Community Open Space Partnership
2002 Green Ribbon Award Winners

The Community Open Space Partnership (COSP) is pleased to present the first annual Green Ribbon Awards, recognizing outstanding people, places, and policies that creatively and effectively use green strategic infrastructure to make Wisconsin's communities more livable.  Green infrastructure planning goes beyond traditional systems of parks and natural areas to create a comprehensive network of open spaces through and around cities -- a network that is purposefully designed to enhance economic vitality, sustain natural systems, connect people to the natural world, and increase individual and community wellbeing.

2002 Honorees:

People:

• Linda Stoll – president of Fox Cities Greenways and executive Director of Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance – for her energy and commitment to inclusive, innovative, and community-driven processes. Ms Stoll was the force behind the “Paper Trail,” a visionary plan that will create green links between all of the Fox Valley communities.

• Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk for solidifying an innovative coalition of non-traditional supporters to secure $30 million in public funding for land acquisition and maintenance through the 1999 Dane County Park and Open Space Referendum. This coalition, which included the builder and realtor communities as well as the environmental community in Dane County, demonstrated through objective polling that citizens supported the idea of increased taxes IF they knew the money was going for land protection. This investment in green infrastructure systems passed with the support of 76% of the voters. Dane County put into place a $3 million annual program for park acquisition and maintenance in an initiative that will improve the local economy and make Dane County a better place to live.

• Betty Hunter for her vision, creativity, and perseverance in working to find green-infrastructure flood-control solutions in the Village of Elm Grove.  The proposed restoration of Underwood Creek will result in connected and ecological open space, and sprang from a community-driven and inclusive process.

• Menomonee Valley leadership team, including Peter McAvoy (16th Street Health Center), Julie A. Penman (Commissioner, City of Milwaukee Department of Administration), Mariano Schifalacqua (Commissioner, City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works), Mick Hatch (President, Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc.), Lilith Fowler (Menomonee Valley Partners, Inc), and Brian Reilly (City of Milwaukee Department of City Development) for their leadership spearheading a visionary process to restore the post-industrial river valley in Milwaukee’s heart by integrating a redeveloped employment hub with diverse and engaging green infrastructure.

• The City of Kenosha (Mayor John Antaramian, City Administrator Nick Arnold, and City Planner Ray Forgianni) for their efforts to transform waterfront brownfields into new housing and green infrastructure through the Harbor Park Redevelopment Project. Planned through community-driven and inclusive processes, the project has provided connected, diverse and engaging green infrastructure to local residents.

• The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD) for recognizing that green infrastructure best practices can be more cost-effective than traditional flood-control methods, and for commissioning the science-based Conservation Plan for the Menomonee River, Oak Creek, and Root River watersheds.

Places:

• Baird Creek Greenway, a three-mile wooded stream corridor, in Green Bay, for being exemplary of ecological, diverse, connected, and engaging open spaces. It provides wildlife habitat, protects water quality, manages flood and storm water, and leaves a legacy of our natural heritage for future generations. At the same time, it provides recreational places for hiking, bird watching, and skiing.  Support for the protection of this urban gem came in large part through an extraordinary community-driven effort.

• The City of Whitewater for Cravath Lakefront Park for recognizing an opportunity to revitalize its downtown and lakefront, and transformed a once-blighted waterfront area into a vibrant downtown park: an accessible, diverse, connected, engaging, cared-for, and funded open space for the city’s residents and visitors. The site of many community festivals and events, Cravath Lakefront Park is a key piece of city efforts to revitalize its historic downtown through green infrastructure.

Policies/Initiatives:

• The 1991 Stream Bank Protection Ordinance implemented by Brown County Land Conservation Department. This law requires that permanent vegetative buffers be established on all streams in Brown County, and it provides start-up funds. This law creates green spaces that are both connected and ecologically valuable.

• The science-based and inclusive 2001 Fox River Trail Study by the Brown County Planning Commission, which addresses the economic and social impacts of the trail. The study’s findings draw from hard economic data, surveys, and interviews. It documents increases in municipal tax revenues, real estate values, and nearby businesses’ sales, and demonstrates the power of the connected, equitable, and engaging nature of Wisconsin's most heavily used trail. Data-driven studies like this one are essential to win support for similar future projects.

• The Token Creek Watershed Forum, an effort of the Natural Heritage Land Trust with continuing support from the Token Creek Watershed Association, provided an opportunity for residents to discuss complex issues and form a vision for their watershed. This process served as a springboard for residents to take ownership for the watershed, leading to better decision-making resulting in an ecological, engaging, and cared-for natural resource that provides benefits to the whole region.

A description of the Community Open Space Partnership, it's charter, and list of current organizational partners will provide you with more background information.

GREEN SPACE AND PUBLIC FACILITIES GRANTS
Yesterday the Natural Resources Board approved an emergency rule implementing Green Space and Public Facilities Grants. These grants are opportunities for local governments to apply for funding for eligible remedial action planning and implementation. One million dollars is available to cities, villages, towns, counties, redevelopment authorities, community development authorities and housing authorities. These grants are intended to help local governments clean up sites that will have a long-term public benefits, including preservation of green space, development of recreational areas or use of a property by a local government. Applications should be available in late August or early September. See our new web page for more information, or contact Michael Prager at 608-261-4927 or michael.prager@dnr.state.wi.us.

Urban and Community Forestry Elevated at USDA Forest Service

Deputy Chief Joel Holtrop has announced that the Urban and Community Forestry program, at the recommendation of the National Association of State Foresters, will be immediately separated from Cooperative Forestry and report directly to the Deputy Chief’s office. The establishment of a new position of Director for UCF will add a new voice to Forest Service leadership to assure that the agency cares for the land and serves people in urban areas and rural and under-served communities. In the announcement, he noted that the Forest Service can improve safety and health of urban populations; share authorities and tools to assist urban forest managers facing pressures from expanding urban and suburban centers; assist local governments in resource decision-making through technical assistance; assist communities in enhanced capacity for resource planning, conservation, and improved resource management; and educate urban and suburban dwellers about the significance of forestry and resource management in their everyday lives.