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ACTION ALERT - Help Ensure Access to Outdoor Recreation
Courtesy of NRPA
The U.S. Senate will consider the Great American Outdoors Act this week, which would fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). Since 1965, LWCF has provided critical funding that has expanded access to outdoor recreation in communities across the country. Since the program's existence, LWCF has only received full funding twice. The Great American Outdoors Act would ensure permanent full funding for LWCF and provide $900 million in essential funding each year for projects that increase access to outdoor recreation opportunities — which is needed now more than ever. Your Senators need to hear from you during this crucial time. Ask them to vote "YES" on S. 3422, the Great American Outdoors Act.
For more information:
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/3422
Best Practices Forum
Got an issue you need advice on? Or a best practice you want to share? Send us the details and we will publish it in the next NACPRO News.
Welcome New Member
Mrs. Carleen Dixon
Director of Parks and Recreation
Henderson County Parks and Recreation, NC
Member News
Metroparks Toledo named finalist for National Gold Medal Award
Courtesy of NBC24.com
By Bri Malaska
OHIO - After only the second year of applying for the National Gold Medal Award in Parks and Recreation, Metroparks Toledo has been named a top-four finalist.
"The gold medal award is kind of the Academy Awards for parks and recreation. It really is about the highest honor we can receive," Metroparks Spokesman Scott Carpenter said.
Carpenter said the conservation efforts, community involvement with dedicated volunteers and its role in changing the region, most often known as the rustbelt, all played a factor in winning the nomination.
But the recognition is more than just a pat on the back. It highlights the added quality of life for the region.
Read more:
https://nbc24.com/news/local/metroparks-toledo-named-finalist-for-national-gold-medal-award
Lake Metroparks releases bobcats back into the wild
Courtesy of the News-Herald
By Chad Felton
OHIO - Though they may never fully realize it, life recently began anew for two bobcat kittens that had spent the last eight months in Northeast Ohio.
The rescued siblings, one male and one female, were released May 22 and are back in their natural habitat, thanks to the efforts of Lake Metroparks and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
In September, the Kevin P. Clinton Wildlife Center at Penitentiary Glen Reservation in Kirtland received a call from the Division of Wildlife regarding the two orphaned kittens discovered alongside a road in Belmont County.
Read more:
https://www.news-herald.com/news/lake-metroparks-releases-bobcats-back-into-the-wild/article_82ea27b8-a1e8-11ea-8cb1-bf74967d0208.html
Research and Resources
2020 North American Camping Report
Courtesy of KOA
The COVID-19 edition of the North American Camping Report reveals implications to the camping market, including when and how travelers might prefer to resume travel activity. Findings were based on a survey conducted of North American leisure travelers – April 27-30, 2020 in order to obtain real-time perspective on camping. This new research shows the camping industry may rebound sooner than other forms of travel, and may even gain strength later in the year, due to its consideration as a safe way to resume travel among COVID-19 health precautions.
Stay tuned for additional 2020 camping market findings from the annual North American Camping Report research initiative, sponsored by Kampgrounds of America, coming soon.
Read more:
http://koa.uberflip.com/i/1245639-koa-2020-north-american-camping-report-special-report-camping-and-covid-19-may-11-2020/0?m4=
Tips for handling harassment on the trail
Courtesy of andrewskurka.com
By Alexandra Lev
While hiking alone on a trail, has a man ever slowed down a little when walking past you, and perhaps even brushed your shoulders ever so slightly, giving you that uneasy feeling and prompting you to look over your shoulder the rest of the way? Or how about a man on the trail who asks you one too many questions, including, “Are you alone?”
Studies support my anecdotal experiences: women are statistically more likely than men to experience verbal harassment, catcalling, unwanted touching, and unwanted following.
Numerous reports in recent years provide staggering numbers on the amount of sexual harassment in the outdoor community...
Read more:
https://andrewskurka.com/face-your-fears-harassment-on-the-trail/
Tools for Hurricane Season
Courtesy of Climate Central
Tropical Storm Cristobal formed this week in the Gulf of Mexico, the third named storm in an Atlantic Hurricane season that officially began on Monday. For the sixth year in a row, the first named storm of the season formed prior to June 1. Experts are predicting a more active than normal hurricane season for 2020 due to above average water temperatures and the expected absence of El Niño.
