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The National Association of Recreation Resource Planners
Request from a member
Our City is preparing to revamp the way in which we justify our existence. The new format is called Budgeting for Outcomes. Are you aware of any resources that speak to the necessities and justifications of park/natural resource planners as opposed to having local govt's simply move all planner functions into typical urban and neighborhood planning divisions
Donnie Underwood Parks & Greenways Planner 215 Church Ave Roanoke, VA 24011 540.853.1166 Fax 540.853.1287
A Recreation Balancing Act by Cynthia Wilkerson
Each year over 440 million visitors recreate in national forests and national parks (1), and untold more on BLM lands. They hike, bike, swim, fish and canoe across the hundreds of millions of acres we are lucky to call every American’s birthright. In fact, recreation is the main reason a lot of us get out on our public lands.
People also get inspired to care for wild places when they directly experience them, and recreation is an important way that critical connection is established. That is why The Wilderness Society wants to engage everyone who visits and cherishes our public lands. We envision deep, broad, and varied constituencies – traditional and new together – working to promote widespread and sustainable enjoyment of natural places. Only by doing so can we ensure broad public support for protecting America’s public lands for all time to come – and at the same time ensure that future generations of Americans will also be able to enjoy these experiences that we hold so dear.
PRINCIPLES FOR ENSURING SUSTAINABLE RECREATION
When The Wilderness Society launched its Recreation Program, it was apparent that we needed to define a set of principles to guide our work because recreation activities, while providing enjoyment and lasting memories of a successful adventure, also bring impacts on the land. In developing our principles we sought to encourage Americans to visit and play on public lands, while protecting those lands from being loved to death by encouraging responsible and sustainable recreation management. The principles not only apply to remote wilderness areas set aside by Congress for more primitive recreation, but also to our most popular parks visited by people from around the world in cars and campers.
After numerous discussions, both internal and external, we developed our principles of sustainable recreation:
1. Connect to Nature Through Public Lands Embrace outdoor recreation and encourage a connection to nature in a variety of ways for people with different interests and skill levels.
2. Conserve and Respect our Natural, Historic and Cultural Heritage Respect the land and America’s rich natural, historic and cultural heritage by preserving the integrity, health and resilience of these unique ecosystems, and cultural and historic assets. Encourage use of and access to public lands that inspires respect for and pride in their beauty, health, diversity and special value to the nation and to the world.
3. Promote Enjoyable and Safe Recreation Ensure enjoyable, safe and sustainable recreation through sound land use planning. The art of making these principles work is to balance meeting recreation needs with ensuring that public lands are sustainably managed to protect the quality of experiences for generations to come.
BRINGING SUSTAINABLE RECREATION TO LIFE
One area where The Wilderness Society is bringing its principles of sustainable recreation to life is in the rural community of Roslyn, Washington. Nestled in the foothills of the North Cascades, this charming town is rich in both history and beauty. Once known for its logging and coal mining businesses, Roslyn is now known as a gateway to a variety of outdoor recreation opportunities. The town boasts access to the spectacular Alpine Lakes Wilderness, one of the most-visited wilderness areas in the United States.
The town of Roslyn also owns 300 acres of land within its boundaries that must be managed to enhance recreation opportunities while protecting forests, wildlife, fisheries, and historical and cultural assets. The Wilderness Society is working with the city’s Citizens’ Advisory Committee to develop a recreation and trails plan for the Roslyn Urban Forest that will balance conservation with recreation opportunities for hikers, bikers and horseback riders. The existing trails are a haphazard collection of old road remnants connected by user-created routes, so one desired outcome is to create a more functional trail network that will better serve everyone’s needs. To date The Wilderness Society and the Citizen’s Advisory Committee have established a goal statement for the recreation and trails plan, contacted a series of local, regional, and national conservation and recreation stakeholders and user groups, sent a survey to the citizen’s of Roslyn through their monthly water bill and submitted a grant to the National Park Service’s Rivers Trails and Conservation Assistance Program for support on the project. We are planning workshops in the fall and winter to develop a regional assessment of recreation opportunities and to map out the layout of the desired trail network and supporting infrastructure.
