March 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 8

NRPA IN FO CUS

Board Member Brian D. Knapp
Strategist, grassroots conservationist, and trails advocate

R
Citizens and
stakeholders
who are
committed to
conservation
will have the
greatest
impact by
engaging in
local,
grassroots
efforts. And
NRPA is
perfectly
positioned
to help.

ecentLy eLecteD BoarD MeMBer BrIan knaPP's career in government ser-

vice and private consulting has taken him to the White House, the Pentagon,
and political hot spots around the globe. But when asked about his proudest
achievements, Knapp, a longtime citizen volunteer with both the City of Fairfax Parks
and Recreation and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA), does not
mention professional accomplishments. He reflects, instead, upon a split-second realization he had while standing on the sidelines of his 10-year-old son's soccer game.
As he spectated and cheered along with the other parents, Knapp says, it dawned on
him that the public ballfield at the center of all of the excitement was the result of his
own volunteer commitment a decade earlier.

Knapp gravitated toward parks and park leadership because he saw a need for citizen involvement in
his own community-and, he says, because his childhood in Southern California instilled in him a lifelong
love of the outdoors. Knapp's brand of park leadership blends strategic know-how with raw enthusiasm
for the possibilities of open spaces. He is as animated explaining the priority of master planning as he is
recounting a local preservation effort or describing
the majesty of Yosemite's Half Dome. In the interview
below, Knapp shares his insights on four topics critical to NRPA and its members: strategic planning, conservation, open space preservation, and the growing
importance of cross-jurisdictional trails.

plan, do we actually implement it? I chair a board
[NVRPA] that is made up of six member jurisdictions
(counties and cities), and it is our strategic plan that
recommits our mission every five years and affirms
our long-term goals and vision. We use our strategic plan to validate our budget requests, prioritize
our capital projects, and decide whether to buy or
lease new property. In a period of declining budgets
and scarce resources, every agency needs a strategic plan to illuminate priorities and guide decisions.
I hope my experiences in fostering effective strategic planning will serve me well as the NRPA Board
helps its membership embrace the type of sustainable planning we need for the next five to ten years.

In your work as a parks volunteer and citizen
activist, you have placed a high priority on
strategic planning for parks. What do you see
as the most important issues and challenges
for park leaders attempting to plan for the
future? What experiences have shaped your
own understanding of the role of strategic
planning for parks?

NRPA is placing a greater emphasis on
conservation than ever before. Could you
comment on the specific role you see parks as
playing-both currently and in the future-in
the broader conservation movement? In what
concrete ways will this Board attempt to
guide and develop that role?

We all nod our heads in affirmation when we discuss
the need for strategic planning. We feel wiser when
we say, " Let's develop a five-year plan to guide our
work, our spending, and our priorities. " But the sad
reality is that our daily lives are fi lled with the here
and now. Most of us barely have time to look above
the horizon.
And even if we do take the time to write a strategic

6

Parks & recreation   M A R C H

2 0 1 2    w w w . N R P A . O R G

My wife, son, and I had the pleasure of visiting
some of the great national parks this summer-Yellowstone, Badlands, the Tetons, and Glacier. I was
constantly reminded during our trip that a few remarkable individuals in the late 1800s and early
1900s had the vision, wisdom, and fortitude to establish these great parks and conserve unique lands
and streams and lakes. Well, it seems today that
we stand at a crossroads where the general public



March 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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