A. THE PLAN

1. Friedrich Wilderness Park, Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park, and the Planners



Friedrich Wilderness Park is a facility of the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department (SAPAR).  The Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park (FOF) is a non-profit (501c3) volunteer organization which assists SAPAR in conservation and management of the Park in accordance with the Will of Norma Friedrich Ward through an agreement adopted by the City Council which runs through the year 2016.

In September 1996, MOGAS + DAWES ARCHITECTS with Place Collaborative Landscape Architects and a group of consultants were selected by the Board of Directors of Friends of Friedrich Wilderness Park to produce a Conceptual Master Plan (FWPCMP) for the Park that would embody, embrace and confirm their conservation, science, and education responsibilities.

2. Mission and Philosophy

FWPCMP MISSION:

The mission of the FWPCMP is to establish a cooperative, long-range framework for SAPAR, FOF, and other interested parties to manage Friedrich Wilderness Park.

FWPCMP PHILOSOPHY:


• follow the spirit of the Last Will and Testament of Norma Friedrich Ward;
  
• balance the competing demands of conservation and public access;
  
• conserve and restore the natural and cultural resources of the park;
  
• maintain science and research programs;
  
• maintain education and outreach programs, especially for at-risk youth and people with least access to natural settings;
  
• promote public understanding and appreciation of the natural and cultural resources of the Park and the Balcones canyonlands;
  
• encourage public contact with nature and maintain the opportunity for a contemplative experience of the Park;
  
• demonstrate and teach sustainable development;
  
• acquire more land for the Park when possible;
  
• assist and participate in the development of a system of  natural area parks in Bexar County;
  
• assist in creating greater public awareness of natural and cultural resource parks in Bexar County, and of appropriate uses of all Bexar County parks.
  

3. Purpose

The purpose of the Conceptual Master Plan is to follow the Mission and Philosophy statements and to identify guidelines designed to fulfill them.  By so doing, the FWPCMP becomes an instrument which can guide successful development in and around the Park over the course of the next 25 years.  As agendas, priorities and budgets vary over the years, the guidelines will provide a consistent framework to produce a coherent result.

4.  Method and Process

To develop the FWPCMP, the design team worked at a range of scales to gather information and express a clear understanding of FWP as it is positioned in the state of Texas, Bexar County and the City of San Antonio.  This involved a collection and inventory of data of the existing conditions and research concerning FWP.  The assimilation of information also included interviewing persons with a past, present or future connection and/or involvement with the Park.  Input from SAPAR was a major component of this process.  Those interviewed included representatives of related agencies, user groups, and experts in land, flora, and fauna of the region.  Interview transcripts are filed with the Consultant, FOF, and SAPAR.



The opinions of Park users, the neighbors of FWP, and those concerned with the future of FWP were solicited through a survey process.  A total of 288 responses was received; detailed results of the survey are included in Appendix E.

The central activity in the collection of data relevant to the project was a day-long charette involving people representing a wide variety of interests and expertise.  The Proceedings of the charette contains text of presentations and dialogue from the event and is filed with the Consultant, FOF and SAPAR.

5. Development Guidelines

Part II of the FWPCMP identifies the resources that the plan will deal with.  Recommendations for each of these resources are made, item by item, in Part III.

The FWPCMP applies concepts of environmental design, sustainable development, green building, and best management practice in developing recommendations.


• Environmental design applies the broad challenge to plan and build for human use as if all constituents of ecological systems have value.  Application of this concept continues recent efforts of the San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects working with the City of San Antonio Planning Department and other agencies and professional organizations to improve the results of planning, design, and development in Bexar County.
  
  
• Sustainable development reflects a planning process which challenges planners to select and arrange design elements in ways which will have the least impact on resources, and will accommodate current needs without irrevocably diminishing opportunities for subsequent generations.
  
  
• Green building applies the challenge of sustainable development at the scale of individual buildings, site work and infrastructure. 
  
  
• Best management practice guides planning, developing and building toward successful outcomes when evaluated by competing criteria.  Generally, the FWPCMP calls for economic viability while preserving environmental values.  In the case of FWP, best management practice must reflect the neccessity of accommodating increasing popularity and use of the Park while maintaining to the greatest extent possible a balanced natural ecosystem and still providing the opportunity for a contemplative experience for visitors.


SAPAR and FOF have the opportunity, emphasized in the FWPCMP, to apply these development guidelines and techniques and help blaze the Environmental Design Trail in San Antonio.  Friedrich Wilderness Park offers a superb setting to demonstrate human development in harmony with natural systems, while teaching these techniques to neighbors and visitors.

Appendix A lists resources for environmental design, sustainable development, green building and best management practice.