NPS News Releases

We used to post the National Park Service press releases on the RTA front page, but have sort of moved away from that practice.

Therefore, we'll use this thread for that practice.

Here's one sent to me earlier today.

WASHINGTON: Start your new year with a free visit to a national park! All 397 national parks across the country will offer free admission from January 14 through 16 to commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

You can literally walk in Dr. King's footsteps at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site in Georgia, the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail in Alabama, or the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC – just a few of the many national parks that have direct ties to Dr. King or the Civil Rights movement.

Other parks that will hold special events honoring Dr. King that weekend include the new Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC, Morristown National Historical Park in New Jersey, Fort Donelson National Battlefield in Tennessee, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site in Washington, DC.

“Dr. King led the fight to realize his dream of a nation free of discrimination, where every citizen was able to enjoy the inalienable rights promised to all Americans,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Dr. King’s story and those of so many others whose efforts changed our country are preserved in the national parks, places where history happened. I hope every American can take advantage of the upcoming fee free weekend and visit their parks to experience their history firsthand.”

Your nearest national park can also help you keep that New Year’s resolution, whether it is to get more exercise, spend quality time with family and friends, try a new sport, learn some history, expand your horizons, or enjoy the natural world. There’s something for everyone at a national park, even in the middle of winter. Choices include snow shoe hikes, canoe trips, campfire programs, film festivals, battle reenactments, and music jams. It is also a great time of year to view wildlife such as bison in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming or grey whales at Point Reyes National Seashore in California. A list of activities can be found at www.nps.gov.
The National Park Service will also waive admission fees on 14 other days in 2012 – National Park Week (April 21 to 29), Get Outdoors Day (June 9), National Public Lands Day (September 29), and the weekend of Veterans Day (November 10 to 12).

This is not even close to a National Park press release, but it is a fun article, written by Smithsonian's Brian Switek. Brian identified and obtained photos of seven pretty silly-looking roadside dinosaur statues found around America. I think you'll enjoy this trip!

Mark

WASHINGTON – Don’t forget your camera as you head outdoors this spring: the National Natural Landmarks Program annual photo contest is now open and accepting entries.

Quote:

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“This is the 50th anniversary of the program and we hope people will join the celebration by photographing one of America’s National Natural Landmarks,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “We’re looking for images that capture the beauty and diversity of these natural areas.”

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Winning photographs will be featured in the 2013 National Natural Landmarks calendar.
Contest entries will be accepted through June 30. Winners will be announced in September.

Each photographer can submit up to three entries. There are no restrictions on the date of a photograph; however, please remember that “old” slides and prints often lose their quality over time.

Each photograph must be from a different national natural landmark. Images of the 13 sites featured in the 2012 calendar will not be accepted. Those winning photos can be viewed here.

For full contest information and submission requirements for the ninth annual contest, click here.

There are nearly 600 national natural landmarks nationwide representing an array of natural features-from dinosaur tracks and fossils at the Morrison-Golden Fossil Areas, Colorado to bioluminescent waters at Puerto Mosquito, Puerto Rico to the largest impact crater known in the United States at Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona.

National natural landmarks include features on private, state, municipal, and federal lands. Program participation is voluntary and not all landmark sites are open to the public.

National natural landmarks are designated by the Secretary of the Interior following rigorous scientific study. The National Natural Landmarks Program is managed by the National Park Service and recognizes significant examples of biological and geological features and supports the cooperative conservation of these important examples of America’s natural heritage.
Further information about the National Natural Landmarks Program, including a complete list of designated sites and their accessibility is available at www.nature.nps.gov/nnl/

www.nps.gov

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 397 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.

This is sort of an interesting program...

Press Release:

National Public Lands Day (NPLD) is a fee-free entrance day at many federal public lands including national parks. It's a great opportunity to help a local or favorite public land near you and spend the rest of the day recreating or relaxing on the land. With free admission, feel free to bring a friend or make it a family outing, and enjoy the experience.

National Public Lands Day also partners with five federal land management agencies to provide a special thank-you to their volunteers. Each volunteer who participates in National Public Lands Day at Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or U.S. Forest Service public lands may receive a fee-free coupon.

Read more about the details on how fee-free days and fee-free coupons work on NPLD's website.

To locate an NPLD event near you, search by state or zip code here. More than 1,200 of the 2,000 sites are already listed online.

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I looked at the search site -- pretty amazing line-up of opportunities.

Actually, this isn't related to NPS news at all...

Just a quick announcement --- Jerry King, the cartoonist, has joined the line-up on our sister website -- Living-Las-Vegas.com and his first cartoon sharing a funny side of Friends and Family debuted today on that site.

It is likely that some day in the near future that some of Jerry's cartoons will also be published on RTA...