And climate change appears to be making severe hurricanes more frequent. Rising temperatures are causing hurricanes to become more intense, strengthen more rapidly, produce more rainfall, and create higher storm surges.
Storm surge is the leading cause of loss of life during hurricanes, causing half of all fatalities from hurricanes making landfall in the U.S. Sea level rise exacerbates the dangers of storm surge by raising the platform atop which storm surge arrives.
To illustrate the impact of rising seas on storm surge, Climate Central has produced a new video depicting what it could look like if another hurricane as devastating as Hurricane Hugo struck Charleston, SC with today’s higher, rising sea.
For more information:
https://www.climatecentral.org/explore/2020-flyover-charleston/
Expanding Community Inclusion Across Recreation Settings
Courtesy of PlayCore
Re-prioritize your planning efforts by designing and planning for a space accessible to all. The 2010 ADA Guidelines for Accessible Design is just the beginning. Look for ways within your new or existing recreation spaces to add amenities and create a truly inclusive place for all community members to access and enjoy!
Read more:
https://www.playcore.com/news/expanding-community-inclusion-across-recreation-settings
COVID-19 Legislative State and Federal Reports
Courtesy of PolicyEngage
The reports below include all state and federal bills and resolutions referencing COVID-19, coronavirus, or pandemic, as of June 8, 2020.
COVID-19 Cumulative State Legislative Report
COVID-19 Cumulative Federal Legislative Report
COVID-19 Major Enacted State and Federal Legislative Action Center
In the News
Minneapolis Park Board votes to end relationship with Minneapolis police, differentiate uniforms
Courtesy of the Star Tribune
By Miguel Otárola and Paul Walsh
MINNESOTA - The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board voted Wednesday night to sever its longtime relationship with the Minneapolis Police Department, adding to the list of organizations that have cut ties with the local police following the death of George Floyd at the hands of its officers.
The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Public Schools, museums and venues have also chosen to limit or end their collaboration with the Police Department in the wake of Floyd’s death May 25, which resulted in the firings and arrests of four officers.
The Park Board’s unanimous vote directs Superintendent Al Bangoura to immediately stop using Minneapolis police officers to staff park-sanctioned events, and block park police officers from responding to nonviolent Minneapolis police calls.
Read more:
https://www.startribune.com/park-board-votes-unanimously-to-end-working-with-police-in-minneapolis/570982312/
Bay Area towns need to address sea-level rise. Will they?
Courtesy of High Country News
By Robin Meadows
CALIFORNIA - Foster City, a community of curving streets and cul-de-sacs, edges up to California’s San Francisco Bay. Built on wetlands that were drained and filled more than a century ago, the city was barely above sea level to begin with. Today, 34,000 people live in Foster City, and all that keeps water from pouring into their streets and neighborhoods is an earthen levee fortified by concrete and riprap. With climate change raising the sea level, this won’t be enough to protect the small city. So, in 2016, officials floated a plan to raise the levee.
That worried Hank Ackerman, the flood-control program manager for Alameda County, which lies just across the bay from Foster City. Ackerman wrote in a 2017 letter that he was “very concerned” that raising the levee could shift floodwaters to Alameda County much of whose 36 miles of shoreline is densely populated. He cited research showing that raising seawalls in one area can simply transfer the rising waters elsewhere. “To address sea-level rise jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction will result in an acceleration in the adverse impacts to other entities around the Bay,” Ackerman concluded.
The San Francisco Bay Area has 101 municipalities across the nine counties that ring the bay, and each is like a little kingdom. “Cities are self-interested actors. It’s not natural for them to cooperate,” said Mark Lubell, director of the Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior at the University of California, Davis. “Local governments really hate being told what to do.” In their defense, local governments also bear full responsibility for protecting their constituents from sea-level rise.
