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NACPRO News

December 13, 2022

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Got an issue you need advice on? 

Tap into  our collective experience.  Send [email protected] the details and it will appear in the next NACPRO News. 

Send us your news

The next issue of NACPRO News will be delivered on January 3, 2023.

If you have news or an article to share, please send it to the editor by January 2.

Editor:
Brenda Adams-Weyant
(814) 927-8212
[email protected]

 

Welcome to our community!

Mr. Kevin Bowie
Executive Director
Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission, South Carolina

Job Openings

NEW – Director of Operations – Rock Springs Nature Center
Macon County Conservation District
Decatur, Illinois
$75,000.00 - $85,000.00 Annually
Closing date: Dec 30, 2022

Chief Executive Officer
Five Rivers MetroParks
Dayton, Ohio
$139,000+ DOQ
Closing date: Feb 28, 2023
 
Marketing Brand Manager 
Winnetka Park District, Illinois
$75,000 - $89,900 Annually
Closing date: Dec 30, 2022
 
Executive Director
Berwyn Park District, Illinois
$125,000 - $155,000 Annually
Closing date: Dec 20, 2022

For more information:
https://nacpro.mcjobboard.net/jobs

Got a vacancy to fill?
NACPRO will post your vacancy on our website and email a copy to over 1100 parks and recreation professionals for a fee of $100 for NACPRO members and $200 for non-members.

 

Member news

The Importance of Restoring Degraded Lands in Los Angeles County
Courtesy of Planetizen

By Clement Lau

CALIFORNIA - What is the percentage of land area in Los Angeles County dedicated to regional recreation and conservation? Which areas of L.A. County should be prioritized for environmental conservation and restoration? What is the acreage of parkland in the rural portions of the county? How many miles of regional trails are there and where are they located? 

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors just approved a study that answers these questions and more. Called the 2022 Parks Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+), this report complements and offers information not previously included in the 2016 Los Angeles Countywide Parks and Recreation Needs Assessment (PNA). Specifically, PNA+ contains data and analyses in support of expanding land conservation and restoration, transit to parks, and other strategies to meet regional and rural recreation needs, especially in the most vulnerable communities.

Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/12/120207-importance-restoring-degraded-lands-los-angeles-county

 

A word from our sponsors

Have you seen these new Accessories for your Campfire Ring?
Courtesy of Pilot Rock

We offer a number of campfire ring accessories to make the most of your campfire experience. Shelves, multiple cooking grate designs and covers. Our new FLC Lockout Cover can be used to restrict the use of campground firerings when a burn ban is in place, or for any reason you want to prevent campfires.

Check it out: 
https://www.pilotrock.com/seriesgroup/campfire-rings/campfire-ring-accessories

 

Resources

Do we unfairly label ‘invasive species’? Conservationists debate whether their positive qualities suggest a rethink
Courtesy of the River Management Society

By Asher Elbein

Over the last century, biologists have warned of the dire consequences of introducing alien organisms into new ecosystems; a whole field of study, called invasion science, has extensively cataloged the resulting damage. When some researchers, like Gleditsch, have suggested that certain alien species may help ecosystems, they’ve been met with fierce debate from invasion scientists who worry that such studies are a distraction from real damage. Researchers on the other side of the debate, however, argue that the relentless focus on the damage risks missing equally important data, and could lead to management decisions that do more harm than good.

Read more:
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2022/11/28/do-we-unfairly-label-invasive-species-conservationists-debate-whether-their-positive-qualities-suggests-a-rethink/

 

A Framework for Assessing Equitable Health Outcomes of Parks
Courtesy of NRPA

By Kevin Roth and Kelby Rose

Most often, the economic value of parks relates to property values, tax revenue, tourism revenue and local business development. Like these contributions to the local economy, the health benefits of parks also have economic value. NRPA has partnered with Urban Institute to create a new tool to expand the conversation around the economic value of parks to include health-related benefits and outcomes. 

