May 1, 2006

Occoquan Water Trail Users

Dear Paddlers,

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority in association with dedicated area paddlers is starting a group of water trail users that will ultimately take on a stewardship role for the Bull Run/Occoquan Water Trail. I would like to invite you to meet with me and others on Thursday May 11th at 6:00 P.M at Hopsfrog Grille in Burke Va (directions below) to help create this organization. This will simply be a brief meeting to put forward an official group name and elect a chair/co-chair to begin the formation of the group (e.g. propose/establish bylaws). Everyone is invited to attend, so come out and have a bite to eat with your fellow paddlers and help get this group started with a bang.

Attached below is a memo that outlines some of the considerations in setting up this organization. NVRPA is going to convert all of our annual car-top launch pass holders to members of this group and provide many value added benefits including unlimited car-top launch at all of the NVRPA sites and Mason Neck State Park.

Please pass this message on to anyone you know that you think might be interested in meeting on May 11th, or playing a role in this group of paddlers and other water trail supporters.

Best wishes,

Woody

Hopsfrog Grille is at 5745 Burke Centre Parkway in Burke. Ph # 703 323
7809. Basically it is located in the very first strip mall off 123, in the front of the mall sort of by the Friendly's, if you have passed the Kohl's you have gone too far. Please email me if you plan to attend so I can give the Grille a head count on the number to expect:

Mapquest Link:
Map of 5745 Burke Centre Pkwy
Burke, VA 22015-2204, US

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Formation of a “Friends Group” for the Occoquan Water Trail

DATE: April 7, 2006

TO: Supporters of the Water Trail

From: Paul Gilbert, Executive Director,
Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority

Background

The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority owns over twenty miles of parkland on the north shore of the Bull Run/Occoquan River, as well as parkland on Mason Neck. In addition to NVRPA lands, there are also Prince William County Park Authority lands, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lands and Mason Neck State Park along the forty miles of water from Bull Run Park in Centreville to Pohick Bay Park on Mason Neck.

To promote this wonderful stretch of water and encourage environmentally friendly use of the waterway, NVRPA has initiated a water trail for this area. With grants from the Chesapeake Bay Gateways Network and REI, NVRPA is developing maps and brochures for the area and working with the other public land agencies to promote the concept of this area as a water trail. Our project partners include public land agencies, as well as private organizations, committed to environmental conservation in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed.

The “Friends Group”

One of the key elements of making a successful water trail is to create a group of active users who can be advocates and volunteers for this resource. We invite you to become a part of this new group, lending your ideas and energy to promoting long-term stewardship of the Occoquan Water Trail.

Benefits of Membership:
With the acknowledgement that many of our strongest supporters of the water trail are the paddling community, NVRPA is suggesting at least two tiers of membership. For a basic annual membership the fee will be $25 for those who want to be supportive of the water trail but do not regularly do car-top boat launches. The second tier would be the paddlers’ membership for $35 per year that would include unlimited car-top launches from NVRPA parks (including Algonkian, Fountainhead, Occoquan & Pohick Bay), free entrance and launch at Mason Neck State Park and a discounted launch fee at Prince William County’s Lake Ridge Marina. An additional $10 per year key charge would apply for use of Bull Run Marina. The paddlers’ membership would also allow out-of-jurisdiction members to enter Pohick Bay Regional Park without the out-of-jurisdiction fee, when they are launching their boats. We can also offer 10% off canoe and kayak rentals at Pohick Bay and Fountainhead, as well as 10% off any of the guided paddle trips offered by NVRPA. I would not be surprised if we can find additional member benefits as this program develops.

Since the paddlers’ membership would replace NVRPA’s season car-top launch pass and offer additional benefits, 80% of the revenues from all memberships would support NVRPA operations, and 20% of the revenues can be used by the group for any project that benefits any portion of the water trail.

Organizational Considerations:
NVRPA has numerous other “friends of” groups including the Friends of the W&OD, Friends of Bull Run Park, Friends of the Bull Run Shooting Center, Friends of the Carlyle House and Friends of Meadowlark Gardens. These groups are non-incorporated groups that raise funds to support various parks. NVRPA holds the funds for the groups in restricted accounts. The advantage of this model is less administrative overhead for the groups, since they do not need to incorporate, gain non-profit status and do book- keeping. While this is a proven model, it is not the only option available. If the group wanted to do so, they could incorporate and become a non-profit, or a third option would be to become an arm of the newly formed Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Foundation, which is a 501(c)(3).

Another consideration for the group would be the name. While our other groups all are called “Friends of ….” we do not need to follow that model if there is another name that the group likes. The name “Friends of the Occoquan” and “Occoquan Watershed Coalition” are already taken.

Whichever organizational structure is selected, an initial Board will need to be selected and some means of electing new officers in the future decided. Other considerations are what type of communications would the group like (newsletter, website, etc.), and how often the group would like to meet.

NVRPA will provide passes for all members of the group, and all of our current season car-top launch pass holders will automatically be members of the new group.

As a stakeholder, I appreciate your thoughts on this effort, and hope you can join us in making this water trail a national model of success.