The National Park Service's "Connect Trails To Park" grants have been awarded for 17 projects this year. The grants total $873,000, and are being given to places where national historic and scenic trails intersect with national parks and other Federal facilities. The full list of recipients can be found here, but it includes:Rocky Mountain National Park, Continental Divide National Scenic Trail: $59,750 to build a new kiosk, pavilion, and entrance sign for the trail at Grand Lake.Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Stanwix National Memorial, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park: $30,485 to construct North Country National Scenic Trail waysides at Grand Marais, Michigan; Rome, New York, and; Dayton, OhioRidgefield National Wildlife Refuge: $35,000 to provide for Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail interpretive programming at the Cathlapotle Plankhouse in Ridgefield, Washington.Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail: $45,205 to develop an "Explore the Outdoors, Your Life Depends on It" education program in Great Falls, Montana.The grant program was established in 2008 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 52,000 mile National Trails System. The Trails System dates from 1968 legislation that created the Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails. Today, the National Trails System is comprised of 11 national scenic trails (NSTs), 19 national historic trails (NHTs), and more than 1,050 national recreation trails (NRTs). (via Daily Dirt)MP3: Jack Rose - Revolt
Parkscape U.S.A.
In 1966, to celebrate the Service's birthday, an exhibit entitled PARKSCAPE was erected. This exhibit featured a conservation logo designed by the New York firm of Chermayeff and Geismar Associates consisting of 3 triangles enclosing three balls. The triangles represented the outdoors (trees and Mountains) with the 3 balls being the standard symbol for preservation.In addition, the same firm designed a new seal for the Department of the Interior. Secretary Stewart L. Udall had attempted to change Interior's name to either Department of Natural Resources or Department of Conservation, but this met with great opposition. He did, however, manage to have the seal changed from the buffalo to a stylized pair of hands holding a circle (sun) over two large triangles (mountains) which inturn were over nine small inverted triangles symbolizing water. The hands motif had been suggested by Vince Gleason as an abstract symbolizing that the Nation's natural resources were in good hands.Following closely on the heels of MISSION 66, Director George B. Hartzog, Jr. (1964-1972) came forth with a new agenda titled PARKSCAPE U.S.A. Among it's facets was one that dealt with the upgrading and modernization of the image of the Service itself. Hartzog had become enamored with the logo of the PARKSCAPE exhibit and adopted it for his new program.Hartzog used the occasion of an article in the July, 1966, issue of the National Geographic Society Magazine concerning the National Park System to launch his new program. He assured employees that the triangle symbol would supplement rather than supplant the arrowhead.In 1968, however, when Secretary Udall adopted the new Interior seal (designed by Chermayeff and Geismar Associates), Hartzog seized the opportunity to replace the arrowhead with the Parkscape symbol. With the buffalo gone from the Interior seal, he rationalized, the arrowhead with its buffalo was no longer relevant. Field reaction to this move was nevertheless unenthusiastic, for the representational arrowhead was far better liked than the abstract Parkscape symbol.Nevertheless, boards were made up by Chermayeff & Geismar showing how the new symbols would look on the various pieces of clothing, as well as on vehicles and signs.On March 3, 1969, Acting Director Edward Hummel sent a memorandum to all regional directors ordering the removal of the arrowhead shoulder patch. "In keeping with the Director's desire to act positively on field suggestions, it has been decided that effective June 1, 1969, Service emblem shoulder and cap patches will not be worn on any National Park Service garments," he wrote. Before this unpopular directive could be implemented, Secretary Hickel reinstated the buffalo seal. Hartzog thereupon reinstated the arrowhead as the official NPS emblem and continued its use as a patch in a memorandum dated May 15, 1969. Perhaps as a gesture to the few supporters of the Parkscape symbol, he simultaneously ordered its retention as the official NPS tie tack.(via the Badges and Uniform Ornamention of the National Park Service Page)
Grand Canyon Permit System
Every year, 23,000 people apply for the 11,500 permits that allow overnight backpacking in the Grand Canyon. The only way to get one of those permits is to line up at the Grand Canyon office the day they become available or mail/fax in a request. National Park Service administrators at the Grand Canyon have decided the system is unfair because it favors those who live near the canyon or have the time and resources to fly there just to get a permit. The agency is proposing to end the current system in February, making everyone in the world compete for advanced reservations by fax and mail only. (via The Goat)Not good for a business that takes people on guided tours of the area.MP3: Nick Lowe - Homewrecker
Delaware's First National Park
Stop holding your breath, Delaware—the First State could finally get a national park. As the only state without a National Park Service unit within its borders (even puny Rhode Island has Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor), the state's congressional delegation hopes to introduce legislation today establishing a new national park.But before you get excited about discovering a previously unheralded Mid-Atlantic mountain range or stretch of desolate beach, calm down: it's a history-themed park (collective sigh). The park would be based out of New Castle and have several satellite locations devoted to both European settlement and Delaware's place as the first state to ratify the Constitution.
Boring.
