Northeast Region • Spring/Summer 2016

An Intimate Happy 100th Birthday to Journey Through America’s National Parks!

The Delaware n August 25th, 2016 the National NPCA will host three signature events at Park Service will turn 100 years old. Gateway National Recreation Area and on River Region The National Park Service Centennial the Appalachian Trail. One of the events, O The Epic Ride After Party is described in is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and NPCA’s By Oliver Spellman Northeast office has been taking full the article below. advantage of this moment in history. Since have worked at Northeast Regional last year we have been working in New Office of NPCA for years helping to York City and in the region to celebrate this expand the range of our programs anniversary, include America’s veterans, and while staying close to our mission. grow the number of advocates for parks in I have found that one of the best ways to the Northeast region, encouraging people to gauge the impact and importance of our “Find Your Voice” for their national parks. programmatic work is to actually spend time in areas adjacent to our national To kick it off, the Northeast office launched parks and meet local stakeholders. its Centennial celebration with a summer 2015 event for veterans at the Jamaica Bay unit of Recently, I had an opportunity, Gateway National Recreation Area. Veterans along with Jim Dion and John Beljean, and their families enjoyed a day of on-water (of National Geographic and NPCA’s paddling, nature hikes, arts and crafts, and Mid-Atlantic region, respectively) to critter tanks. Many of the families had never visit the nine counties that border the paddled on the water and had never been NPCA will host nearly 100 students this Region in to Jamaica Bay before. Not only did we spring from the areas of Brooklyn and Queens and . This area has been encourage people at this event to “Find Your that surround Jamaica Bay on a first-time- chosen as a destination by NPCA’s Voice” for Gateway National Recreation ever hike on the Appalachian Trail. Leading partner, National Geographic’s Geo- Area, this event is also an example of the up to this event, the Northeast office has been tourism Project, because it is ecologically Northeast office’s commitment to engaging working with its partners and the National Park Service to help orient participants to and culturally important. This winter, veterans. With more than 21 million Jim, John, and I drove through mild veterans in the Unites States, the majority continued on page 3 winter weather to explore the region’s of whom are post 9/11 veterans, there exists Top: Veteran Mark Fox paddles the Mississippi River character, local communities, and significant opportunity to inspire veterans to become advocates for our national parks. ©Warrior Paddle Expeditions Above: Jamaica natural resources. Bay Advocates, local Veterans and military families celebrate Flag Day by spending a day paddling the This Centennial year our engagement and waters of Jamaica Bay at Gateway National continued on page 8 advocacy with new audiences continues. Recreation Area. ©Ian Douglas Photography Meet an Advocate | John Donovan III

ohn was first introduced to NPCA last FIELD February, when NPCA’s Northeast JRegion teamed up with the Student REPORT Conservation Association (SCA) to recruit park advocates at community service events around NYC. He officially joined Jamaica Spring/Summer 2016 Bay Advocates in April 2015 when he attended NPCA’s first Civic Voice Lessons advocacy training in New York City. Northeast Regional Office 256 West 36th Street As SCA’s New York-New Jersey Program Floor 12 Coordinator, John has held many roles New York, NY 10018 throughout the region, most of which lead [email protected] back to Gateway National Recreation Area (NRA). His passion for Gateway NRA and Cortney Worrall enthusiasm for protecting Jamaica Bay grew tremendously after Hurricane Sandy ravaged In August 2015, John helped NPCA reach SENIOR REGIONAL DIRECTOR the coasts of New York and New Jersey. new advocates by coordinating a private Civic Voice Lessons training for the SCA Oliver Spellman The SCA, under John’s management, has crews stationed at Gateway NRA. Since DIRECTOR OF PROGRAMS, NY & NJ deployed teams of interns, volunteers and then, he has worked with SCA to host a Sandy Recovery Crews to remove trash, Find Your Park Day of Service at Jamaica Molly Galvin tackle maintenance projects, disperse sand Bay and continues to play an integral role REGIONAL DIRECTOR and build protective dunes – all of which for NPCA’s Jamaica Bay Advocates. OF DEVELOPMENT are ongoing battles for Jamaica Bay. Join John and the many SCA members For area residents like John Donovan, helping who are making a difference at Gateway by Lauren Cosgrove Gateway NRA recover from Hurricane Sandy becoming a Jamaica Bay Advocate! Sign up FIND YOUR VOICE COORDINATOR is a matter of pride. here: www.npca.org/jba. Thank you, John!

