MNRRA Coldwater SpringVNPA Twin Cities Member 

Event this Saturday

Coldwater Spring 

Nature & History Walk
Saturday, September 14, 2013
1:00-2:30 p.m. 
 

Join Voyageurs National Park Association and our partner the Mississippi River Fund for a nature and history walk at Coldwater Spring, a new site within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. Coldwater is considered to be Minnesota's first American settlement, and the park blends history and nature. VNPA staff will provide a brief member update on our current work to protect and promote Voyageurs National Park.

 

Coldwater Spring is located at 5601 Minnehaha Park Drive South; between Minnehaha Regional Park and Fort Snelling State Park.

 

Let us know if you're coming: [email protected], 612-333-5424. Friends welcome!

 

Voyageurs National
Park Approved to Start Campsite Reservations
and Fees in 2014

After recently completing a three-year public comment period, the park will begin to phase into a new site reservation and fee program.  Starting in 2014, the park will place the Boats on Interior Lakes program, existing accessible sites, and the 17 Interior sites on the reservation/fee system. In addition, 30 campsites located on the four main lakes will be placed on the reservation system. This will give the park time to monitor how these 30 sites are used prior to continuing implementation. 

 

Superintendent Michael Ward stated, "This is a large project and will take time and monitoring to achieve success. We will continue to implement the other 240 sites in the park based on staffing and the results of the monitoring." 


The reservation campsites will be marked with "reservation only" signs and all other campsites will remain first come, first served in 2014.  Starting in February 2014, reservations for the above described sites can be made in advance online at www.recreation.gov or by calling 877.444.6777.  Read more here.

 

Photo by Mary Lysne

Action Alert 

We need your help.  

The House Interior Appropriations Subcommittee has proposed an appropriations bill that eliminates all funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). LWCF is an outdoor recreation conservation program paid for with off-shore oil and gas drilling revenues, not taxpayer dollars. It is what enables VNPA to transfer privately held land acquired in our Land Preservation Initiative to Voyageurs National Park so the Park Service can protect the land. If this bill passes, no projects would be funded. Eliminating LWCF would undermine the asset of our park and wildlife habitat. Please reach out to your Congressional representative to urge them to oppose cuts to LWCF. 
VNPA Executive Director Christina Hausman and Superintendent Michael Ward with Congresswoman Betty McCollum
Park Partner 
Congressional Briefing 
On August 16, Minnesota National Park Service partners Voyageurs National Park Association, Mississippi River Fund, St. Croix River Association, Friends of the Mississippi River, and National Parks Conservation Association joined together with park superintendents to raise awareness of our park units, their needs and issues, and encourage our Congressional delegation to vote for funding and programs that support them.  
See photos from the event.
Lynx

















From our friend Joy Schmoll: "
My friend and I camped on the interior lakes in Voyageurs this past weekend. On Sunday afternoon, we came across a Canada lynx just off the Locator Lake Trail between markers 6 and 7. The lynx seemed to be watching something off the trail and may not have noticed us initially. We stopped where we were, and after a few seconds the lynx looked over at us. For the next several minutes it alternated between looking off in the distance and glancing back at us. We managed to take this photograph, shortly after which the lynx disappeared into the forest on the north side of the path." 


Share your amazing Voyageurs wildlife encounters with us at [email protected]

 

More Clicks     

The Ghosts of Voyageurs Come Alive at Voyageurs National Park. Reserve your spot for this new lantern-lit program September 26, 27 or 28.
 
The New York Times writes about our spectacular wilderness and its need to be valued with funding: Beauty and the Beasts 
 
Take a look at the growth of the park's Ethnobotanical Garden throughout the summer.  
 
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