Read more:
https://www.nrpa.org/blog/a-framework-for-assessing-equitable-health-outcomes-of-parks/ 

 

Reconnecting The Community
Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business

By Austin Smith

Recreational esports offer plenty of benefits not solely focused on the unique needs of the pandemic. Online gaming leagues also offer an inclusive, weather-agnostic, and far-reaching way to bring people together. Recreational esports provide an affordable way to reach everyone, regardless of their geographic locations, physical abilities, or social comfort level.

The benefits of playing esports go far beyond accessibility. Even though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declared it was safe for vaccinated people to gather together without masks, many still aren’t comfortable getting back into former pandemic routines. Unlike traditional sports leagues, recreational esports allows participants to play from the safety and comfort of their homes.

Read more:
https://www.parksandrecbusiness.com/articles/reconnecting-the-community

 

How parks can generate a flurry of interest with snow volleyball
Courtesy of Parks and Recreation Business

By Mary Helen Sprecher

One of the up-and-coming forms of volleyball is played on snow. In fact, the sport is expected to experience a veritable blizzard of growth in years to come. International Volleyball Federation, the governing body, hopes this will ultimately lead to its inclusion in the Winter Olympic Games.

Snow volleyball may be exactly what a park needs during the winter months to bring in more users who might otherwise stay home. 

Read more:
https://www.parksandrecbusiness.com/articles/a-bump-in-activity

 

Local guides look to help beginners prepare for winter recreation
Courtesy of Skyhinews.com

By Kyle McCabe

COLORADO - Winter wilderness exploration in the backcountry of Grand County takes knowledge and preparation. Joshua Nance, owner of Grand Mountain Guides, and his partner Chris Olivier, who owns Two Pines Supply in Granby, have a passion for the backcountry. Due to permitting and personal issues, the duo is not leading any outings this winter, but they are teaching beginner backcountry classes through the Granby Recreation Department.

“If you take that very methodical, very thought out, checklist driven system, it should give you not only the confidence that you’ve checked everything off your list, (but) that you’ve done everything, that you have everything and that you have the best information to go out there and have a good time and stay safe,” Nance said.

Read more:
https://www.skyhinews.com/news/local-guides-look-to-help-beginners-prepare-for-winter-recreation/

 

News

People can learn to coexist with urban wildlife
Courtesy of the Chicago Sun Times

By Megan Ross

ILLINOIS - Over a decade ago, we started the Urban Wildlife Institute at Lincoln Park Zoo to better understand how people and animals can coexist in a world with a growing population and urban centers that expand every day. By studying animals in urban habitats, we’re learning not just about them, but also about us, and how our worlds affect one another.

Read more:
https://chicago.suntimes.com/2022/12/1/23486507/animal-control-habitats-lincoln-park-zoo-urban-wildlife-institute-megan-ross-op-ed

 

Extinctions, shrinking habitat spur ‘rewilding’ in cities
Courtesy of the Associated Press

By John Flesher

DETROIT (AP) — Animal and plant species are dying off at an alarming rate, with up to 1 million threatened with extinction, according to a 2019 United Nations report. Their plight is stirring calls for “rewilding” places where they thrived until driven out by development, pollution and climate change.

Rewilding generally means reviving natural systems in degraded locations — sometimes with a helping hand. That might mean removing dams, building tunnels to reconnect migration pathways severed by roads, or reintroducing predators such as wolves to help balance ecosystems. But after initial assists, there’s little human involvement.

Read more:
https://apnews.com/article/science-detroit-animals-wildlife-coyotes-963ec92dd29e74f1fad6c439e6ac348f

 

Dallas mayor, city officials in early talks to find vacant land for parks
Courtesy of KERA

By Toluwani Osibamowo

TEXAS - Mayor Eric Johnson requested an inventory of vacant, unused city-owned land last week. Officials will discuss if it’s possible to use the land to develop more parks, playgrounds and other green space.

