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In The News
Our partners have generated a lot of buzz!
Meet the RTCA Fellows.
The New York Times featured the River Mountains Loop Trail.
And check out these news stories.
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Findings
Exercise can
change your DNA.
Good practices for bikers and pedestrians on Federal Lands.
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Tools
A new National Parks Passport app.
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Grant Opportunities
Hello, Connecticut: Grants available for open space; apply by June 28.
The Big Help provides grant opportunities for schools.
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Keep Connected
Visit us on Facebook!
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Trail of the Month
The Iditarod is our trail of the month.
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Conservation + Recreation:
April, 2012
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Do You Feel Safe on Urban Trails?
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One of the pressing issues raised in the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy's Urban Pathways Initiative is trail user safety. It's vitally important for urban park users not only to be safe, but also to feel safe when recreating outdoors. Take a look at this great video from Rails-to-Trails addressing issues of crime and perceptions of safety on urban pathways. It takes an honest look at urban trail safety and highlights an important observation, "Trails themselves do not generate crime; however they are not immune to crime." Three different cities are featured in the video, and in each place community involvement was the cornerstone for improving the safety and perception of safety on trails.
As was noted in the America's Great Outdoors report, we here at Conservation + Recreation believe great urban green spaces, trails, and waterways help create community connections and enrich economies. The focus on urban trails and natural areas stretches beyond this report and the Urban Pathways Initiative; there is an ongoing dialogue happening all around the country. You can learn ways to use design techniques that influence safety on urban trails by checking out the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing. Urban park lovers can learn from each other by visiting or following the Urban Parks Conference where National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis will speak about the efforts NPS is making in urban areas.
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Avid Outdoor Enthusiast Bob Ratcliffe Joins NPS, Heads Conservation and Outdoor Recreation
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We are excited to welcome Bob Ratcliffe as the new Chief of Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Programs in our Washington Office. Ratcliffe comes to the National Park Service from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) where he has been the Deputy Assistant Director of Resources and Planning. In that role, he directed national policy, strategic development and budget for the entire range of natural and cultural resource programs and issues for the BLM. Bob previously served as the BLM's chief for national recreation and visitor services, responsible for visitor centers, river and trails management, accessibility, stewardship education, visual resources scenic byways, permits/concessions, fees, tourism and other programs.
Bob's 30-plus-year career includes extensive experience in protected area conservation and resource restoration, recreation management, strategic and collaborative regional planning, socio-economic policies and community engagement. Bob has served as field manager and planner throughout the west and Alaska including five seasons as a NPS backcountry ranger. He has experience with national policy development and Congressional relations spending time as a Congressional Fellow and recently leading Departmental efforts to develop the America's Great Outdoors initiative including the establishment of the new Federal Interagency Council for Outdoor Recreation and the Youth, Wounded Warrior and Rivers initiative efforts. Bob's even been a river guide, ski patroller, and Outward Bound instructor, and enjoys a host of outdoor pursuits with his family including skiing, climbing, hiking, and rafting.
Welcome, Bob!
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Shawn Warnke
City Manager, City of Tremonton
Tremonton, Utah
When you talk about emerging talent helping to lead a small community to realize its trails, parks, and open space future, Shawn Warnke is a name that comes up. Shawn has been the City Manager of Tremonton, Utah for only two and a half years but he is already making a significant impact in his community. Through assistance provided by the NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance program, and technical mapping expertise provided by the Bear River Association of Governments, Shawn has provided the City with a newly adopted 2011 Tremonton City Trails, Parks, and Open Spaces Master Plan.
"This project's success would not have been possible without Shawn's keen ability to bring new information to the table and provide innovative insight into the structuring and content of the plan. Tremonton City is lucky to have a strong, enthusiastic advocate in their corner," says Ken Richley, Landscape Architect for the National Park Service.
The plan provides a vision with goals and objectives, highlights existing trails, parks, and open spaces in the community, depicts trail profiles, provides planning maps, and highlights a potential trail within an active rail corridor as well as a trail along the Malad River. The Malad River trail will require substantial partnerships with private land owners along the corridor. The plan has already created enthusiasm within the community. Evidence for this can be found in a land donation from a long-time Tremonton family along the Malad River which can be used as a trailhead, bringing Tremonton one step closer to securing its trails, parks, and open space future.
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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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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 except as noted.
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