Through this work, we’ve learned that it’s difficult to find the expertise needed to define the resource capacity, which is the basis for determining where and how many trails to place on the landscape. We are fortunate to have found some local expertise in a State Park employee, but are grateful that NARPP is working to enhance the professional resources available for this kind of work. We welcome feedback, input, and resource references from NARPP members. Ultimately we see the work in Roslyn as creating a model for the application of our principles of sustainable recreation that can inspire and inform similar efforts in gateway communities throughout the North Cascades and the rest of the country.
We are excited to be working with a local gateway community to explore new ground balancing conservation and recreation. We look forward to reporting back on our progress to secure the conservation values and recreation opportunities for future generations in this beautiful part of Washington State and to share the lessons learned so they can be applied elsewhere.
For more information or to provide input or expertise on this project, please contact Cynthia Wilkerson, Washington Program Manager of The Wilderness Society, 206-624-6430 ext 226 or [email protected].
(1) Data compiled from the National Forest Service’s 2009 NVUM report and 2009 recreation visitor statistics for the National Park System. National forests and grasslands accounted for over 170 million recreation visits; National parks accounted for over 276 million recreation visits.
Call for Sessions – Park Pride Conference
Park Pride, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead and inspire action for parks and greenspace, is accepting proposals from high-quality presenters for innovative and dynamic educational sessions to be presented at the Park Pride 10th Annual Parks and Greenspace Conference at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on March 28, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia.
We seek high-quality speakers with case study examples of park and greenspace solutions that specifically address our mission and the conference theme, Parks: Bridging the Future.
As Park Pride enters into its 22nd year, the conference seeks to expand the knowledge and awareness of the importance of greenspace and park land in the future of our communities. Presentations should focus on concepts, visions and case examples of how a community, city or region will use and/ or depend upon this amenity in the future.
All submissions must be sent electronically as an Adobe PDF or MS Word document to Walt Ray, Director of Park Visioning [email protected] by 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on October 8, 2010. For more information, please visit www.parkpride.org.
Back to School: Back Outside.
During NBC’s “Education Nation” event this week there will be robust discussion of positive ways to achieve academic excellence in schools starting with a Today Show interview with the President.
An overlooked, but vitally important, aspect of this discussion will be the growing effects that today’s “indoor childhood” has on stifling American educational achievement.
In a new report: Back to School: Back Outside we have assembled and summarized the research on how added outdoor time and outdoor education consistently boosts a child’s academic performance, learning aptitude and scores on standardized tests.
Many of you are familiar with parts of this research but there are many new findings in the mix. The positive effects are really stunning even in the face of some of the worst schools and educational circumstances.
Check it out: http://www.nwf.org/Get- Outside/~/media/PDFs/Be%20Out%20There/Back%20to%20School%20full%20report.ashx
Kevin J. Coyle, JD. Vice President, Education and Training National Wildlife Federation 703-989-6020 [email protected] www.nwf.org
OIA Homegrown Listening Sessions and Outdoor Nation Report asks Obama Administration to Boost Environmental Education Courtesy of Outdoor Industry Association
If you want to foster future conservationists, tighter families and fitter kids, focus on the schools.
That is one of the main recommendations in one of two reports sent to President Obama at the end of August by the outdoor industry. The Outdoor Foundation (established by OIA) compiled the 27-page “Outdoor Nation: A Special Report America’s Great Outdoors” using input gathered from 500 delegates who attended the Outdoor Nation Youth Summit in New York City last June and its own online surveying tools. OIA also submitted the 9-page “America’s Great Outdoors Homegrown Listening Sessions” with recreation policy recommendations based on eight “homegrown” listening sessions held across the country this summer. OIA hopes the administration uses these reports to compile its own America’s Great Outdoor (AGO) report, which is due on the president’s desk no later than Nov. 15.
In launching his AGO Initiative in April, President Obama called on the secretaries of the departments of Interior and Agriculture, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to lead the initiative. The administration has since held more than two dozen listening sessions across the United States to solicit ideas from the public that it will use to draft a 21st century conservation agenda that builds on the efforts of private citizens and local communities.
If Outdoor Nation delegates had their way, however, the U.S. Department of Education would be playing a much more visible role in the initiative. Among the 27 recommendations in The Outdoor Foundation report, the top five deal with giving schools more resources and leeway to use the outdoors to enhance education, recreation, fitness and service.