Timothy Leonard NORTHEAST PROGRAM COORDINATOR “Being from this area myself—I’ve seen it—people wear pride tee shirts ‘Long Island Strong’ that kind of stuff. Hurricane Sandy really hit home for Headquarters National Parks Conservation Association a lot of people, which is why I think the work 777 6th Street, NW SCA and NPCA are doing is really important.” Suite 700 Washington, DC 20001-3723 —John Donovan III, NY-NJ Program Coordinator for the www.npca.org Student Conservation Association

NPCA Membership Find out what else SCA is doing to Services Team celebrate the National Park Centennial across the country. 800.628.7275 Visit www.thesca.org/findyourpark. [email protected] • Design by kelleyalbertdesign.com

Top: SCA’s John Donovan enjoys his Spring Break by helping others build a community garden. ©NPCA Above: Jamaica Bay National Wildlife Refuge ©Stubblefieldphoto | Dreamstime

HAVE A PHOTO OR COMMENT TO SHARE? We welcome photos from members enjoying national parks, particularly those in the Northeast region. We also appreciate feedback on our Field npca.org Report. Share your digital photos, comments, and ideas with us via email: [email protected] A National Park for Stonewall

t a press conference in front of this year. The campaign has grown to over additional support for the project. Join our Stonewall Inn on September 20, 2015, 18,000 supporters, along with widespread cause by signing the online petition here: ANPCA formally launched a campaign support from local and federal officials, www.npca.org/natlparkforstonewall. for a National Park for Stonewall, to create influential LGBT organizations, and celebrity Share the link with your friends and family endorsements. NPCA’s goal is to encourage members to create a #NatlParkForStonewall! a national monument in New York City for Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village. This President Obama to designate the park Below: US Senator, Kirstin Gillibrand of New York would be first national park site dedicated to through the use of the Antiquities Act by at NPCA’s Stonewall press conference ©Ian Douglas telling the story of LGBT history in America. June 2016, and we’re moving quickly to garner Photography Stonewall Inn was the site of the 1969 uprisings that catalyzed the modern movement for LGBT civil rights and human rights. NPCA’s Northeast office started the campaign in the summer of 2014 by meeting with local LGBT activists to build local, grassroots support. Once local support had grown to a strong movement for the park, NPCA formally launched the campaign at the September 2016 press conference.

New York’s Senator Kristen Gillibrand and Congressman Jerold Nadler urged support of a national park for Stonewall at the event and introduced legislation in congress earlier

Happy 100th Birthday to America’s National Parks! continued from page 1 Long after the Centennial we want everyone anniversary. Learn more at FindYourVoice. to get their hands dirty volunteering in a camp and join the conversation online park, participate in a Civic Voice Lessons #FindYourVoice. hiking basics such as what kind of shoes to advocacy training, or join the conversation wear, snacks to have handy, and what to online at #FindYourVoice. For more information about our expect in the event of rain. Everyone can do their part advocacy in Jamaica Bay and to to ensure our nation’s most receive monthly newsletters We will co-host the 3rd Annual Trail Day treasured parks are protected, about Jamaica Bay and our work with the Harlem Valley Appalachian Trail restored and funded well into in Gateway National Recreation Community (HVATC) this fall to recognize their second century. Area, please contact Lauren the growing success of the Veteran-led Cosgrove at [email protected]. organization, Warrior Hike, and commem- The Find Your Voice initiative orate the hiking veterans who used the will span over the next five years, Below: Acadia National Park at Bar Appalachian Trail to ‘walk off the war’ and reaching its peak in 2019 when Harbor, Maine United States transition back to civilian life after combat. NPCA celebrates its own 100th ©Luckydoor | Dreamstime Saving Jamaica Bay, Narrated by Susan Sarandon

aving Jamaica Bay, the first ever struggling to preserve this priceless Palm Beach International Film Festival in feature documentary about the resource and their way of life. Florida this past April. battle to save one of New York City’s S The film debuted at the Queens World Film most remarkable and important natural Below: Members of the Saving Jamaica Bay resources—told through the stories of the Festival in New York City on March 17, at crew at Breezy Point, Queens, part of the people who call it home—premiered at the Environmental Film Festival in National Park Service’s Gateway National two major film festivals this Spring. Washington, D.C. on March 24, and at the Recreation Area ©Don Riepe

The film is narrated by Susan Sarandon, written and produced by Daniel Hendrick and directed by David Sigal, the award- winning director of films screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and at Cannes. Saving Jamaica Bay was shot across five years beginning in 2011. It traces Jamaica Bay’s decline, rebirth, the destruction of Hurricane Sandy and the long rebuilding process since.