How To Save Our National Parks
Ken Burns gone done and got everyone talking about our National Parks. The NYT has an op-ed dedicated to the age old question; How do we get visitation up without ruining the land? Many of the columnists' "answers" are lacking detail and thought, and while they all might have a different idea of how to fix them, they seem to agree on thing - that the parks are underfunded and in trouble. Shocker.Read it here.
National Wild Horse Adoption Day
Under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages wild horses and burros to ensure that herds and rangelands are healthy. One of the key responsibilities of the 1971 law is to determine the "appropriate management level" of these animals as they have no natural predators. As a result, a herd can double its size every four years. Almost 37,000 wild horses and burros roam land managed by the BLM in 10 Western states, a population that's 10,350 horses and burros more that can exist in balance with the resources of the public rangeland in which they roam.The BLM gathers thousands of wild horses and burros each year and offers them for adoption or sale to individuals or groups who are able to provide humane, long-term care. Since 1973, 220,000 wild horses and burros, usually between the ages of 1 and 6, have been adopted.September 26th is National Wild Horse Adoption Day. With events happening all over the country, a goal of 1,000 adoptions has been set, which could mean a savings of $1.5 million dollars to the BLM and American taxpayer.Is there a single person out there who reads this blog that a) has enough land and resources to support a horse or b) is actually thinking about adopting one? If there is, that'd be real cool.
Yellowstone Grizzlies are "Threatened"
NYT:
A federal court on Monday effectively reversed a 2007 decision by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to remove the population of grizzly bears in and around Yellowstone National Park from its list of ‘threatened’ species, a designation that had entitled the bears to special protections under the Endangered Species Act.
Read more: "Federal Court Rules That Yellowstone Grizzlies Should Be Listed as ‘Threatened’"
America the Beautiful Quarters
From Oh Ranger:
50 Department of the Interior sites have been selected for the America the Beautiful Quarters™ program.Hot Springs, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Grand Canyon National Parks will be the first sites commemorated in a new quarter-dollar program announced today by the U.S. Mint.Starting in April of 2010, the America the Beautiful Quarters Program will begin producing quarters with reverse (tails side) designs showcasing a national park or other federally preserved area from each state, U.S. territory, and the District of Columbia.“The new quarter program recognizes that public places of inspiration and recreation have always been important to Americans,” said Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar. “The quarters highlight the diversity and magnificence of 48 National Park Service sites and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuges cared for by the Department of the Interior as well as six national forests administered by the Department of Agriculture. Hopefully the coins will encourage people to learn more about each area and its significance to our heritage.”A new quarter will be introduced approximately every 10 weeks for eleven years. The 56 coins will be issued sequentially in the order in which the featured location was first placed under the care of the federal government.The first, Hot Springs National Park, was established as Hot Springs Reservation in 1832 and later became a national park. Yellowstone National Park was established in 1872, followed by Yosemite in 1890 and the Grand Canyon in 1893.
Obama At The Grand Canyon
Zzzzzzz.
Red Rocks Wilderness Act
Southern Utah Wilderness Aliance:
America's Red Rock Wilderness Act was re-introduced in the 111th Congress on April 2, 2009 with 105 original cosponsors in the House and 15 original cosponsors in the Senate.America's Red Rock Wilderness Act seeks to serve the public interest by permanently protecting more than 9 million acres of wilderness-quality land in Utah. The proposal, based on an exhaustive field inventory conducted by citizen volunteers, was first introduced in Congress by former Utah Representative Wayne Owens in 1989. Representative Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) assumed the role of House sponsor in 1993 and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) introduced the Senate version in 1997.With the addition in July of new cosponsor Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), the bill broke the record for the most Senate cosponsors since it was introduced in that chamber 12 years ago. We now have 21 senators cosponsoring S. 799, America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act, in addition to the bill's original sponsor Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL).
If your representative or senators are not on the current list of cosponsors, please ask them to cosponsor America’s Red Rock Wilderness Act.
Antiquities Act
The Antiquities Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by Teddy Roosevelt in 1906. It gives our president the authority to restrict the use of public land owned by the federal government by executive order and bypass the Congress. The aim is to protect important federally owned sites by prohibiting its excavation and destruction. The land is designated as a National Monument and although the land will receive less funding and protection, the process is much quicker than going through Congress to establish a National Park. There are National Monuments that eventually turn into National Parks though, like Arches in Utah, which was designated a National Monument in 1929 and then a National Park in 1971.The Antiquities Act was first used to designate Devil's Tower National Monument (pictured above) in Wyoming and has been used over a hundred times since. Grand-Staircase Escalante National Monument (post below) in Utah was dedicated by Bill Clinton in 1996 during the height of the presidential election. The Utah congressional delegation and state governor were notified only 24 hours in advance that the ceremony for Grand-Staircase would not be held in their own state, but at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. That November, Clinton won Arizona by a margin of 2.2%, and lost Utah to Republican Bob Dole by 21.1%.*For much more info about the Antiquities Act click here and here. For a list of U.S. National Monuments click here.