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Keep Connected See what new projects are happening near you among our 260 RTCA projects in 2010
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Get Involved
Find something to do near you (hint: search "parks", "rivers," "trails") on the MLK Day of Service Jan. 18
Could you be a better advocate? NRPA's Park Advocate Handbook (PDF 1.3 mb)
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Conservation + Recreation: January 2010
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Connections Rick Potts, Chief, NPS Conservation & Outdoor Recreation Division
You cannot love a park to death. When a special place has a constituency of people who personally know and experience it, their love of that place rises up to
protect it when it is threatened. When people know and love a place, they protect
it. For all their importance, physical connections between parks and the land or communities near them are not enough to protect the parks. Parks also need deep connections with the hearts of people all around them.
Although love cannot kill a wild area, apathy
and irrelevance surely can. Advocates for natural places in the 21st Century need to develop
and employ new skills to reach and engage new generations of culturally and
ethnically diverse Americans, many of whom have never had that all-important first outdoor
adventure. Read more here. |
Connecting Communities and Parks
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Partnerships are the organizational connections that let physical connections grow. NPS Director Jon Jarvis says, "Gateway communities and parks have an
important relationship that needs to be grown through mutual respect
and cooperation, particularly when tourism is an essential part of the
economy. We need to help these communities, and all Americans,
discover a unique and personal connection to their national parks." | One way to do that is a physical connection, such as
trails and pathways through neighboring communities. Like the new trail
completed last summer, connecting Moose to the Jenny Lake visitor's center in
Grand Teton National Park. Check out fun video of life around and on the new trail.(Pathway appears one minute in, after a look at the dog and the chicken coop.)
Courtesy of Wade McKoy, Focus Productions"It was an instant success," says Friends of Pathways Executive Director Tim Young. "Over 200 people use
it every day. It's more than just active cyclists. We're seeing people who were
probably afraid of getting out there before -- recreational cyclists in jeans,
people with disabilities, multiple generations." It took many close partnerships: the towns
of Jackson and Teton Village, Senators Craig Thomas and John Barasso, NPS, and Friends of Pathways. Two tragic cyclist deaths focused attention on the goal of a safe, inviting route for bicyclists and pedestrians off the main road. Now a quiet, non-motorized path is leading to a closer experience for park visitors and also enhancing the community's connection to the park.
Ultimately, the valley may have a 100-mile
system of connected trails and pathways, helping people get safety to and from
where they want to be. Another seven miles of trail are in development now. And
within a few years, there should be a continuous path from the town of
Jackson to Jenny Lake, interconnecting with other paths and becoming a full-fledged
system throughout the valley. As park superintendent Mary Gibson Scott points out, the new trails "set the stage for people to make a personal connection
to the natural world." Read more about it here.
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Continuity of Experience
Another way to foster personal and relevant connections to
our national parks is the concept as the park as a tourist destination. The
first two strategies in the NPS Tourism Strategic Plan are 1) Engage
community partners, by connecting communities, parks, and tourism partners, and 2)
Improve communications and marketing capacity, by establishing and maintaining
an exchange with tourism community partners, NPS, and park visitors. The
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail network is doing just these two things.
Diverse agencies, nonprofit, and for-profit partners are developing network of locally managed trails,
relying extensively on coordination among the partners. In the past few years, the
need to create continuity of experience throughout the network has become paramount. Conventional means -- trailhead orientation exhibits, route marking, and
publications -- address the need to some extent, but not completely. A recent Balancing Nature and Commerce workshop at the
National Conservation Training Center served as the foundation for a new form of coordination and cross-promotion, resulting in organization of the ad hoc Potomac & Allegheny Alliance and a web site to promote a suite of related
travel itineraries.
Partners in this effort include
state tourism offices, local and regional visitors' bureaus, destination marketing organizations in each region of the trail corridor, regional planning agencies,
the Trail Town Program of The Progress Fund, and the C & O Canal Trust. NPS has supported the
effort with staff time and funding through the Challenge Cost-Share Program.
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A Tip of the Hat to...
Sandra Jerabek and Susan Calla
The Tolowa Dunes Stewards is a project of the Smith River
Alliance with a mission to enhance, restore, and conserve the natural and
cultural resources in Tolowa Dunes State Park, the Lake Earl Wildlife Area, and
Point Saint George Heritage Area -- in far northwest California, Del Norte County, ancestral lands of the Tolowa Indians.
NPS planner Linda Stonierhas really appreciated the chance to work with the Dunes Stewards. "Sandra Jerabek and Susan Calla are devoted and resourceful conservationists working with their non-profit, public agency, Native American and volunteer partners to protect and
restore a magnificent dune and wetland landscape at the mouth of the Smith
River," says Linda. The Stewards are
collaborating with the land managers, Tribal Councils, and others to produce a brand new map and
guide encouraging people to explore the 11,000 acres of publicly owned estuary, dunes, forest, ponds, meadow, and beaches, with 40 miles of
hiking, biking and equestrian trails, and places for hunting, fishing, and helping with restoration work. Learn more about the Tolowa Dunes Stewards, or visit next time you're way up in Northern California!
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Let's Work Together
Could your project benefit from collaboration with a National Park Service specialist? If you're 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. Call or email your regional representative today.
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Like what you read? Please copy or forward this newsletter. Have a story idea? We're happy to consider story ideas or news items for future publication. Want to use a story for your own publication? We would be pleased to help you. To submit an idea or request information about adapting a story, please contact Alan Turnbull: 202-354-6930 or Alan_Turnbull@nps.gov
Conservation + Recreation is written to support and inform our organizational partners, friends of the program, potential partners, and Department of the Interior staff. It's our chance to share activities and successes and those of our partners. For details on specific projects, please contact the staff person involved with each project.
Images courtesy National Park Service
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