Read more:
https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.7/south-climate-change-bay-area-towns-need-to-address-sea-level-rise-will-they
Boiling Point: The ’30 by 30' plan to save the natural world
Courtesy of the Los Angeles Times
By Sammy Roth
CALIFORNIA - An international team of scientists first proposed protecting 30% of Earth’s lands and waters by 2030 — hence “30 by 30" — in the journal Science Advances last year. Calling their plan the “Global Deal for Nature,” they wrote that setting aside nearly one-third of the planet from human development could avert “points of no return” for many species and ecosystems.
The idea has taken on a life of its own.
The Convention on Biological Diversity — a global treaty that has been ratified by every United Nations member country, except the United States — is expected to adopt the 30 by 30 framework next year. U.S. Sen. Tom Udall (D-New Mexico) kicked off a virtual “Road to 30" tour with conservationists this week, promoting his legislation that would set a national 30 by 30 target.
In California, the Assembly’s natural resources committee approved similar legislation, cleverly designated AB 3030, last week.
Read more:
https://www.latimes.com/environment/newsletter/2020-05-21/boiling-point-save-natural-world-protect-30-percent-earth-boiling-point
York to hire beach ‘ambassadors’ to free up lifeguards, police
Courtesy of Fosters.com
By Erin Hayes
MAINE - As they discussed next steps for the town’s reopening, the Board of Selectmen authorized a plan Monday night to create a community “ambassador” program to help with crowd control and encourage proper social distancing at the town’s popular destinations, including its beaches and Mount Agamenticus.
The program, created by York Parks and Recreation, would hire “high-visibility” town employees to provide “visitor-friendly communication,” encourage voluntary compliance and monitor for any safety issues or ordinance violations, according to a report from Parks and Recreation Director Robin Cogger.
Town Manager Stephen Burns said the program would take pressure off lifeguards and free police from the responsibility of walking the town’s beaches and trails.
Read more:
https://www.fosters.com/news/20200602/york-to-hire-beach-ambassadors-to-free-up-lifeguards-police
How one park group is helping their community through the pandemic
Courtesy of the Trust for Public Land
WASHINGTON - The Parque Padrinos had been looking forward to this party for a long time. After years of dreaming, organizing, fundraising, and building, this community group in South Wenatchee, Washington, was ready to celebrate the grand reopening of Kiwanis Methow Park with a blow-out bash. They picked a date: May 10, a few weeks before the summer harvest season would pull many of their neighbors into long days of demanding work in the local fruit orchards and packing plants outside town.
But in late February, news of the first known U.S. death from COVID-19 emerged in Kirkland, Washington. In the weeks that followed, as the outbreak unfolded into a global crisis, the Parque Padrinos—or Park Godparents—did what so many of us have had to do: they postponed plans for celebrations, and turned their attention to helping their families and neighbors weather the coming storm.
“Already there is a language barrier, and the information needs to be processed in a way that the community can really grasp and put it into context,” says Teresa Bendito, a South Wenatchee resident, founding member of Parque Padrinos, and volunteer on our Washington State Advisory Board.
Bendito lists some of the reasons why her neighbors in South Wenatchee, a community of about 5,000 that is predominately Latino and low-income, are particularly vulnerable to the virus: many live in dense, multi-generational or multi-family homes. Most families here make a living in agricultural work and other frontline jobs, so they can’t work from home. And in a county with lower rates of literacy than the state average, it’s harder for people to access the latest critical information about how to protect themselves from the virus.
Read more:
https://www.tpl.org/blog/park-group-helping-community-through-pandemic
The Most Anti-Nature President in U.S. History
Courtesy of the Center for American Progress
By Jenny Rowland-Shea and Zainab Mirza
President Donald Trump has thrown in reverse the United States’ proud, bipartisan record of nature conservation. Unlike every modern-day U.S. president before him who helped build up America’s awe-inspiring system of public lands and waters, President Trump has pursued an agenda aimed at removing protections from vast swaths of public lands and waters. In fact, President Trump is the only president in U.S. history to have removed more public lands than he protected.