Saving Jamaica Bay tells how the Bay’s neighbors of working-class Brooklyn and Queens have developed and nurtured a Watch the Saving Jamaica close relationship with the body of water Bay trailer at that has defined and threatened their lives savingjamaicabay.com and livelihoods. In the process of rediscov- ering their relationship to the water and nature of Jamaica Bay, residents have been transformed into urban environmentalists,

Friends Groups Unite!

n a cold October weekend in 2015, the Northeast office of NPCA hosted Othe first annual Northeast Friends Convention to a packed crowd of friends groups, national park staff, superintendents, and community groups. Over 34 official friends groups and community organizations that support national parks of the Northeast were in attendance.

The event provided the first ever opportunity Out of many highlights, a two hour break out The 2016 Northeast in the Northeast for small and midsize session on the challenges of partnerships SAVE Friends Convention friends groups and park supporters to come allowed NPS staff and friends groups to THE will be held in together as a constituency. Participants speak in-depth about the nature of their Paterson, New Jersey shared advice and best practices, discussed partnerships, what works and doesn’t work. DATE at Paterson Great Falls the challenges surrounding their partner- In other sessions, NPCA and speakers worked National Historical ships with the National Park Service, and to dispel the myth that friends groups Park, October 14-16. found out how much they have in common. cannot advocate, and described the nature If you are a member of a local friends group of nonprofit advocacy. and are interested in attending, please contact The feedback NPCA received was that the [email protected] for more information. weekend was an outstanding hit, providing NPCA plans to host this event annually to people with a newfound sense of their continue to inspire friends groups to become Above: Attendees at the 2015 Northeast Friends fundamental connection to each other, their more of a constituency for each other, for Convention in front of the Church of the Good parks, and to NPCA. NPCA, and for all of our national parks. Shepherd, Hartford, CT ©NPCA Jamaica Bay Revolutionary War StoryMap: National Park Sites at Risk New York City’s Wildlife Gem Will Be Online!

ost New Yorkers in need of an immediate nature fix head to Central MPark, but there is another option. The beaches, wetlands, and upland islands of Jamaica Bay, part of Gateway National Recreation Area (NRA), are home to rare wildlife including more than 325 species of birds (about 100 more than Central Park) and 100 species of fish. The best part? It’s only a subway ride away! And now, thanks to powerful online resources, you can discover Jamaica Bay’s wildlife at home, in school or on-the-go with the Northeast office’s new, mobile friendly Jamaica Bay StoryMap.

Jamaica Bay is an essential asset of New York City—it offers unparalleled access to outdoor recreation in an increasingly crowded urban environment. Yet few people understand or id you know that the infamous Paul Revere was known to local Bostonians have access to information about its wildlife. not just for the “midnight ride” but also because he was the local dentist? That’s why NPCA’s Northeast office has been DNeither did the five children featured in NPCA’s Northeast office’s recently released video that highlights Revolutionary War national parks in the region. working for over a year to develop an online For the last year, the Northeast office worked with a production company to educational tool. The Jamaica Bay StoryMap create a video that highlights the repair and maintenance backlogs affecting will bring the sights, sounds and narrative of Revolutionary War units. Jamaica Bay’s wildlife to everyone. The video sends the message that we are losing our ability to teach place-based This online map with embedded, photos and history to the next generation because we are failing to protect cultural and videos, will give educators, schools, advocates, historic resources. Rolling out this video is the Northeast office’s first step in and decision makers Jamaica Bay wildlife launching a broader campaign to attack the maintenance backlog that threatens information at their fingertips. We will release cultural and historic parks in the Northeast. the Jamaica Bay StoryMap this summer and work with our partners to continuously Neglecting annual maintenance, no matter how small a problem might be, puts improve it with more content and more some of our oldest cultural and historic resources in jeopardy. This problem is resources far into the future. Contact Lauren particularly visible in parks like Minute Man National Historical Park, Boston National Historical Park, and other units that tell the story of the American Cosgrove at [email protected] for more Revolution. The most recent statistics suggest that the entire National Park information and to receive the link to the System suffers from a cumulative maintenance backlog of $11.9 billion. Of this Jamaica Bay StoryMap upon its release. total, $4 billion is needed to rehabilitate historic structures at national parks. This staggering number motivates NPCA’s Northeast region to view this campaign as a high priority. Given the fact that two-thirds of national parks in the Northeast region are cultural and historic sites, tackling this problem is especially important.

