Morning News reports on gathering focused on green infrastructure

The Morning News
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/08/22/news/082208fzgreenplan.prt



Green Strategic Planning Coming To Washington County

By Skip Descant
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE - Farms, waterways, trails and even urban tree covering are all part of the big picture being explored as residents in Washington County begin designing a natural infrastructure strategic plan.

"Green infrastructure is long-term conservation planning," Karen Rollet-Crocker, a member of the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association, explained to some 200 local residents gathered Thursday night for the first meeting of the Plan for Green Infrastructure: Linking Arkansas Communities 2008-09.

The group - made up of the Arkansas Forestry Commission's urban forestry program, the Beaver Water District and the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association - was recently awarded a $25,000 grant to become one of four pilot studies.

Green Infrastructure will work through a series of public meetings and design sessions in Fayetteville, Johnson, Greenland, Farmington and more rural parts of a 172-square-mile study area to establish a plan for expanding, linking and preserving natural areas. The analysis and design phases are expected to run until the end of the year, said Barbara Boland, a member of the Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association. In 2009 the group will refine the plan and work with local planning agencies for implementation.

"It's regional thinking and regional planning," remarked Boland. "It's time to think from 30,000 feet."

"I like the idea of looking at such a broad picture and then pulling it all together," said Michelle Viney, a member of Audubon Arkansas, who attended the meeting at the Mount Sequoyah Conference and Retreat Center.

Part of the Thursday night meeting was signing up residents from each of the study areas to participate on design teams.

"This is something I want to help with," said Chandler Harp, a landscape architect who lives in Farmington. "And you might kind of say this is my hobby."

Harp grew up in Arkansas, attended the University of Arkansas, and then moved to Colorado. He now wants to share some of his own expertise and experiences to the Green Infrastructure project.

"One of the reasons I moved back to Arkansas was to help make it a better place," he remarked.

With any planning project, said Chandler, the challenge is making sure all voices are heard, and the plan reflects those various interests.

"You have to be sensible," he commented. "Planning has to reflect everyone."

The issues to be explored are numerous and more extensive than say, bike and hiking trails. Once the discussion undoubtedly creeps into thoughts around what's an appropriate level of development for an area or how and should watersheds be protected, all interests should be balanced, say organizers.

"We want to focus on the interaction between the lands to be developed, and those to be preserved," said Rollet-Crocker. "So it's a balancing act, basically."