NACPRO News

August 4, 2026

Above the Fold
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Awardee Spotlight
Mississippi Gateway Regional Park

Three Rivers Park District, Minnesota - After nearly a decade of planning, community engagement, design, and construction, Three Rivers Park District celebrated the grand opening of the redeveloped Mississippi Gateway Regional Park in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, in September 2025.

The project combined parkland owned by Three Rivers Park District and the City of Brooklyn Park into a single regional park, shaped by input from more than 1,200 community members. The centerpiece is the new Gateway Center, a visitor and nature center that serves as the hub for exploration and environmental education.

New attractions include the Treetop Trail, a 900-foot accessible elevated walkway offering sweeping views of the Mississippi River floodplain; the Mini-Mississippi interactive water play area; and the Mississippi Playway, featuring slides, climbing rocks, and nature-inspired play elements. The redevelopment has been met with overwhelmingly positive public feedback, with daily visitation to the Gateway Center already exceeding that of the previous facility.

Tap into our collective experience. Send your question to [email protected] with some background and we will include it in the next NACPRO News.

Create Outdoor Spaces People Recognize—and Remember
Courtesy of Pilot Rock

At Pilot Rock, we’ve spent more than 65 years helping customers build outdoor spaces that reflect the communities they serve. Whether your project calls for custom signage, engraved plaques, laser-cut logos, or personalized identification, our team works with you to create furnishings that feel like they were made specifically for your project—because they are.

Great outdoor spaces aren’t remembered because they have picnic tables. They’re remembered because they feel like they belong. That’s the difference thoughtful customization can make.

Read more:
https://www.pilotrock.com/customized-products

Collect more community feedback to inform your planning
Courtesy of Jotform

Parks master plans and capital improvement projects require meaningful community input. Relying on in-person meetings or clunky survey tools can lead to poor response rates and hard-to-analyze data.

With Jotform's community survey templates and AI-powered app builder you can launch a branded, mobile-friendly community feedback hub in minutes. Easily share surveys using QR codes at park facilities, or through your department website, newsletter, and social media channels.

Responses flow directly into Jotform Tables, where you can identify trends, filter data by neighborhood, and automatically generate reports for planning presentations.

Explore survey templates: https://link.jotform.com/FxSdG8goRX

Kansas City has new speed limits and age restrictions for e-bikes and scooters
Courtesy of NPR

By Savannah Hawley-Bates, Steve Kraske, Halle Jackson

People who use electronic bicycles, scooters and motorcycles will have new regulations to pay attention to in Kansas City. The Kansas City Council passed new regulations for the vehicles at its meeting Thursday.

The legislation sorts the devices into three categories: e-bikes, scooters and other micro-mobility devices, and electronic motorcycles. It adds age requirements for use, sets speed limits and dictates where each type of vehicle is allowed.

The city will begin a 120-day education period before the rules go into effect. Mayor Quinton Lucas, who sponsored the ordinance, said he believes adding speed and age requirements to operate the vehicles will reduce crashes and injuries.

Read more:
https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-07-30/kansas-city-has-new-speed-limits-and-age-restrictions-for-e-bikes-and-scooters

Lessons from 30 years of wildfire ignition data
Courtesy of Headwaters Economics

More than 85% of all wildfires in the United States are caused by humans In many respects, this is a discouraging statistic, yet it also presents a unique opportunity. Unlike lightning or other natural wildfire causes, human behavior can be adjusted. When we dive into the data we start to see several points of leverage that can help reduce the damage and disruption that come from wildfire disasters.

To help provide wildfire managers with the resources they need, Headwaters Economics has developed a free tool based on data collected by the U.S. Forest Service that reveals useful trends about human-caused wildfire ignitions in any U.S. community.

Read more:
https://headwaterseconomics.org/natural-hazards/wildfire/lessons-from-30-years-of-wildfire-ignition-data/

5 ways to hallucination-proof your AI output
Courtesy of Planetizen

By Tom Sanchez

Last month I wrote about prompt engineering, the skill of asking AI better questions. In some follow-up conversations, one question was: once you get a good answer, how do you know it is actually right? That question points to the second half of a skill set that is just as important and can take significant effort. Prompting is how you get useful output from AI. Verification is how you determine whether to trust it and whether you can use it. One without the other is only half of an effective process.

The burden of catching errors comes down to knowing what to look for. Fortunately, these errors are not random. Across planning-related tasks, there are five recognizable types, each with its own warning signs. Learning to recognize the categories helps turn verification from a vague worry into a habit: instead of asking "is any of this wrong," learn to ask five specific questions that will help to catch most problems.

Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/blogs/138102-5-ways-hallucination-proof-your-ai-output

19th Annual Salary Survey
Courtesy of Recreation Management

Welcome to our 19th Annual Salary Survey, where we examine the career-related results from the Industry Report survey, from experience and education to salaries, job satisfaction and beyond. The earnings upswing continues in 2026, with two-thirds of respondents reporting that their salaries increased from 2024 to 2025, and with median salaries climbing for almost every cohort.

