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The Federal Lands to Parks Program: Why it Matters

FLP LogoThe National Park Service helps communities gain land no longer needed by the federal government, and use it for parks and recreation.  Over 60 years, NPS has conveyed 1500 properties --over 160,000 acres-- to state and local governments at little or no cost.  A bumper crop of new transfers is expected in 2011 when many military bases close down, following extensive state and local re-use planning processes. 

"The parcels involved can be large or small," says National Park Service Program Manager Wendy Ormont.  "Depending on their size and community preferences, they can be used for open space, conservation areas, bird watching, bike and equestrian trails, athletic fields, or even senior centers."  In just the last five years, the National Park Service has transferred land valued at well over $170 million to local communities, enhancing their quality of life.  This month, we'll learn how some of these recycled lands have helped renew the communities receiving them.
Learning from the Field:
Indian Head Rail Trail, Charles County, Maryland

 

Since 1918, the Naval Surface Warfare Center on the Potomac River near Washington D.C. was served by a 13-mile rail line.  But when the rail connection was no longer needed, the National Park Service helped Charles County aquire the corridor in 2006.  In 2006, construction began for a rail-trail serving bicyclists and pedestrians, and connecting Indian Head and White Plains, Maryland.  If not for the aquisition, "it would take us decades to put together properties [to create the trail]... Charles County has a very rare opportunity to put together a significant recreational trail ... one that would not exist [otherwise]" noted Tom Roland, chief of the county's parks department.  County officials hope the trail will one day join the emerging trail network anchored by the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, linking Pittsburgh to the Chesapeake Bay.  The grand opening of the new trail is planned for October. 


Charles County, Maryland: Opening initial segment of the Indian Head Rail Trail

Learning from the Field:
Yolo County Grasslands Regional Park, California

McClellan Air Force Base used a Yolo County, California, site as a communications outpost, replete with radio antennas and high-tech equipment.  When a 320-acre parcel was no longer needed, the National Park Service helped transfer it to Yolo County, completing a 640-acre park born from a similar land transfer in the 1970s.  Now known as the Yolo County Grasslands Regional Park, this natural preserve contains restored savanna, wetlands and vernal pools, and significant habitats to protect endangered and threatened species and migrating birds.  The park is accessible to visitors for wildlife observation, and within three years a new interpretive trail system will compliment the ballfields, picnic areas, dog park, and flying area for remote-controlled gliders that exist on the initial parcel.  "The park is significant because it's within easy reach of the Davis metro area as well as Sacramento and other cities," says NPS staffer David Siegenthaler.
  This type of conservation land is especially important, he notes, "in an area that has faced so much agricultural, residential, and commercial development."

Yolo Grasslands
Yolo County, California: Yolo Grasslands Regional Park

Yolo sign
Catalysts: Getting Involved


Learn more about the Federal Lands to Parks program, check out recent projects, and find out how state and local agencies apply for land. Get answers to Frequently Asked Questions, or read case studies about other FLP trail projects.
 
Let's Work Together

boysCould your project benefit from having a National Park Service specialist work alongside for one to two years? If you're working on restoring a river, building a community trail, or making an urban park flourish, we'd love to talk with you about ways we could work together.  Please call or email your regional representative today. 

NPS Conservation and Recreation Links

Challenge Cost Share Program | Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers | Federal Lands to Parks

Hydropower Relicensing Program | National Trails System |  Urban Park and Recreation Recovery

Land and Water Conservation Fund | Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program

This e-newsletter may be copied or redirected. Our staff would be pleased to assist your editor in adapting each story for your publication; for more information, please call (202) 354-6918 or e-mail [email protected].

The Update informs Department of the Interior staff, organizational partners, and friends about the program successes and activities of the National Park Service Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Programs. For more details, please contact the staff person involved with each project.   Images courtesy National Park Service.

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