Earth Day: Tinker shares green vision with community Published April 16, 2010 By John Stuart John Stuart TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- When Tinker's John Krupovage spoke to the City of Edmond leadership recently, he had a simple message: municipalities must have green infrastructure plans. Mr. Krupovage, Tinker's Natural Resources manager, said Tinker's vision is like many others across the United States. That is, to encourage more planning of community green spaces. The stakes are high, as these green infrastructure plans potentially affect everyone's way of life, and certainly everyone on Tinker. The message that Mr. Krupovage brought to Edmond's Green Infrastructure Initiative stakeholders March 26 is that municipalities must act quickly to implement a plan for managing their green spaces which are rapidly disappearing. "If you'd looked back at Tinker from 1941 to today, you could see just how fast it developed and how little natural area is left," Mr. Krupovage said. "That's what is happening to a lot of cities across the country. You're just losing those quality of life features and those things that make a more livable community. Green infrastructure is defined as the interconnected network of waterways, wetlands, floodplains and natural areas. At Tinker, the 72nd Air Base Wing Civil Engineer Directorate Environmental Management Operations Section has had a green plan in place since 2007. Tinker's green plan is a comprehensive vision that guides where growth should and shouldn't happen. It also promotes equal consideration for natural and built area planning. It is not intended to stop development, just to do it in a smarter, sustainable way -- it's all about balance. The plan furthers quality of life while improving water quality, reducing flood damage, and discouraging urban sprawl. The Edmond leadership is interested in what Tinker has done with green infrastructure planning and invited Mr. Krupovage to explain Tinker's working model. The meeting is a step forward, Mr. Krupovage said, as municipalities further realize the importance of these measures. Edmond and the City of Oklahoma City, among others across the state and nation, are working toward implementing green infrastructure plans in their communities. These plans aren't in place to limit access to green areas, Mr. Krupovage explained. Rather, the plans exist so that residents are guaranteed quality places to live as development continues. These green infrastructure plans on military bases directly affect Air Force families and thus the mission, Mr. Krupovage said. In the Air Force, this is the Year of the Air Force Family. The thrust of the program is to ensure families are taken care of so they thrive in their military lives. Green infrastructure on bases is a major part of helping families thrive, Mr. Krupovage said. "The connection is to create a greener, livable community for people," Mr. Krupovage said. "Lt. Gen. Loren Reno (former OC-ALC commander) recently said, 'We want Airmen and their families to want to live on bases.' If you want them to live on our bases then these are the kinds of things that are a big part of that. The military, of all people, deserves it. These men and women are out fighting for us. Can't they have a nice place to live?" Tinker leadership has been supportive of green efforts on base, Mr. Krupovage said. But green spaces could still be integrated more fully into how the base views quality of life. Part of the challenge stems from conflicting means of how the military views green spaces on installations. On planning maps for most military bases for instance, green infrastructure is notated as a "constraint" to militarization rather than an asset, Mr. Krupovage explained. Green space clearly betters a base and therefore should be seen as an opportunity. At Tinker, green infrastructure potentially accounts for about 1/5 of the base's 5,400 acres. Of that, 150 acres comprise the base Urban Greenway. This relatively small area is a major boon for quality of life. Mr. Krupovage cited several new building projects on base in which the construction plans were designed to accommodate the green infrastructure plan. The new 72nd Medical Group's facility, currently under construction, is one example. The Tinker Natural Resources program earned several key awards for their efforts in 2009. The department received the General Thomas D. White Natural Resources Conservation Award (AFMC level), and two awards for their Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan: the Honor Award in Sustainable Design of the Air Force Design Awards Program and an "Award of Excellence" from the Society of Technical Communication (Chicago Chapter).