United States Army Corps of Engineers.

Recreation opportunities under the guise of federal agencies are easy to point out: the National Park Service, the Department of Interior, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the United States Forest Service are all havens for even the most diverse populations of American recreators. So does it come as a surprise that the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) hosts the largest number of recreation visits each year on federal land? Not to Lieutenant General Brad Flowers, its commander and chief of engineers. "Recreation is a natural result of creating projects that are multi-purpose. You can take a project whose basic purposes may be flood control, water supply and hydropower and add recreation to it and it's a natural complement. I think it's something very significant to note, so that you will get a benefit from a project far beyond its primary purpose, be it flood control or navigation or a hydropower project. And recreation, what we're finding, is a benefit that continues in perpetuity as long as the project lasts."

Bigger Than You Think

The USACE has some staggering numbers. They operate over 2,500 recreation areas at 463 projects and lease an additional 1,800 sites to state or local park and recreation authorities or private investors. The Corps registers over 360 million annual visits to their lakes and beaches. One in ten Americans visit a Corps project at least once a year. More than 600,000 jobs are generated by these visitors. With such heavy traffic of recreation users and visitors, maintaining a satisfactory level of management and supervision is an ongoing process.

"We are working very hard to improve the quality of our recreational facilities, and the training of our rangers and personnel who are providing or enabling recreation," said Flowers. "The task we have at modernizing and maintaining all the recreation facilities is a tough one. We're looking for innovative ways to achieve it. For example, we're working with local communities for sponsorship. Using military units from the guard and reserve to also adopt recreation areas, we're encouraging community projects to improve facilities. We're even taking a look at using corporate sponsorship to improve some of the recreation sites."

The Corps Point of View

Acknowledging the inherent value of recreation and the need to provide recreational leadership from rangers and Corps staff is the first step in maintaining the Corps quality of professionalism. Flowers believes that building upon the values instilled by the Army and the Corps will lead to a better breed of recreational leaders. "I think that one of the things that makes us unique as an organization is that we are values-based, and so we try to view an ethos in all our employees, including our rangers that is values based, that talks about an organization that serves the public, and prides itself on service to the public."

A strategy that Flowers brought with him to his position is one that can be applied to any leadership role, especially those of recreation managers and programmers. "We provide every one of our rangers with a `Do It' card, which asks them three questions. Is it good for my customer? Is it legal and ethical? Am I willing to be accountable? And if you can answer `yes' to these three questions, then don't ask for my permission, you already have it from the chief of engineers."

Having faith in the decisions your employees make is perhaps the most important aspect of any organization. Knowing that your training and philosophical approach in conducting your service is congruent with all those involved, from leadership to volunteer staff, creates a unified front for the benefit of the public.

Success in Partnerships

Water-based recreation is the foundation of the USACE activity program. Building bridges and dams, monitoring flood control measures and conducting environmental stewardship may be the invitations for engineers, but these projects are heavily maintained by rangers and recreation programmers. As a result, partnerships and programs are created to develop and capture the potential for a large number of recreation opportunities. Educating visitors about water safety is of utmost importance.

This past March, the USACE signed a partnering agreement with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization-Institute for Water Education (UNESCO-IWE) to further research, development and improvement of water resources as well as promote safe, economical, efficient and environmentally sound practices. UNESCO-IWE, based in Delft, The Netherlands, is an organization that provides postgraduate education and training in the fields of water and environment. Since 1957 it has contributed to knowledge development through research for the benefit of the developing world. So far, it has trained more than 12,000 engineers from 120 countries. The partnership is a demonstration in not only international partnerships, but also an example of the USACE's efforts to invite experts from a variety of backgrounds to accomplish the universal goal of providing a comprehensive approach to safety and education.

This type of partnership is intended for higher-level managers, rangers and engineers, so what about partnerships that are more obvious for the average user? The USACE has those too. Teaming with park and recreation agencies and federal agencies, the USACE has developed several programs for water safety that promote the core beliefs of personal safety and training. Some examples of recent projects include workshops with the Personal Watercraft Industry Association, creating boating safety films and public service announcements with California Boating & Waterways, the Safe Passage program with the Idaho State Parks & Recreation, and starting and maintaining a public facility database with their own Safety Office and National Water Safety Committee.

Corporate partnerships allow for an important visibility as well. The Kawasaki Motors Corporation, U.S.A. has teamed with the USACE National Water Safety program in creating "Seamoor the Sea Serpent," a robotically altered personal watercraft to visit USACE sites to promote the benefits of water safety. This creative face of water safety attracts attention, while the program behind its creation provides informative literature and training to employees and volunteers. In addition, Seamoor's travels will be documented on the USACE's Web site.

Showcasing Our Heritage

With a national celebration of the Lewis and Clark expedition nearing prime-time, the USACE is taking steps to educate the American public and their recreation users about that amazing journey by developing a series of programs at their sites. "We will upgrade those facilities and put programs in place that relate to the Lewis and Clark expedition. We are providing our personnel at the recreation facilities with hands-on displays and boxes that the public can come and touch and feel, maybe experience some of what life might have been like for Lewis and Clark and those of the expedition. We call these `Discovery Boxes,' named for the corps of discovery. And in general, what we've done is develop a campaign plan, starting with facilities that are on the eastern portion of the Lewis and Clark trail, and then moving our way westward, just as Lewis and Clark did," says Flowers.