Read more:
https://recmanagement.com/articles/155936/work-it

Tribes and Environmental Groups Push Back on Trump Rule to Diminish Habitat Protections for Endangered Species
Courtesy of Inside Climate News

By Kiley Price

Environmental groups and tribes are suing the Trump administration over a new rule eliminating the majority of habitat protections for imperiled wildlife protected by the Endangered Species Act. Experts say the rule represents the most profound change to the law since it was first enacted in 1973, paving the way for more development and industrial activities that will likely harm vulnerable animals and plants. It’s the latest in a series of moves by the Trump administration to weaken the Endangered Species Act in ways that will benefit politically powerful industries like oil and gas.

Read more:
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16072026/groups-push-back-on-trump-endangered-species-act-rule/

Outdoor Recreation Roundtable and Confluence of States Release First National Disaster Resilience Playbook
Courtesy of Recreation Management

In partnership with Confluence of States—the bipartisan coalition of state offices of outdoor recreation—the playbook draws on firsthand lessons from outdoor recreation leaders across the country who have managed recovery efforts following hurricanes, historic flooding, wildfires, and other natural disasters. More than a collection of best practices, the resource provides a practical blueprint for state outdoor recreation offices to organize partners before disasters strike, communicate effectively during emergencies, document recreation impacts, support local businesses, and coordinate long-term recovery.

Read more:
https://recmanagement.com/articles/155958/outdoor-recreation-roundtable-and-confluence-states-release-first-national-disaster

Major Win: Senate Funding Bill Would Delay OMB Uniform Guidance Rule Until December
Courtesy of NACo

Senate appropriators released text of a stopgap funding bill that would keep the government funded through Dec. 11 – and includes a provision blocking the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from finalizing its proposed Uniform Guidance rule. That would push back the OMB Uniform Guidance rewrite to Dec. 11, 2026, a major win for counties. NACo joined national, state and local government partners in a letter sent Friday urging Congress to include the delay. The Senate could vote on the bill as soon as this week, ahead of the August recess.

Read more:
https://www.naco.org/news/senate-funding-bill-delivers-win-counties-delaying-ombs-uniform-guidance-proposed-rule

Data center developer offers over $4M per acre to buy out homeowners
Courtesy of Planetizen

By Diana Ionescu

An analysis from the National Association of Home Builders reveals that data center builders are outbidding home builders for land — in some cases, by amounts "nowhere close" to median land prices in the area.

In one case, a developer offered home owners in Virginia about $4.4 million per acre for their land in an area where median land prices range closer to $100,000 per acre. According to spokespeople for the home builders' industry, "Local governments are no longer just deciding where to put data centers. They are deciding whether residential development can compete for land and grid capacity at all."

Read more:
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2026/08/138123-data-center-developer-offers-over-4m-acre-buy-out-homeowners

Okefenokee Swamp Protected Through Landmark Conservation Deal
Courtesy of Inside Climate News

By Ryan Krugman

One of America's most significant conservation victories has secured the future of Georgia's iconic Okefenokee Swamp. After years of controversy over a proposed titanium mine adjacent to the refuge, a $60 million acquisition by The Conservation Fund permanently protected more than 7,700 acres of land and mineral rights, eliminating the threat of mining near the largest blackwater swamp in North America. The successful effort highlights the power of collaboration among conservation organizations, private philanthropy, and local advocates to safeguard irreplaceable natural resources for future generations.

Read more:
https://insideclimatenews.org/news/26072026/okefenokee-land-deal-prevents-proposed-mine/

Beyond The Minimum Part 3: From Intent to Impact:
Building a Culture of Belonging
Courtesy of PlayCore

August 26, 2026, 2 pm EDT
Free with code COMMUNITY

Creating welcoming parks, recreation programs, and public spaces requires more than meeting accessibility standards; it demands intentional systems that foster belonging. This session explores how organizations can move beyond compliance by embedding inclusive planning, design, operations, and leadership practices into everyday decision-making. Participants will examine practical frameworks, organizational strategies, and real-world examples that strengthen access, improve user experiences, and create environments where people of all ages and abilities feel valued, connected, and empowered to participate.

Read more:
https://education.playcore.com/p/btm3-2026

Upcoming Webinars from American Trails

Working Smarter Not Harder: Developing a Marketing and Communications Content Strategy
August 20, 2026
Learn about creating a content plan that works for your agency, setting measurable and attainable objectives and how to implement tactics that work align with your time and budget.

Turning Trail Work Into Measurable Impact: Trailfunds in Action
August 27, 2026
Following the introductory Trailfunds webinar, this session takes a practical, hands-on look at how organizations are using the platform to plan, document, and communicate stewardship work.

Choose Your Own Adventure: Welcoming & Preparing Trail Users with Disabilities
September 03, 2026
Accessibility for one person may not be accessible for another. Because of this, including a general statement that something is accessible (or not accessible) doesn’t tell the whole story. During this session, we will help you look at your planning through a different lens.

Read more:
https://www.americantrails.org/training/webinars

Director of Park Planning & Development
Morris County Park Commission
Morristown, New Jersey
$116,000 - $121,388
Application Deadline: Open until filled

Associate Graphic Designer
Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation
San Jose, California
$70,701 - $85,378 Annually
Application Deadline: Aug 27, 2026

Parks Natural Resource Program Coordinator
Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation
San Jose, California
$91,992 - $111,338 Annually
Application Deadline: Aug 21, 2026

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 our mailing list of over 1100 parks and recreation professionals for a fee of $125 for NACPRO members and $250 for non-members.