by Peter Debes
When people think of the City of Rochester, they often think of its beautiful parks. Frederick Law Olmsted recognized the unique beauty of the low hills and ridges, part of a glacial moraine, that form the southern boundary of the city. He advised the city of Rochester to preserve these lands as parks. Today, one of these parks, Cobb’s Hill, is the focus of a successful effort to protect and preserve a 25-acre patch of classic oak-hickory forest that lies only two miles from the center of Rochester.
Named the Washington Grove after our first President, it offers a variety of paths that wind through majestic oaks, hickories, tulip trees, and other large tree species native to this area. Washington Grove, however, has been undergoing many negative changes. Trails are eroding and becoming wider as more and more people use the Grove. Undergrowth is thinning, and some native species are disappearing due to disease and competition with exotic species. Large oaks are falling as they age, opening up gaps that should permit young oaks to sprout, yet few are replacing them.
I had grown up in a house right next to the Grove and had become concerned about its future. Three years ago, I discussed the idea of removing invasive Norway maples in the forest with a city forester. What followed is a fascinating story of how a grass-roots movement was founded, expanded, experienced strife and controversy, and through a consensus- based process, developed a plan that is now serving as the basis for long-term management by the City of Rochester.
The city forester recommended that I form a citizens’ group to propose solutions for the Grove. The political difficulties of such a venture immediately surfaced. Like most citizen groups, it was a challenge to involve people in a long-term commitment, and especially to identify common goals among various interested citizens’ groups. Moreover, responsibility for the management of the forested Washington Grove was split between two city departments—the Department of Recreation and the Department of Environmental Services— which did not otherwise have many shared projects. I was encouraged by long-time Sierra Club activist Hugh Mitchell to develop this project as a coalition involving the City, the Sierra Club, and neighborhood groups. Hugh tutored me through the steps needed to meet Sierra Club guidelines, and the proposal was approved by the Rochester Regional Group Executive Committee.
I then methodically began to seek out interested partners for the Coalition— securing names from interested neighbors, contacting neighborhood associations, and working closely with the then Assistant Director of Parks, James Farr, who had been involved in previous efforts to protect and stabilize the Grove. I also mentioned the project to a plant ecology professor at SUNY Brockport and a master’s thesis project to study the Grove was begun. From these efforts, an e-mail list of over 50 organizations and individuals with interest in the project was formed. Of these, there emerged ten committed individuals, who, over the course of more than two years, have proposed a management plan for the Grove.
To develop a working plan, a process was used that first identified all the stakeholders (or interest groups) who should have a voice in the plan. Examples of stakeholders were nature lovers, neighbors, mountain bikers, persons concerned about invasive plants, those with scientific interests, dog-walkers, non-machine users, and those concerned about long-term stewardship. A person who agreed to be a representative and spokesperson for each group was identified and charged with the task of developing a list of the group’s interests and concerns. Over many weeks of work and meetings, I helped facilitate the development of an outline of a management plan from these interests and concerns.
Acrimonious debate frequently threatened to undermine the group over issues such as mountain biking and walking dogs off leash in the Grove. At least one core group member left the group because of his unyielding stance that dogs should be permitted off-leash, despite the fact that the Assistant Director of Recreation stated that this municipal law could not be changed in the Grove. After years of little surveillance, a culture had developed of defying the law with impunity. Many other people were disturbed by the proposal to cut Norway maple trees in the Grove. Signs posted by the Coalition to inform people about meetings and proposed work were destroyed or sabotaged. The Sierra Club was attacked in other posters. In some cases, neighbors found they were at bitter odds with other neighbors about proposals for management.
It is a testament to the love of the Grove by all, and a commitment to help protect it, that the coalition submitted a proposed plan to city officials. The city organized three public meetings to take comments and revise the tentative plan. One of these was poorly organized and actually drew doubt on the entire project. The last meeting, however, was very well planned and conducted and subsequently the city officially adopted many elements of the plan on a trial basis.
In May, foresters removed Norway maples from three demonstration plots in the Grove and now volunteers are continuing the work of substituting native species for invasive ones and repopulating the understory, working in collaboration with the City of Rochester.
The original coalition has been reformed and renamed and now serves to support the city’s work as the “Friends of Washington Grove.” We look forward to the success of this effort and the reality that we can make a difference and help to preserve the beauty of natural places for future generations to enjoy.
Peter Debes is vice chairman of the Chapter’s Rochester Regional Group