Interpretive programs benefit from the historical and educational opportunities afforded by the Discovery Boxes. Ray Nelson, a park ranger at Cross Lake, Minn., is a member of the six-person team that will put together a diverse collection of items that help illustrate the importance and adventure of perhaps the most imperative journey in the history of our country. To prepare for the construction of the boxes, Nelson and his team read journals written by Lewis and Clark to develop a sound interpretation of their journey. They also studied other historical narratives that could provide first-hand accounts of the period. The information they gleaned became the basis for the history captured within the boxes, and an essential complement for the physical materials that grace the boxes (including military medals, beads, animal pelts, the American flag, guidebooks and maps).

Also included in the Discovery Boxes are background materials and project ideas that focus on the values of respect, honor and integrity. These boxes give individual programmers the implements needed to provide well-rounded and historical interpretation of Lewis and Clarks's adventure. Several non-Corps organizations are interested in the Discovery Boxes as well, allowing more partnerships with other organizations with the same goal in mind: to provide interested Americans with interactive methods of learning about an important and defining time in our history.

A National Emphasis on Recreation

Since the events of Sept. 11, Flowers has been in a unique position: commanding a military group that provides national security and improvement, and a recreation leader who knows its benefits all too well. He is introspective about America's need for reflection, and patriotic about the relationship between American pride and recreational opportunity. "I think that one of the things Sept. 11 did was cause people to be a bit more reflective; value and treasure time with family, time with friends. I think naturally flowing from that is a desire to spend time with them and generally visit a place that isn't too far away. All this leads to recreation sites within the country. As Americans unite, we tend to be a little closer and want to spend more time with each other. You're seeing that reflected in the recreation arena, and we're seeing it reflected in our sites: a significant upturn in visitations and usage. We are happy that we in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers can serve in that way."

NRPA and the USACE have the same task: to provide education, support and influence in the realm of recreation. Partnerships are vital, outstanding leadership irreplaceable and knowledge of evolving trends and needs always a task to take to head and heart. The two organizations can do more than share a common goal, however; they can share a respect for the time and effort it takes from its members to provide for America what it sometimes takes for granted.

RELATED ARTICLE: NRPA Student Branch president is USACE ranger.

Park ranger Amanda Patrick, who also serves as the president of the NRPA Student Branch, is quite an example of the USACE management dynamic. As an employee of the USACE, she is a working example of the way the Corps handles the responsibility of its recreation benefit under the influence of military direction.

While some may come to view the Corps involvement in promoting and providing recreation opportunities for its large number of visitors as a secondary concern, Patrick "always felt a part of a program that emphasizes recreation." As a ranger, her tasks incorporate several responsibilities that serve to illustrate an important point about the USACE: it's an organization as large and as vast as the number of properties it manages.

As part of the Nolin River Lake (Ky.) Corps site, she can attest to the priority the USACE has placed on providing educational programs and initiatives as well as updating facilities to meet more modern and accessible standards. Her location is seeing repairs and improvements that reflect the drive the USACE has on its numerous other locations.

"We're improving our facilities in amazing ways," she says, "from shower house facilities to making our areas more visitor-friendly and ADA compliant. We're adding water and electric hook-ups to campgrounds too." The Nolin River Lake is responsible for over two million visitors per year. These visitors come to enjoy fishing and water sports, and leave with a sound respect for the arrangements the Corps is working to provide. In addition to maintenance repairs, she also conducts a number of educational classes that promote the benefits of outdoor recreation through interpretive programming. "I help conduct living history demonstrations and outdoor recreation field days for elementary school children. Planning activities like these allows me to use what I'm learning at my college and apply them to real situations within the constructs of my role with the Corps."

Patrick also notes the partnerships the USACE has forged with other federal agencies, like the Park Service and Fish and Wildlife, reinforcing Flower's statements that partnerships are key to universal survival. "I stress every time I meet with member of the Corps that we are about making relationships. Involvement of partners early on, when you're trying to make a decision or conduct a study on the future, allows for maximum input from everyone developing synergy. You're getting the absolute best input from everyone that you possibly can. Working to try and achieve consensus by establishing that as our corporate behavior, we will maintain strong relationships, and I think, be able to serve people best. That is true in spades in the recreation arena because you have in most instances ready-made partners in other federal, state and local agencies that we have routinely worked with and share the same concerns."

"I was truly amazed when I learned from General Flowers about the diverse recreational opportunities created by the US Army Corps of Engineers," said Andrew Pillifant. "I always thought the of Army Corps of Engineers as bridge and dam builders. But you' know, that's where the water for all the lakes and beaches come from." Learning more about the US Army Corps of Engineers past, also brought out the potential for our profession's future. When NRPA Student Branch President Amanda Patrick was touring NRPA headquarters, Pillifant learned that each summer she worked as a recreation professional for the USACE at Nolin River Lake in Kentucky. Read about her work and that of the USACE on page 80. Andrew Pillifant has been editor of Parks & Recreation for two years. He recently stepped down to pursue research interests and will be studying at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom, this summer.