October 2003

• ASLA has been asked to comment on environmental issues and concerns regarding the Smithsonian Institution's mall-wide perimeter security improvement plans. This continues ASLA's effort to be an active participant in the debate on and implementation of security design in the nation's capitol and elsewhere.
  
  
• ASLA will be submitting formal comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concerning an advance review of the draft Model Federal Green Construction Documents being developed to assist Federal agencies in meeting their building-related environmental goals.
  
  
• The Senate passed the FY 04 Interior Appropriations bill late on Sept 23. ASLA lobbied hard to push for restoring the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery program (UPARR) funding and initiating Congressional funding for the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS) in the final bill. At press time it was still unclear if we were successful.
  
  
• Industry and selected general press have been invited to attend the Annual Meeting and Expo. To date, the following press are expected to send a representative: Wall Street Journal; Garden Design; Japanese Landscape Architecture magazine; Lawn & Landscape Magazine; Aqua Magazine; Water Garden News; Recreation Management; Landscape Architecture and Specifier News; Louisiana Contractor; ArchNewsNow.com ; New Orleans Homes & Lifestyles; Fabric Architecture magazine; Water Shapes magazin e; and New Orleans CityBusiness.
  
  
• Preliminary reports indicate that ASLA reached between 5.2 and 9.8 million listeners during the ASLA radio media tour of September 9-11, 2003. Five national networks, one statewide network, and 14 individual stations taped or aired live interviews with ASLA Past President Leonard J. Hopper, FASLA, on the topic of security design. Listen to an interview by going to: http://www.asla.org/nonmembers/publicrelations/radio.html
  
  
• As of Sept. 24, 880 full registrations and 109 spouse registrations have been received for the 2003 annual meeting. The Expo is sold out. The final registration deadline is October 17; after that date, online registration will cease and any registrations received by fax or mail will not be acknowledged.

October 8, 2003

• Discussions are underway with John Wiley & Sons, Inc ., on co-branding Landscape Architectural Graphic Standards, which will be published by Wiley in 2005. Past president Leonard J. Hopper, FASLA, is serving as the editor of the publication.•  The House and Senate have passed the FY 04 Interior Appropriations bill and are now conferencing to resolve the differences between the two bills. ASLA lobbied hard to push for restoring the Urban Parks and Recreation Recovery program (UPARR) funding and initiating Congressional funding for the Historic American Landscape Survey (HALS) in the House and Senate bills but no new money was added for either program. ASLA is still pushing to get the money included during the conference. ASLA has signed on to two joint coalition letters to Congressional conferees strongly advocating for including money for the UPARR in the FY 04 Interior bill. Write your Senator and Legislator to encourage them to support restoration of funding for these programs.
  
  
• ASLA staff attended The Infrastructure Security Partnership (TISP) steering committee meeting. TISP is a coalition of over 180 organizations that have an interest in security for the built environment. It was a good opportunity to discuss important issues regarding the organization of TISP and to reemphasize the importance of security design.
  
  
• As of October 8, 1,440 full registrations and 171 spouse registrations have been received for the 2003 New Orleans Annual Meeting. The Expo remains sold out. Refunds of registration and ticket fees are no longer being made except in extreme circumstances; requests in writing will be reviewed after the meeting for a decision. The final pre-registration deadline is October 17; after that date, online registration will cease and any registrations received by fax or mail will not be acknowledged.
  
  
• For the first time, members will be able to register for next year's meeting while still attending this year's meeting. A special 2004 Annual Meeting registration form will be distributed at the New Orleans meeting. The form will encourage attendees to register for the 2004 Annual Meeting by the end of December to receive their registration at the 2003 rates.
  
  
• The Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) hosted the MasterFormat Expansion Implementation meeting October 6 in Washington, D.C. Susan Cahill, Managing Director, Information and Practice, represented ASLA.
  
  
• Public relations is continuing to promote the ASLA 2003 Professional Award Recipients.
  
  
• The corporate membership telemarketing campaign has begun, with six Annual Meeting exhibitors pledging to join so far.

October 22, 2003

• President Morris and EVP Somerville met with Congressman Blumenauer (D-OR) on October 8 to discuss the status of ASLA-supported initiatives, including reauthorization of the surface transportation bill, and other opportunities for advancing a livable communities agenda.
  
  
• ASLA has submitted comments to the Smithsonian Institution regarding the environmental assessment of the Smithsonian Institute's Mall-Wide Perimeter Security Improvements. ASLA's comments focused on the importance of protecting visual resources and public access, consensus building, using context sensitive design, optimizing cost effectiveness, and creating a security design that enhances and complements the esthetic environs.
  
  
• ASLA and other coalition allies met with Rep. Petri, (R-WI), vice chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to thank him for his recent efforts on behalf of ASLA ‘s transportation legislative priorities and to discuss the important issues in the TEA-21 reauthorization process. ASLA has also signed onto a joint coalition letter to Senate and House transportation appropriations conferees supporting key ASLA transportation priorities.
  
  
• ASLA submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency on the Whole Building Design Guide Draft Model Federal Green Construction Guidelines. ASLA commented specifically on the overall summary of the document and the site construction section, particularly the landscaping subsection. ASLA's comments highlighted the Society's policies on environmental sustainability, context sensitive design, wildlife habitat, and also strongly recommended recognizing the lead role and expertise of the landscape architect in green building.
  
  
• ASLA signed onto a joint letter to Congress regarding protection of National Landscape Conservation System Monuments from false RS2477 claims.
  
  
• ASLA is working hard to gain support for funding for the Conservation Trust Fund, UPARR, and HALS in the FY 04 Interior bill currently in conference.
  
  
• An “early bird” registration form for the Salt Lake City Meeting and Expo 2004 will be distributed in New Orleans . Individuals who return the form by December 31, 2003 , will be entered in a drawing to win a free registration.
  
  
• 1,631 full registrations and 177 spouse registrations have been received for the 2003 annual meeting. Eight of the tours have sold out, as has one of the Professional Interest Group functions. See you in New Orleans!
  
  
• Jean Akers, ASLA, presented the Online Desktop Seminar, “Planting for Water Quality: Solutions for Stormwater Runoffs” on October 9. A total of 99 landscape architects participated from 22 sites, including one in Bermuda.
  
  
• ASLA is entering a strategic alliance with Horticultural Asset Management (HAM) to provide ASLA members with a HAM-developed horticultural assessment tool. Under the agreement, only ASLA members will have access to the tool. HAM will be unveiling the product at the annual meeting in New Orleans.