NARRP Announces 2012 Award Recipients
The National Association of Recreation Resource Planners


April 19, 2012 – The National Association of Recreation Resource Planners is pleased to announce its 2012 Annual Award winners. The awards recognize outstanding accomplishments by individuals, agencies, and organizations in the field of recreation resource planning and management. The NARRP Board of Directors presented seven awards in three categories at their annual conference that was held April 16-20, 2012 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

We are proud to announce that the recipient of this year’s National Recreation Leadership Award is Will Shafroth, Counselor to the Secretary of Interior on America’s Great Outdoors. Each year, the NARRP Board of Directors presents this prestigious award to a select individual whose career path has had a significant national impact on outdoor recreation and the outdoor recreation profession. Selection criteria include a person who (a) has demonstrated national leadership through science, education, policy change or advocacy, (b) has had a significant national impact, and (c) has had a lasting national impact.
Mr. Shafroth is the lead representative on the "America’s Great Outdoors Initiative," a 21st century agenda for conservation, recreation and reconnecting people to the outdoors. In that capacity, he leads the Department’s work to implement the 99 action items in the America’s Great Outdoors report adopted by President Obama in February 2011 and to advance the increased access to rivers, and conservation of large, working landscapes.
Prior to his current position, he was the Acting Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks. He also founded and served as executive director for both the Colorado Conservation Trust and the lottery-funded Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund, which to date has generated $757 million in Colorado for on-the-ground projects related to open space conservation, community parks and recreation areas, and state parks and wildlife. Mr. Shafroth, a 4th generation Coloradan, is an avid outdoorsman and enjoys biking, hiking, fishing and canoeing. He is married and has three children.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to up to three individuals who have made significant and lasting contributions to the outdoor recreation profession. The award may recognize one specific contribution or a series of contributions over one’s career. To be considered for this award, the individual must be an outdoor recreation professional that has made significant and lasting contributions to the profession. Recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Service Award are:
Joe Elton, current President of the Americas State Parks Foundation, current Director of Virginia State Parks, and former president of the National Association of State Park Directors. Joe is known by many as a tireless advocate for state parks, and has displayed a crusader's zeal and reformer's impatience in helping to
create the America's State Parks alliance and developing public-private partnerships to benefit state parks across the country.
Kate Schutt, retired Planning Manager with the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department. Kate has served five state park directors over 25 yrs with distinction by building a model park planning approach and completing over 100 professional master plans, leading by example, and mentoring over 50 professional recreational planners and numerous city and county peers.

The Excellence in Planning Award is presented annually to up to four exemplary planning projects. The award is presented to the collaborating agencies and organizations key to the success of the planning effort. Selection criteria for this award include planning efforts that address unique or special circumstances; exemplify innovative and creative problem-solving; result in significant impact; and are collaborative in nature.
Recipients of the 2012 Excellence in Planning Award are:
California State Parks Planning Division - Recreation Proposal for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh. As California strives to improve reliability of its water supply and restore what is known as the Pacific Coast's most valuable estuary, California State Park's Recreation Proposal for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh offers a long-term vision for improving recreation and tourism that support the economic sustainability of the region's communities. At a time when budget cuts and economic woes have made many outdoor recreation providers back away from even thinking about expanding recreation opportunity, this proposal recommends improvement and, in some cases, expansion of California State Parks’ four Delta recreation areas and six other state parks on the edge of the Delta and Suisun Marsh.
Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC) - The Imagine Your Parks – Strategic Plan. The Imagine Your Parks – Strategic Plan for the East Baton Rouge Recreation and Park Commission is a reflection of sound strategic planning and successful implementation. Since its development in 2004, it has charted the course for the parish’s 155 indoor and outdoor park and recreation facilities. Included in the plan are bold recommendations that address park and open space planning, recreation program development, operations and maintenance issues and funding requirements.
National Park Service – Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail. This one of a kind, first endeavor to creatively combine history with outdoor recreation along the Chesapeake Bay is a catalyst for fostering tourism, outdoor recreation and local and state partnerships. The trails, tales, and travels that Captain John Smith and his fellow Englishmen encountered as they explored this area over 400 years ago are chronicled along America's first national water trail.  While the Chesapeake Bay has long been recognized for world renowned fisheries, recreation, tourism and history, this trail packages the breadth of Bay resources by highlighting the historical origins of discovery and travel by Captain John Smith.
O2 Planning and Design – Alberta Recreation and Tourism Data System. The Alberta Recreation and Tourism Data System, a cutting edge GIS analysis tool developed for the Northern Saskatchewan region in Canada, attempts to balance the region’s burgeoning urban development and resource extraction with preservation of recreation and tourism resources.
The GIS system allows the provincial government the ability to spatially view the region’s abundant recreation and tourism resources as well as potential impacts from changes in land use over time. In addition, the GIS model helps quantify cumulative effects of various land use scenarios and identify appropriate management prescriptions.
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About the National Association of Recreation Resource Planners:
NARRP is a 501(c)3 organization comprised of outdoor recreation professionals and others interested in recreation resource planning. Our members represent federal, state, provincial, regional, and local agencies, consultants, non-profits, and academic institutions across the U.S. and Canada.  The mission of the Association is to advance the recreation resource planning profession.