President’s Message: What’s Doing Now?

by Dan Pava, FAICP, President - Western Planner Resources

Midsummer greetings to all! As I mentioned in last month’s message, I am reinstating the tradition of including a president’s message with each new online journal. 

Summer 2020 affords us anything but clear vision as the pandemic continues to cause great economic disruption, illness, and death. We see that proven public health strategies have been disrupted by divisive politics. Science-based planning and public health, safety and welfare are being challenged and undermined. There is some cause for optimism if we look beyond the national headlines and read about local planning success stories across the Western Planner network. This issue focuses on three far apart places that understand the need for cooperation to foster life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It is encouraging to look at what is happening in Idaho’s Teton Valley, Oregon’s City of John Day, and out in Cuba, New Mexico on the Continental Divide. 

Each of these places is focusing on recreation as a means toward revitalization. If you think about the word recreation, it means to create something new and different. It is a way for an individual as well as a community to renew and refocus resources and energy to accomplish goals. Each story relates how improving recreational opportunities is also recreating and revitalizing these rural towns and their surroundings.

In Spotlight on Recreation Planning and Implementation in Southern Teton Valley, Idaho we learn about a vision to provide beginner and intermediate trails and pathways that led to three noteworthy efforts over the past ten years. In Recreation and Revitalization in John Day, read about the town’s Innovation Gateway Project that includes public amenities such as multi-use trails, brownfield redevelopment, and main street revitalization. You can also read about the Nacimiento Community Foundation in Cuba, New Mexico where community volunteers have started a community garden, operate a food pantry, and set up the Step Into Cuba program to develop numerous trails. 

To inform the readership, the WPR Board met in Denver in early March, just before stay/work at home orders, social distancing, and business closures; we continue to hold monthly virtual meetings. While the board has decided to postpone the Bismarck conference, we have also committed to North Dakota in 2022. We have joined with APA Arizona to hold our 2021 conference as a western states conference in the Phoenix area. Programming has already begun for this “hot” conference and we will keep you posted on further details. 

The WPR board is also committed to support the ongoing efforts of the Tribal and Indigenous Interest Group to reestablish as an APA Division. While we cannot promise APA National will ever hold a conference on tribal land, we are proud to have held our Western Planner conference at Fort Hall two years ago! By the way, we are also looking to fill our vacant board seats with qualified representatives to round out the WPR network. We have openings for Oregon, Nevada, Montana, and some at-large positions. You can contact me for details at danpava1955@gmail.com.