DC's Urban Woodlands
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DC’s Urban Woodlands Your hosts: Mona Rayside, DC Recreation and Trails Committee Nathan Harrington Chair, Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway Queries • Why are urban woodlands important? What to they contribute to life and health in DC? • What problems and threats do forests in DC face? What would make them better. • How do forests reflect or subvert hierarchies of race, wealth and power in the city? • What are we willing do to make a difference? What are three achievable actions that we can take in the next month? Largest wooded areas in DC. How many how you visited? Rock Creek Park- 1,500 acres National Arboretum (Ward 5)- 360 acres Fort Dupont Park (Ward 7)- 350 acres Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens (Ward 7)-300 acres Glover-Archibald Park (Ward 3)- 221 acres Shepherd Parkway (Ward 8)- 180 acres Roosevelt Island (Ward 2)- 90 acres Oxon Run Parkway (Ward 8)- 75 acres Dalecarlia Reservoir Grounds (Ward 3)- 50 acres Fort Totten Park (Ward 4) 40 acres Environmental benefits of urban forests • Forests clean the air. Trees absorb odors and pollutant gases- including greenhouse gasses that cause climate change- and filter particulates out of the air by trapping them on their leaves and bark. They also release oxygen. • Forests clean stormwater and rivers by slowing down the flow of water, absorbing water, filtering out contaminants and preventing erosion. • Forests reduce summer temperatures by breaking up heat islands and providing precious shade. • Trees muffle urban noise, block unsightly views, and reduce wind speeds Social benefits of urban forests • Studies have shown that patients with views of trees out their windows heal faster and with less complications. • Children with ADHD show fewer symptoms when they have access to nature. • Contrary to conventional wisdom that woods are dangerous and provide hiding places for crime, very few crimes are reported within wooded areas. • Studies that control for other variables have consistently found an association between tree cover and lower crime rates. • The health of forests matter: In a study, Cincinnati neighborhoods affected by emerald ash borer saw increases in crime compared to unaffected areas. Just a few of the native trees found in DC forests. White oak Honey locust Swamp White Oak White ash Red oak Paw Paw Willow oak Holy Scarlet oak (DC state tree) White Pine Sawtooth oak Redbud Poplar/tuliptree Yellowwood Beech Tupelo Red Maple Hornbeam Sycamore/London plane Linden/Basswood Sweetgum Catalpa Black walnut Hidden historic sites • Archeological evidence of indigenous presence and colonial plantations have been found in the woods. Much more remains buried. • The earthwork remains of more than 25 Civil War fortifications are on NPS land in the District. • Oxon Run Park in Ward 8 contains the remains of WWIII area military training facilities • Remnant of houses that predate the establishment of the parks Threat: Invasive plants Ailanthus Bittersweet Garlic mustard Kudzu Mile-a-minute Norway maple English ivy Multiflora rose Invasive grape vines Threat: Illegal Dumping Causes: -Environmental racism -Home contractors and auto shops wants to save disposal costs -Some apartment buildings have inadequate bins, dumpers, and frequency of collection -Evictions -Parks are not valued as a resource. -Lack of enforcement Illegal dumping: effects -Contaminates soil and groundwater -Washes into streams and rivers -Poisons animals -Smothers groundcover plants -Destroys aesthetic and recreational appeal -Signals economic distress and government neglect Threat: Deer overpopulation • In the absence of natural predators or human hunters, deer populations have increased beyond the carrying capacity of the land. Deer eat native groundcover but not invasives, exacerbating the invasive problem. • Hungry deer venture further from the woods into residential areas, creating traffic hazard and wrecking havoc on gardens. In some areas, the only small tree found is Paw Paw, which deer do not eat. • In Rock Creek Park, NPS has a deer management plan that includes controlled bow hunts and contraceptives, but no such plan exists for NPS lands on the east side of the city. Threat: Lack of equitable access, facilities, and signage • While Rock Creek and connected parks have more than 20 miles of trails, most wooded areas in Ward 8 are made inaccessible by a lack of trails. NPS is highly resistant to the construction of new trails, citing lack of funding the difficulty maintaining existing trails. • There areas have no bathrooms, picnic tables, or NPS-sponsored program. • Dumping is much more common, and enforcement more lack, East of the River • Some residents aren’t aware that these are federal parkland because there are so few signs to identify them and explain their significance. Thanks to citizen advocacy, some signs have been added in recent years. Threat: Development? • Parks that are neglected and underutilized are vulnerable to developers who say the land could be better used. • Shepherd Parkway: In 2015, 8 acres were transferred to the General Service Administration to make way for an access road to the Department Homeland Security campus. Construction has yet to begin. • Poplar Point: federal parkland near Anacostia Metro station is slated for mixed-use development Solutions: -Conversations between neighbors -Public education: schools programs, lawns signs, banners, community meetings -Volunteer restoration efforts -Green jobs programs -Anti-dumping enforcement by Park Police, MPD, and DDOE -Lobbying NPS, DC government, and Congress Solution: Community organizing In 1990s, Washington Parks and People organized the Columbia Heights residents to transform Malcolm X/Meridian Hill Park from one of the most run-down and dangerous parks in DC to one of the safest and most cherished. Since 2003 they’ve lead a similar process at Marvin Gaye Park in Ward 7, involving both epic volunteer efforts and political advocacy. Solution: a greater role for DC government? Some activists believe that the DC government would be a better steward of our woodlands than NPS, a federal bureaucracy that is famously slow moving and unresponsive to communities. What if, instead waiting for Congress to increase funding for NPS and hoping some of it filters down to us, the DC Council could appropriate funds for the parks? Then again, can the DC government be trusted to no just cater to powerful interests? In December 2017, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced legislation to authorize the Mayor of DC and NPS to enter into cooperative agreements to operate, maintain and manage NPS land in DC. Woodland restoration groups in DC • Groundwork DC • Earth Conservation Corps • Rock Creek Conservancy • Anacostia Watershed Society • Committee to Restore Shepherd Parkway • Friends of the National Arboretum • Trash Free Potomac Watershed Initiative/Ferguson Foundation Contact us Nathan Harrington [email protected] Mona Rayside [email protected].