Producing this video is just the start of a larger campaign intended to reach elected officials, asking them to better fund Revolutionary War units and address the maintenance and repair backlog.

To send a message to our elected officials, the Northeast region will launch a series of events throughout New England showcasing the video and educating local citizens about the severity of the problem. As a result of these events, we’ll call upon our newly engaged advocates to “speak-up” and contact their members of Congress.

See the video at www.vimeo.com/153819464!

Above: Black-crowned night-heron in Jamaica Above: British soldiers fight the Minute Men on Battle Road in Concord, MA during an April 2011 Bay, New York ©Francoisroux | Dreamstime reenactment ©sphraner | iStockPhoto An Intimate Journey through the Delaware River Region continued from page 1 The opportunity for Jim, John, and I to experience first-hand how tourism connects For three days, Jim, John, and I visited small environmental stewardship and economic gateway communities along the Delaware benefits improved NPCA’s understanding River to meet and engage with the local of the importance of well-managed public residents. We came to understand that the lands and waters in local communities. We condition of the Delaware River is critically all agreed that local stakeholder participation important to the future well-being of two along with NPCA’s on-the-ground work with major national park units in the region and communities is the approach that will best the tourism economies of numerous small preserve the natural environment. But don’t communities in the area. just take my word for it, go out and become a geotourist yourself. Our road trip through the Wild, Scenic Delaware River region gave the three of us the opportunity to meet a diverse group John Beljean and Oliver Spellman work of local stakeholders, and experience an for the National Parks Conservation incredible variety of different backgrounds. Association. Jim Dion is a Sustainable We were asked to participate in two local Tourism Program Manager with National radio interviews, tour the rich Eco Zone in Geographic and a Vice President at Solimar the Pocono Environmental Education Center, International, an organization that promotes walk the grounds of the Woodstock concert Jim summed it up perfectly, “The Delaware global development through sustainable site and tour the fascinating exhibit halls of River is the anchor attraction of this region tourism. NPCA’s Northeast and Mid-Atlantic the Bethel Woods Museum all while driving and the long term health of the river is directly along the majestic Delaware River Scenic tied to the viability of the local economies regions continue to play a pivotal role in Byway. A noteworthy part of the journey and the well-being of local people; the greatest the development of the geotourism mapping was standing at the exact point where the threat to the tourism economy of the Delaware project, funded by the William Penn Delaware River intersects with three states— River region would be any decision that Foundation, and implemented by National New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. compromises the integrity of the river itself.” Geographic’s Mapping Division.

Above: Aerial view of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area ©Songquan Deng | Dreamstime The Amazing Epic Ride After-Party at Gateway

n July 23, cyclists from all 5 boroughs will participate in the Epic Ride, a EPIC RIDE O30-45 mile bike ride from Greenpoint, Brooklyn to Rockaway, Queens along the Saturday, July 23 Brooklyn Greenway and Jamaica Bay Jacob Riis Park Greenway bike paths. The Epic Ride builds 16702 Rockaway awareness of the importance of bicycle Beach Blvd. transportation access to the Jamaica Bay Queens, New York unit of Gateway National Recreation Area for all New Yorkers.

At Riis Park, “the people’s beach,” NPCA will host the Epic Ride’s finish line bash with our partners the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, the National Park Service, and Riis Park Beach Bazaar. Once at Riis, bikers and beach goers alike can learn more about Centennial events at Gateway NRA while scoring free swag, enjoying local food and drinks, live music, and a well-deserved dip into the Atlantic Ocean.

Register to bike the Epic Ride at epicride.nyc

Volunteer with NPCA at the Epic Ride Finish Line and After Party! Sign-up to volunteer at www.epicvolunteer.eventbrite.com.

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