The Center for American Progress calculates that over the past three years, the Trump administration has attempted to remove protections from nearly 35 million acres of public lands—approximately 1,000 times more land than his administration has protected. While the courts may overturn many of the Trump administration’s rollbacks, these actions equate to stripping protections from an area the size of Florida.
Read more
News from NACo
2020 NACo Annual Conference Update
The safety and well-being of conference participants is our top priority. In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and after much thoughtful discussion, including concerns about large gatherings, the National Association of Counties (NACo) Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 NACo Annual Conference and Exposition and proceed with a virtual Annual Business Meeting.
We will hold the 2020 NACo Annual Business Meeting on Monday, July 20 at 2 p.m. EDT on a secure online platform with the ability of our members to vote in accordance with our bylaws. Participation in the virtual Annual Business Meeting will be completely free for all NACo members, but registration is required.
We are also planning to host a virtual membership town hall meeting on Monday, July 13, at 4 p.m. EDT.
For more information:
https://www.naco.org/events/nacos-2020-annual-business-meeting
Urge your U.S. Senators to support direct and flexible funding for counties of all sizes
The National Association of Counties (NACo) and 49 state associations of counties has called on the U.S. Senate to pass a bipartisan relief package that supports counties' vast health, safety and economic recovery responsibilities.
Join us in calling on your U.S. Senators today to support direct and flexible funding for counties of all sizes. Now is the opportune time to reach out to Senators while they are in their states during the Memorial Day recess.
Counties face a $144 billion fiscal impact from the COVID-19 pandemic through FY2021, not including drops in property tax revenues or future cuts in state aid to counties, both major sources of county revenue. We need a responsible, bipartisan solution to address the enormous economic and public health challenges associated with COVID-19.
For more information:
https://www.naco.org/covid19/federal-advocacy
Training
Webinar: Interactive Community Engagement for Trails
Courtesy of American Trails
DATE: Thursday, June 11, 2020
TIME: 10:00 - 11:00 am Pacific (1:00 - 2:00 pm Eastern)
COST: FREE
LEARNING CREDITS: Free
Because of their broad appeal, tangible benefits, and capacity for direct and immediate impacts, trails provide unique opportunities to tap into community passion to contribute to and shape civic decisions. In developing the Mariposa Creek Parkway Master Plan, the planning team leveraged this potential, applying innovative stakeholder engagement techniques and building a diverse partnership of local organizations to ensure an inclusive, holistic, and implementable trail master plan.
For more information:
https://www.americantrails.org/training/gatehouses-and-greenways-interactive-community-engagement-for-trails
Webinar: How to Support Mental Health in Your Community
Courtesy of NRPA
DATE: Wednesday, June 17
TIME: 2:30 p.m. EDT
COST: Free
Join us for a free webinar as we discuss the role park and recreation professionals play as essential contributors to mental health and the overall well-being of their communities. During this webinar, presenters from the National Summer Learning Association, Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Florida International University will share ways to support the mental health of frontline staff, families, caregivers and other community members. In addition, you will learn how to engage and contribute to the development of youth in your community this summer.
For more information:
https://learning.nrpa.org/products/how-to-support-mental-health-in-your-community#tab-product_tab_overview
Upcoming Webinars from PlayCore
Courtesy of PlayCore
We understand this is a difficult time to stay on top of educational opportunities, so we wanted to make it easy as possible. New this year, the Center for Outreach, Research & Education (CORE) is offering on-demand webinars in addition to our regular live webinars. With a variety of topics, there are learning opportunities for all.
We invite you to participate in one of these great complimentary events, and don't forget to complete the assessment to earn your CEU.
Youth Advocacy for Better and Equitable Physical Activity
Thursday, June 11; 2:00 - 3:15 pm EDT
Live webinar
An Instrumental Guide to Blending Outdoor Music & Community
Prerecorded webinar available from Monday, June 15, 2020, 8:00 am to Friday, June 19, 2020 at 11:59 pm EDT
Water Works for Everyone: Making Pools Accessible for EveryBODY
Thursday, June 28; 2:00 - 3:15 pm EDT
Live webinar
Register here:
https://www.playcore.com/webinars
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