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Holiday Gift Ideas: Visit Hundreds of federally-managed Sites All Year Without Paying Entrance Fees: America the Beautiful Pass
Shutterbugs: Enter the Federal Recreation Lands 2011 Photo Contest - Submissions are due Dec. 31st!
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See recent press about community partnerships
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Conservation + Recreation: December 2010
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Top 5 New Year's Resolutions
To Make 2011 a Healthier and Happier Year
For many, New Year's is an opportunity to recommit to personal health and well-being. Will you be one of the millions who will earnestly sign up at the gym in the coming weeks, vowing to hit the treadmill regularly? Don't forget that nearby parks can enliven your mind and spirit even while firming your quads. So before you purchase that gym membership consider one of these resolutions for a healthy New Year:
| Bored by the stair machine? Get outdoors instead! (NPS Photo) |
1. Help your kids get out. Let's Move Outside can help you learn where to go and what to do to make physical activity a fun part of your whole family's lifestyle.
2. Volunteer. Teaming up to improve a park or recreation facility will work your muscles and give you that warm "community" feeling at the same time. Try volunteering at a national park or search for opportunities at Volunteer.gov/gov.
3. Plan your garden. Start planning now for planting this spring. Gardening can connect you with the land right in your own back yard, or you can find a community garden near you. A cozy chair and a seed catalog this month can lead you to healthier eating in a few short months.
4. Don't hibernate -- Recreate! Expand on your "ol' reliable" favorites and discover a new trail near you for hiking, biking, jogging, horsebacking riding, and other activities. Winter hiking can be a joy, or try snowshoeing or X-country skiing if there's snow nearby.
5. Plan a summer adventure. Recreation.gov has all the information you need to plan a trip to discover America's public lands, whether across the country or in your backyard.
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Happy Anniversary: Florida State Parks: 75 Years of Stewardship
| Photo Courtesy Blackwater Heritage Trail, Inc. |
Florida created its state park system and its first four parks in 1935. 75 years later the system has grown to include 160 parks covering 700,000 acres and 100 miles of beach. The National Recreation and Park Association recognized Florida's system by awarding the state the National Gold Medal for state parks in 2000 and again in 2005.
Florida expanded its park network in part with help from the National Park Service. The Service's Federal Lands to Parks (FLP) program helps communities create new parks and recreation areas by transferring surplus federal land to state and local governments -- usually at no cost. The program ensures ongoing public access to these properties and good care-taking for their natural, cultural, and recreational resources. Among the Florida parks created or enlarged by FLP is the Blackwater Heritage State Trail. This paved multi-use trail is a former railroad spur that the U.S. Navy used to connect Whiting Field Naval Air Station to the town of Milton. Land for the trail was conveyed by FLP to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection in 1993. Once Florida owned the land, National Park Service staff helped volunteers and state and local officials start developing the trail. Today the 8.5-mile trail is used by bicyclists, runners, walkers, in-line skaters, and equestrians, who can make use of its concession stand, visitor center, restrooms, and picnic shelter.
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Happy Anniversary, too: Alaska State Parks, Now 40 Years Young |
| Photo: Nugget Creek Cabin (NPS Photo) |
In 1970, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources established the Division of Parks, the beginning of a network of protected lands that has grown to 3.2 million acres in 131 units. As this "System of Dreams" has grown, many individuals have worked to improve and expand Alaska's outdoor recreation facilities. Chena River State Recreation Area is currently undergoing such an improvement. Located east of Fairbanks, the Chena River State Recreation Area boasts 397 square miles of forests, rivers, and alpine tundra. More than 150,000 people camp, hike, kayak, canoe, and fish there every year. The park has trails for motorized and non-motorized vehicles, so a winter visitor is as likely to see a dog sled as a snow machine.
One under-utilized asset in the park is the Nugget Creek Cabin, a cozy log cabin ideal for a getaway. To access the cabin, visitors must ford the Chena River and then negotiate 5� miles of rugged, poorly marked trail. Park managers currently recommend that only hardy, experienced adventurers attempt the trip. With help from the National Park Service Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program, that will change.
| AK State Parks Field Crew (NPS Photo) |
Planning is now underway for the new Mastodon Creek Trail to improve access to the cabin and other destinations. A preliminary route has been flagged for more than ten miles of trail that will tie into a 40-mile network of trails in the non-motorized portion of the park. The Mastodon Creek Trail, unlike its predecessor, will be constructed with an eye toward sustainability and user-friendliness. It will avoid dangerous river crossings and provide easier navigation for hikers, horseback riders, and mountain bikers. The new trail will be constructed at a grade suitable for families and novice hikers. |
Planners involved in the Mastodon Creek Trail project hope to see existing trails in the park improved to the same standard, ensuring sustainable construction and improving accessibility.
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A Tip of the Hat to... Bill Huie NPS Federal Lands to Parks Program
We don't usually use this space to honor our own. But Bill Huie has helped give over 17,000 acres of Federal land to communities throughout the East and South -- from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico to Texas -- during his 38-year NPS career. 182 properties have become state and local parks with Bill's help. And every time these Federal lands were transferred to local ownership, Bill added conditions to assure continued public access for recreation.
In addition, Bill has been the watchdog for over 50,000 acres covered by ongoing stewardship requirements. In that role, Bill has advocated for protection of natural and historic resources and the public's right to recreational access whenever one of these parks has been threatened. Bill's negotiations ensured that there was no net loss -- and usually resulted in public recreation gains.
The state, regional and community parks Bill helped bring about include community gardens, environmental education centers, trail systems, community centers, sports complexes, nature preserves, playgrounds, campgrounds, equestrian use areas, and village squares. During his long career, Bill has been an invaluable resource to state and local officials seeking to conserve land and provide great places for future generations to play outdoors.
Wouldn't you want to say THANKS for that? Have a great retirement, Bill!
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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 [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
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