Both reports include school-related recommendations:
- Re-evaluate liability policies in schools and programs to allow kids to have better access to the outdoors and other outdoor organizations.
- Make outdoor classes a requirement in schools and ensure that after-school programs are funded well enough to be accessible to all kids.
- Support public school curricula that take a multi-disciplinary approach to outdoor experiences – art, history, sciences, English.
- Support outdoor education in schools and outdoor clubs; place-based learning, youth stewardship programs, subsidized outdoor clubs and summer camps.
- Pass legislation for environmental education that includes environmental literacy plans to implement environmental education nation-wide.
- Enhance education in schools by adding classes that focus more on science, resources and conservation that include internships within the community.
The recommendations should encourage the No Child Left Inside Coalition, which has been lobbying Congress and state legislatures to establish environmental literacy requirements and funding for more outdoor education.
This spring Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter signed the Colorado Kids Outdoors Grants Program Act, which requires the State Board of Education to adopt an environmental literacy plan. The law created a grant program through the Department of Natural Resources to help reconnect youth with the outdoors. Maryland is also investigating environmental literacy requirements for it public schools students.
Goodyear Prepares Motorists for the Most Scenic, Comfortable Drives This Fall on America's Byways Courtesy of the America’s Byways resource Center
AKRON, Ohio, September 30, 2010 -- According to a new national survey from The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company on America's Byways®, 70 percent of Americans are planning on taking at least one road trip this autumn, and a combination of stable gas prices and abundant scenic routes should contribute to opportunities for weekend road trips or getaways.
The survey, completed by Kelton Research, also finds that most travelers want their journey to be something that is beautiful and unique, not just another trip on a superhighway. In fact, the overwhelming majority of people (80 percent) would opt for a scenic, touring drive, rather than driving directly to their destination. Unlike summer road trips, which focus on the destinations, fall getaway trips are built upon the overall experience of the journey.
"Our survey showed that 97 percent of Americans planning a fall road trip agree that their overall comfort is the key to enjoying it, so we joined together with America's Byways to unveil a list of the 50 Most Comfortable Touring Drives, said Gary Medalis, general manager for Goodyear consumer tires. Read full story and the list of the 50 Most Comfortable Touring Drives...
Junior Rangers: A new generation of national park protectors Courtesy of Trailspace.com
By Alicia MacLeay
The national park rangers' ranks are growing, judging by the three western parks our family visited this month.
The newest rangers may be smaller, but they're no less enthusiastic or passionate about the parks. They're the Junior Rangers of the National Park Service, and you'll find them at parks across the United States: attending ranger programs, hiking trails, identifying animals and habitat, completing activity books, and pledging to protect the parks and their resources. All to earn an official Junior Ranger patch or badge from each park.
I'd heard of the Junior Ranger program before my family's trip to Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Rainier, but hadn't given it a lot of thought. Then my 6-year-old asked to attend the evening ranger talks at Jenny Lake Campground in Grand Teton. After a presentation on the prehistory of Jackson Hole (during which my son got to hold a spear and a beaver pelt!) the ranger signed Junior Ranger activity books for other young attendees, and my son was hooked. Soon we were filling out activity pages, recording what animals we'd seen on hikes, and learning new facts about park geology, wildlife, plants, and habitat.
Programs vary by park, but typically kids pick up activity books at visitor centers, or sometimes from rangers leading programs. The three parks we visited — Grand Teton, Yellowstone, and Rainier — shared much of the same format: attend a ranger program, hike a trail, and finish a certain number of activities, depending on age, with content focused on what makes that park unique.
In Yellowstone, kids also can earn a Young Scientist badge through a program sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The 5-7-year-old version involved an introduction to the scientific method, complete with hypothesis, observations, and conclusions about geysers.
Typically a small fee or donation ($1-3) is requested for the book or to cover the cost of the badge or patch, but how much and when it's charged depends on the park. In Grand Teton we got activity books for free but paid for the earned badge, and both kids (including our 2-year-old) earned free patches by attending a Junior Ranger program in our campground on animal signs. In busier Yellowstone, we paid upfront, and in Rainier the program was free.
Not only did the Junior Ranger activities and pursuit of badges excite and captivate my son (who spent evenings in the tent filling out info), it also meant that our family participated in programs we might not have otherwise. We attended ranger-led programs and learned about the prehistory of the Jackson Hole area, how climate change is affecting Grand Teton, the bears of Yellowstone, the history of the national park system, and how to find signs of animals in Rainier.
