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In This Issue
Closer to Outdoors
New to the Land
A Tip of the Hat...
Outdoor Nation
Keep Connected
Get Involved
Events

Did You Know?
Let's Work Together
Links

Sidebar-1Outdoor Nation
Check out one of our new partners: Outdoor Nation, a community of young champions of the outdoors.
Sidebar-2Keep Connected
Our newest NPS partnership staff are ready to help-
in Chicago --
 
Jeffrey Obirek
in D.C. --
 Sarah Flint
and in L.A.--
 MaLisa Martin &
 Patrick Johnston
Sidebar-GetInvolvedGet Involved
Who do you love?  Nominate someone doing great things for parks and recreation for a NARRP aw
ard. (deadline Feb. 19... right after Valentine's Day)
EventsEvents
Meet new partners + learn new tools
EventsDid You Know?
LWCF is funded by revenue from offshore oil drilling.  Over $3.6 billion since 1965!  Read more...
Conservation + Recreation: February 2010
FeatureArticleCloser to Outdoors
Sometimes it's a matter of bringing people to the parks, and sometimes it's the other way around.  Whichever way makes sense, the National Park Service works with partners to bring Americans of all walks of life closer to the land.
Hightower Beach, Satellite Beach, FL
Citizens of Satellite Beach decided years ago that they didn't want their small town to become like their neighbors -- with condos rising between residents and the ocean.  The town invested tax dollars to buy beachfront property, and joined forces with the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), Brevard Hightower Park boardwalkCounty, and the state of Florida to add onto the land that forward-thinking Clarence Eugene Hightower had donated to the County in 1969.  The partnership created the best beachfront property around: an 18-acre park that's great for surfing or fishing; a nice calm spot for a walk along the boardwalk or whale watching; and from March through October, a very popular spot to watch loggerhead turtles.  The existence of this protected public beachfront now makes the land and the water accessible to residents and visitors alike.
 
Blueberry Park, Bremerton, WA
Blueberry Park is built on the site of a former blueberry farm that once was home to more than 2,400 blueberry bushes.  Renovated and reopened last August, the park is home to a community garden with elevated planting beds, restored wetlands, a picnic shelter, a playground, and -- yes -- some historic blueberry bushes.  Thanks to LWCF, the Washington State Department of Ecology, the Bremerton Parks Department, and the Washington Recreation and Conservation Office, a primary partner in this endeavor.  This project is a great example of using low impact development and green design to create an attractive and useful community space.  It's an amenity that helps bring the citizens of Bremerton and students of the nearby Armin Jahr Elementary School closer to the land.

Common factor: the Land & Water Conservation Fund grant program.

ArticleANew to the Land 

Kids who grow up in a city often don't get a chance to spend time in the wilderness.  Without positive firsthand experiences, the outdoors remains a mysterious and strange place.  Our hats are off to the many wise adults who are finding ways to introduce urban kids to the land and reveal some of its mysteries to them.  At their best, programs like these can help kids discover nature for the first time, learn new skills, make new friends, and maybe even spark a lifetime passion.
 
Untold Stories
Visit this side project of Ken Burns' America's Best Idea series and enjoy the video (13:37).  It's the story of two
groups of kids -- from Las Vegas and Miami -- who visit nearby Miami skyline screen capturenational parks for the first time.  Watch their faces and hear their words as they discover worlds very different from those of their everyday lives.

Transformative Experiences
Big City Mountaineers gets urban teens into the great outdoors: backpacking, hiking, canoeing, and even mountain biking on trips led by caring adults.  BCM partners with youth agencies to identify teens to participate safely in these challenging trips.  In addition to introducing the kids to the wonders of the outdoors and backcountry, it's a unique way for the teens develop resilience, self-esteem, and teamwork skills.

Park in Focus
Creating the next generation of public stewards. That's what the Morris K. Udall Foundation is doing in partnership with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the National Park Service.   Udall Foundation Parks In Focus video
Through photography, students connect with and explore the land, and they get to share their vision of the parks they visit through the photographs they take.  Check out the video or see the photos to learn more about the program and see these parks through the eyes, and camera lenses, of the children in the program.

Blogging About It
There is a huge appetite for information about reconnecting urban Americans to the land. 
This small sampling of blogs tells a story:
Nature in the City- Connecting people and nature where they live
Outdoor Afro - Where black people and nature meet
Rooted in the Earth- Reclaiming African American Environmental Heritage
Urban Science Adventures- Exploring & Discovering Nature in Urban Areas
And an NPR story on Mauricio Escobar, reaching out to bring Latinos into the national parks.
ArticleBA Tip of the Hat to... Tim Hogsett
Tim Hogsett

Abstract ideas like the LWCF   only get turned into real parkland -- trees, ballfields, beaches, trails and campsites -- through great partners like Tim Hogsett. 

At the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), Tim directs the use of LWCF and other funds to drive numerous grant programs for recreation, parks, trails, education, ecological restoration, and wildlife.  Tim's peers have
recognized his leadership by electing him President of the National Association of State Outdoor Recreation Liaison Officers (NASORLO). 

Michael Wilson, who manages State and Local Assistance Programs for the National Park Service, really appreciates the solid working relationship that  NPS has with NASORLO and the TPWD through Tim.  "Tim is a leading nationwide advocate for parks and open spaces and the LWCF program.  He works hard to help LWCF constituencies get to know one another, communicate openly and effectively, and better understand each others' needs.  Tim fosters a climate in which people are eager to serve partners and customers and want to dedicate themselves to creating and preserving public outdoor recreation and park spaces.  He is wonderful to work with and we hold him in high esteem."
LetsWorkLet'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.
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 [email protected]

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