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(narrator ) This is going to be a state park.
Thousands of people will be able to come here to learn and to enjoy themselves.
But before this happens, the staff of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will conduct
thorough studies of the park�s resources.
This is to assure that its adaptation for your enjoyment contains the proper balance
between caring for the site�s resources and meeting the recreational needs of the
public.
If this planning were not done, you can well imagine what would happen if several thousand
cars went down this road, a thousand fires were built beneath these trees, a thousand
people tried to swim in this creek, a thousand campsites were built indiscriminately.
A few people do not hurt a park, but the pressure of crowds can cause lasting damage.
It is the responsibility of the Parks and Wildlife Department to preserve and protect
the natural resources in our state parks and still make them available for people to enjoy.
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[narrator] When people go to a park, they need roads,
water, comfort stations, litter disposal, electricity.
Some people like to be with other people.
Some search for solitude.
But all of them want a change in environment to get away from the routine of everyday urban
living.
Thousands of people can find these things in a park without damage to the resources
they came to enjoy�if it has been carefully planned.
All parks are different.
The facilities that are put in a park are determined by the site and the recreational
needs in that area.
But planning and building take time and money.
The Parks and Wildlife Department assigns responsibility to the Parks Master Planning
Branch to prepare a recreation or master plan of each park.
This plan is the instrument for securing close coordination between development, operation,
and maintenance of the park.
It also ensures a harmonious relationship between the park visitor and the park environment.
In the early stages of compiling a master plan, all available information about the
park site is gathered: soils information, historical and archeological features, boundary
surveys, aerial photographs, topographic maps.
People with information about the area are contacted; for instance, the soil conservation
service, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, U.S. Weather Service, and local governments.
Meetings are held with other members of the department.
Directions are received.
Intensive research is done on the park site and its facility.
Planning is a team effort with a supervisor, two biologists, and an engineer as the nucleus.
Historians, archeologists, and geologists support the team when they�re needed.
As the planning team prepares for the investigation, the supervisor compiles a list of studies
and who will accomplish them.
Like everything else, the site investigation has to be officially scheduled.
They have studied and discussed the area for some time.
Now, they will verify their information on the site.
The planning team prepares to study on the site, a predetermined time, to accomplish
its objective.
A large amount of information must be gathered on this first trip.
Of prime importance is the information the planning team will need to thoroughly evaluate
the site.
This should include a complete analysis of the area with regard to everything from natural
resources to recreational potential.
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[narrator] New park sites are undeveloped and often in
remote locations, so the planning team must be prepared to camp on the site.
This also gives them more time to study the area and become familiar with it, to experience
it in the early morning and the late evening as well as during the day.
The park planners and park planning supervisor need to become familiar as possible with all
aspects of the site.
One way this is achieved is by making an extensive photographic record for future reference.
At the same time, the biologist collects the information necessary to define valuable areas
for vegetation and wildlife.
He collects information for an environmental analysis of the site, and makes lists of plants
and animals in the park.
The engineer gathers material to combine with the information of the soil conservation service.
This information shows what soil types will best support development.
Existing utilities in the park are located.
Meetings are held with the local utilities people about what will be needed in the park.
He also surveys the site for possible engineering problems.
An archeologist joins the team during the site investigation to prepare a map of the
archeologically significant areas.
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[narrator] From the site investigation, there will be
enough information to compile three types of value maps: conservation, development,
and recreation.
The first series of value maps is called the Conservation Series.
These maps shows the vegetation, wildlife, scenic, archeological, and historic features
of the park, which are most valuable and worthy of conserving.
These subjects are shown in terms of shaded areas on the maps.
The darker the area, the more important it is to conserve.
People will be able to enjoy these precious resources without harming them.
These resources are the essence of the park.
The conservation value maps are then combined to make a composite.
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[Narrator] A second series of maps is the Development
Series.
It shows the park�s physical and environmental features, which will enable economical, long
lasting development.
In a park, development can be restrooms, shelters, and other buildings as well as trails, waste
water, and solid waste disposal areas, roads, picnic areas, and campsites.
The Development Series consists of value maps on soils, slopes, weather, human influences,
water resources, and the effects of water levels on the park site.
These values are shown by shaded areas on maps.
The darker the area, the less desirable it is for development.
All the value maps are then combined to make a composite.
Once this is done, the conservation composite is placed over the development composite.
The light areas in the conservation composite, which coincide with the light areas of the
development composite, show the areas best suited for development.
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[Narrator] A recreation values map is made to show the
areas that are most desirable for recreation.
The conservation and development composites are placed under the recreational values map
to determine land use areas.
Once the planning team determines the areas best for development, they must determine
what types of facilities should go in these areas.
By analyzing the recreational needs of the people in that particular region, and the
potential uses of the development areas in the park, they can determine the necessary
types of facilities.
By placing development in the lightest conservation Development Series areas, and close to areas
of recreational value, a rational land use concept can be achieved.
By looking again at the people�s recreational needs for that region, the planning team can
determine how many recreation facilities are needed.
But the number of facilities much be within the limitations of the carrying capacity of
the site.
Also, the number and location of recreation facilities determine the requirements for
support items, such as utilities, restrooms, roads, and parking.
The result is an arrangement or plan of the park facilities that can be easily controlled,
maintained, and operated.
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[narrator] Months of mapmaking and analysis, meetings,
conferences, studying, writing, pass from the beginning of the investigation until a
development plan is finished.
The development map shows areas of proposed development in detail, including individual
facility locations for present and future development.
The planning team usually makes another visit to the site to verify facility locations.
There is a last meeting or review before submitting the plan to the Parks and Wildlife Commission
for guidance and direction.
With the results of the site visit, and the direction from the commission, the proposed
development map can be completed.
The planners work on the final text of the plan, including a budget and written description
of all the facilities shown on the map.
The engineer provides the final plan for utilities.
The biologist provides the final environmental assessment.
The planning team assembles the master plan from all information gathered.
After the commission has reviewed the development map, and before the plan is finalized, the
proposed development is presented at a public hearing.
This gives the general public an input into the planning process.
After months of planning, the master plan is now ready for final approval by the Parks
and Wildlife Commission.
When the commission has approved the master plan, it is printed in book form for easy
reference.
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[narrator] The master plan is turned over to the engineering
division for final design and construction.
The planning team will continue to monitor the project.
Final design and construction will take a year or more.
But most of all, a new outdoor recreational resource has been made available to the people
of Texas and our visitors; to be cherished by future generations, as we appreciate it
today.
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Planning Parks for People Transcription