In each park, we saw and met many other kids, from the United States and abroad, proudly walking around with Junior Ranger badges and patches pinned onto their hats and vests. One young boy we passed on a Yellowstone trail had a hat nearly covered in plastic badges from different parks. My own son proudly told every ranger he met that he was a Junior Ranger.
The rangers leading the programs, signing in Junior Rangers, and taking their pledges showed great interest in each child. They took the time to look over each kid's work, ask questions about what they'd seen and learned, gave them the pledge and badge, and shook their hands. They made each Junior Ranger feel important and involved.
Sound like fun? Programs vary across parks and by age, but are worth checking out if you'll be visiting any parks with kids. While my son is naturally inquisitive, participating in the formal Junior Ranger program (versus listening to Mom and Dad), earning badges and patches, and meeting the rangers, really made the trip a lot of fun for him. He took a lot of pride in his accomplishments in each park.
No kids in tow? While programs are geared at 5- to 14-year-olds, several rangers in Grand Teton told us that they get adults earning badges and taking the Junior Ranger pledge daily. A few national parks even have Senior Ranger badges, for those 18 and over.
For more information: http:///www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.cfm and www.webrangers.us/
Creating Livable Cities from the Diane Rehm Show
Thanks for joining us, I'm Diane Rehm. For the first time in history, more than half the world's population lives in cities and by 2050, three-quarters will. Urban planners say there's both an economic and environmental imperative to create and rebuild urban areas that encourage people to walk, bike and stay in city space.
Joining me to talk about what it takes to create truly livable urban areas is Thomas Murphy. He's with the Urban Land Institute, he's former mayor of Pittsburgh. Kristina Ford is an urban planner involved with the redevelopment of New Orleans and joining us from an NPR studio in New York City, architect and urban planner, Jan Gehl. Throughout the hour, I'll look forward to hearing from you. I know many of you enjoy biking and walking and I think the three people we have with us are extraordinarily sympathetic to those kinds of city living. So join us on 800-433- 8850, send us your e-mail to [email protected]. You can join us on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning to all of you. It's good to have you with us.
Click here to read the transcript of this conversation: http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010- 09-16/creating-livable-cities/transcript
Job Announcement – Bureau of Land Management
Outdoor Recreation Planner
SALARY RANGE: $47,448.00 - $74,628.00 /year OPEN PERIOD: Friday, September 24, 2010 to Thursday, October 07, 2010 SERIES & GRADE: GS-0023-09/11 POSITION INFORMATION: Work Schedule is Full Time. This is a permanent position. PROMOTION POTENTIAL: 11 DUTY LOCATIONS: 1 vacancy - Caliente, Nevada JOB ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: NV-DEU-2010-0280 (US Citizens) JOB ANNOUNCEMENT NUMBER: NV Merit-2010-0481 (Status Candidates)
JOB SUMMARY: BLM is seeking a dynamic and energetic individual to join the Ely District team in their Caliente Field Office as an Outdoor Recreation Planner.
The BLM manages more land - approximately 253 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estates throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.
Explore a new career with the BLM - where our people are our greatest natural resource.
For additional information about the BLM, please visit Our website.
This position is located in Caliente, Nevada. Information about Caliente and the Lincoln County area can be found at Lincoln County Chamber of Commerce.
DUTIES: Provides recreation/wilderness resources in the Ely District Office, Caliente Field Office where recreation and/or wilderness management are major programs.
Develops outdoor recreation programs, analyses visitor use, and conducts resource classification.
Manages commercial, competitive and other special recreation activities and events.
Manages wilderness study areas and/or designated wilderness areas and develops monitoring and/or surveillance procedures.
Integrates natural and cultural history program aspects and manages off-highway vehicle use and visual resources.
Operates U.S. Government vehicles, including passenger, pick-up and four-wheeled drive, and as incidental operator, complies with all safety procedures.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=91007885&aid=90127670- 28910&WT.mc_n=125 (US Citizens) http://jobview.usajobs.gov/GetJob.aspx?JobID=91007844&aid=90127670- 28910&WT.mc_n=125 (Status Candidates)