and return them to a natural hab- trails, and other regional park recreation
itat environment-especially along the facilities. The measure specified projshoreline of San Francisco Bay and con- ects and area locations of these resource
base capital improvements.
tinuing onto the Delta.
We anticipate that it will take approxPreservation, stewardship, and public
access are the central themes that have imately 20 years to fulfill the promise
defined the application of my environ- of Measure W W under the guidance
mental philosophy. I also strongly sup- of the Master Plan. I would expect that
port our nature interpretive programs the environmental principles that have
and our outdoor recreation programs guided me (as well as my predecessors
which provide environmental education Dick Trudeau and Bill Mott) will continand appropriate recreation use of these ue to evolve with the next generation of
-leadership.
great resources.
www.NRPA .ORG
No v e m b e r 2 0 1 0
Parks & Recreation 23
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of November 2010 - Parks & Recreation
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 1
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 2
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 3
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 4
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 5
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 6
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 7
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 8
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 9
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 10
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 11
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 12
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 13
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 14
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 15
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 16
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 17
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 18
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 19
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 20
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 21
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 22
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 23
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 24
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 25
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 26
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 27
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 28
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 29
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 30
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 31
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 32
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 33
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 34
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 35
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 36
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 37
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 38
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 39
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 40
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 41
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 42
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 43
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 44
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 45
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 46
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 47
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 48
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 49
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 50
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 51
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 52
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 53
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 54
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 55
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 56
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 57
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 58
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 59
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 60
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 61
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 62
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 63
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 64
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 65
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 66
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 67
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 68
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 69
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 70
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 71
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 72
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 73
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 74
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 75
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 76
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 77
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 78
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 79
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 80
November 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 81
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2016
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2015
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2014
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2013
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2012
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2011
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/october-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/september-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/august-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/july-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/june-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/may-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/april-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/march-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/february-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/january-2010
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/december-2009
https://www.nxtbook.com/nrpa/ParksRecreationMagazine/november-2009
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com