The Trust for Public Land said it would work closely with the mayor’s office and the parks department to identify areas in need of green space access. 

Read more:
https://www.keranews.org/environment-nature/2022-12-05/new-parks-in-dallas-vacant-land

 

Cuyahoga Riverfront Redevelopment Announced
Courtesy of Planetizen

By Diana Ionescu

OHIO - A $3.5 billion plan will revitalize the Cuyahoga River waterfront and bring “new residential units, office spaces, entertainment areas and parks, as well as open up other retail and recreation opportunities” to the area, reports Katie Priefer for Spectrum News 1.

Once so polluted it helped inspire the Clean Water Act, the Cuyahoga River has experienced vast improvements in recent years. 

The project is part of a broader plan to make Cleveland a “15-minute city” where residents can access most of their needs in their neighborhood without having to use a car. As Priefer explains, “The project will take 15 to 20 years to complete and puts an emphasis on accessibility, sustainability and equity.

Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2022/12/120134-cuyahoga-riverfront-redevelopment-announced

 

Some streets closed during the pandemic to allow pedestrians will remain car-free
Courtesy of NPR

By Jacob Fenston

"The pandemic really allowed for things to accelerate far faster than they normally would have, in terms of broad public acceptance," said Stephan Schmidt, an associate professor of city and regional planning at Cornell University, who has studied pandemic street closures.

Schmidt's research found that 157 municipalities in 35 states experimented with closing streets to vehicular traffic in 2020 and 2021. But most of these experiments ended quickly: 84% were designated as temporary from the start, and 94% were over within six months.

Read more:
https://www.npr.org/2022/12/06/1139751600/some-streets-closed-during-the-pandemic-to-allow-pedestrians-will-remain-car-fre

 

Training

Technical Training Workshops: New International Trails Summit Workshops Added
Courtesy of American Trails

American Trails and the Professional Trail Builders Association are offering Technical Training Workshops pre and post-ITS. These are optional and attendees can register for them for an additional fee. The following workshops listed below are available to register for now.
 
PLEASE NOTE: You must be an attendee in order to register for these workshops. You can learn more about these workshops via the link below, and you can register for these workshops under the Optional Additional Items webpage during registration.
 
Real Trail Assessment: Seeing the Trail Through the Eyes of a Professional
- Friday, April 21, 2023 from 8:00 am to 1:00 pm
 
Universal Trail Assessment Process & High Efficiency Trail Assessment Process Coordination (UTAP/HETAP)
- Friday, April 21, 2023 from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm classroom session and 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm field session
 
Initiation to User Experience (UX) Design for Trails
- Date: Friday, April 21, 2023 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm
 
Backcountry Rigging Techniques
- Friday, April 21, 2023 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm classroom session and Saturday, April 22, 2023 from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm field session
  
Terrain Dynamics for Trail Folks
- Friday, April 21, 2023 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm classroom session and Saturday, April 22, 2023 from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm field session

Read more: 
https://web.cvent.com/event/24d42cc6-9b01-4aad-8cb7-425826bc429c/websitePage:e53162eb-2f46-4b96-9df3-75b2ed7748e9

 

Workshop: Driving Change Through Leadership and Collaboration 
Courtesy of City Parks Alliance 

Wednesday, January 11 - 2:00-5:00 pm ET

Change can take the form of new organizational processes, policies, structures, partnerships, priorities, and programs, among other things. Join us for this workshop to learn about different organizational change models, hear from park leaders who have successfully driven transformative change using these models, and talk with your peers about your challenges and successes in driving change in your own organization and community.

We encourage teams of 2-4 people per city to register and offer discounts for city teams. Participants are encouraged to attend with colleagues and other partners so they can explore ways to work together to strengthen their organizations and communities.

Register here:
https://cityparksalliance.org/workshop-registration/

National Association of County Park and Recreation Officials

PO Box 74, Marienville PA 16239

(814) 927-8212

www.NACPRO.org