Green Infrastructure Forum featuring NPS Superintendent Rolf Diamant of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park in Woodstock, Vt.  Also presenting will be representatives from the Stronghold Corporation to discuss forest management at the Sugarloaf Mountain Forest Management Area. This forum is sponsored by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Community Forestry Network and the Greater Washington National Parks of the National Park Service (NPS).

The event is one of a series of Green Infrastructure Forums and Workshops to discuss park, forest cover, open space and recreation land management approaches within the metropolitan Washington region.  The Agenda for this forum will be as follows:

• A brief status report on the "Metropolitan Washington Green Infrastructure Project"
• A presentation on a regional sustainable forestry management
• Remarks by Rolf Diamant on Sustainable Forests and Farms: Re-setting the Table with Place-Based Products for Healthy Landscapes and People
• Questions and discussion

Presentation Background

The forest of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park is a storied landscape illustrating the history of conservation and the emergence of a land stewardship ethic. In continuing the stewardship of one of the country’s oldest sustainably managed forests, this National Park has a distinctive operational mandate and with national significance. The forest includes softwood stands of Hemlock, White Pine, Red Pine, European larch, Norway spruce, and Scotch pine that vary in age from 40-years to over 100-years old. In 2005, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park received Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification for its forest and became the first national park or national forest to be FSC certified in the United States.

National Park Superintendent Rolf Diamant will explore the relationship of “authenticity” and “sustainability” to local products, including food, that is sold in parks and related public institutions. He will discuss opportunities for public agencies, as institutional consumers, to better align their procurement practices with their organizational values related to sustainable practices and products that have a clear association to place, craftsmanship, public health and stewardship. As a case study he will discuss the forest of Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park, in Woodstock, Vermont - one of the country’s oldest sustainably managed woodlands. Recently awarded Forest Stewardship Council certification for its forest management practices, Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller became the first national park or national forest to be "Green Certified” in the United States. Hopefully, this will also spark a conversation on the use of credible, independent evaluation, in particular, the role of certification systems in expanding consumer choice, encouraging sustainable practices, and guaranteeing greater organizational transparency.

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TO ATTEND:

To attend this forum, please register online.  For questions, please contact brian lecouteur or glenn_eugster@nps.gov or send a note by telefax to (202) 962-3203 or (202) 619-7220.  By telephone call Brian LeCouteur at (202) 962-3393 or Glenn Eugster at (202) 619-7492. Please register by no later than Friday, May 23rd, 2006.