Service Description

Join BRMC and Charlie Grymes as we learn about The Greater Prince William Trails Coalition's vision to create a "scenic, sustainable, and connected multi-modal trail system" that improves quality of life by providing access to transportation, recreation, culture, education, and economic opportunities for everyone. They work to preserve and enhance trails and "blueways" (water trails), coordinate development efforts, prioritize important trail projects, and connect communities. Charlie Grymes worked in the Department of the Interior for 32 years, but he is a recovering bureaucrat now. He started as a ranger for the National Park Service in the Ozarks of Missouri, spent four years in Southern Oregon with the Bureau of Land Management on the Rogue National Wild and Scenic River, then made the mistake of taking a job in Washington, DC so he could deal with the wacky people sending those incomprehensible memos from headquarters to the field stations. He soon sank into the mire, produced budgets using non-Euclidean geometry, and became a part of the headquarters problem for the rest of his career. His last project was creating the Recreation.gov website. He was a founding member of the Prince William Conservation Alliance in 2002,and taught the “Geography of Virginia” class (www.virginiaplaces.org) at George Mason University for about 15 years. In retirement he is a “civic pest” – you know, that guy who keeps showing up at all the meetings – advocating for affordable housing, smart growth, conservation, parks, and trails in Prince William County, Manassas and Manassas Park.