Parks and green spaces, when possible, should include rainwater retention components (or "green infrastructure") for stormwater management and flood mitigation. Naturally existing versions of this, wetlands, are critical to conserve when building or changing a park.
One way to protect wetlands is to put a conservation easement over the whole area of land, thereby preventing any development or building in the area. Another way, if a full conservation easement is not feasible or desirable, is to manage impact by directing human uses in specific ways. The latter can be done by building specific walking paths, bridges, or trails to encourage foot traffic to stay in certain areas and to stay off the wetland areas.
Two specific parks in Richmond have incorporated management measures to conserve their wetland areas: The Wetlands (near Pony Pasture), and Texas Beach. The below sketch, while perhaps not the best representation, is of the walking path "bridge" in the Texas Beach park. After heavy rains, or when the river level comes up, the area of land amongst the trees becomes quite saturated, and is almost a wetland area. The elevated walking structure is a good example of a management strategy to conserve wetlands, as it encourages visitors to stay on the trail.
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