Recently elected Board member Brian Knapp’s career in government service 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.

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? 

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 filled 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 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.  

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? 

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 recognizes the importance of protecting our water sources and preserving open spaces for parks and trails. And they want to see action.

I believe the necessary action must germinate at the local level. 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. We can offer education, best practices, and assistance in identifying funding sources.  NRPA can be a resource and a catalyst, but it is citizens in their local jurisdictions who will need to drive local land and water conservation objectives.

In your work with the City of Fairfax and NVRPA, you have provided leadership in the acquisition of open space in Northern Virginia—a suburban region that has seen explosive development over the past 25 years. What has influenced you and motivated you in your fight to preserve open spaces in your community? 

Over ten years ago, I served on a small committee for the City of Fairfax. Our job was to identify over 20 parcels of land that might be dedicated to open space. Voters had just passed a referendum to raise funds for the purchase of open spaces.  We identified all the possible parcels of land that could possibly be used for open space and then prioritized those that truly offered opportunities to build new parks and ball fields.  Additionally, we recommended that lands that could remain undeveloped, offering residents groves of mature trees or tranquil green spaces to enjoy. Identifying and buying the parcels was the easy part. The hard part—actually implementing the vision—came after the purchase.

Fast forward ten years. This past fall I got to watch my son play soccer in a brand-new park that took a decade to become a reality.  Otherwise, the property in question would have likely become just another office building or shopping center.  It takes a great deal of patience and sheer doggedness to advocate the tangible and intangible benefits of open space, especially when it can take many years to achieve the final vision.  I am proud to know that my role as a citizen advocate will contribute to the well being of the larger community for many decades to come.

In your work with the NVRPA, you have led in the success of the 45-mile W&OD Trail—a walking and biking route that crosses many jurisdictional boundaries in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area. What lessons have you learned from your experience with this major trail project? 

We are truly blessed in Northern Virginia to have this beautiful asset—the W&OD Trail. In the past year alone, over one million people used some portion of the trail. Our biggest challenge today is the abundance of daily users—a mix of walkers, runners, and bicycle riders—all competing for the narrow space.

With more folks bicycling to work, we are looking at options that might include lighting portions of the trail—especially in the winter months for morning and evening commuters. Like so many trails around the country, I have learned that the W&OD trial is about much more than recreation. The trail serves increasingly as a transportation artery for residents who want to rely less on automobiles and live healthier lives. We want to encourage these uses by maintaining the trail well, making it as safe as possible, and tying the trail into a larger network through cooperation with local jurisdictions. 

I am delighted to be part of an organization like NRPA that shares the same passion and understanding for the importance of trails.  We can certainly lead the way at the national level in educating our political leaders and legislators about the small, incremental investments needed now to accommodate our growing population and those who seek trail networks for multiple uses.