Make Your Own Snowshoes at Michigan’s Tahquamenon Falls State Park
December 2, 2008
Tahquamenon Falls State Park is hosting a snowshoe-making workshop Saturday, Dec. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery and Restaurant. A second workshop is planned for Jan. 17 (time and location to be announced).
Participants in the one-day workshop will make a pair of traditional white ash snowshoes that will last for generations. An optional snowshoe hike to the Upper Falls will take place following the workshop, weather permitting.
The $160 registration fee includes all materials and equipment needed to make one pair of snowshoes. Class size is limited and reservations are required. To make a reservation, please call Tahquamenon Falls State Park at (906) 492-3415.
All motor vehicles entering a Michigan State Park or Recreation Area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the park entrance. Cost is $24 for a resident annual and $6 for a resident daily. A nonresident annual is $29 and a nonresident daily is $8.
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New State Park to Open Near Brownsville Texas on Dec. 6
November 18, 2008
BROWNSVILLE, Texas — Resaca de la Palma State Park
— Texas’ newest state park and the eighth link in the World Birding Center chain stretching the breadth of the Rio Grande Valley — will host a grand opening celebration on Saturday, Dec. 6 in this border city.
Resaca de la Palma’s grand opening, which lasts from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony, raptor show, guided walks and bike tours, a Buffalo Soldiers encampment, art contest and host of family activities such as kite flying, a Kidz Corner and archery. The park’s $4 admission fee for persons 13 and older will be waived for the day. Children 12 and under are always admitted free.
The 1,200-acre park near the southernmost tip of Texas is the largest of the nine sites that comprise the World Birding Center that stretches some 120 miles along the wildlife-rich Rio Grande corridor from Roma to South Padre Island.
South Padre Island Birding & Nature Center, the final wing of the WBC, is under construction and slated to open in spring of 2009. The other World Birding Center sites are: Bentsen-Rio Grande Valley State Park (WBC headquarters), Edinburg Scenic Wetlands, Estero Llano Grande State Park (Weslaco), Harlingen’s Arroyo Colorado, Old Hidalgo Pump House, Quinta Mazatlan (McAllen) and Roma Bluffs.
Not a state park in the traditional sense, Resaca de la Palma caters to bird watchers, butterfly enthusiasts and other nature lovers who seek an up-close view of wildlife in a natural setting that includes a restored resaca (an ancient coil of a river bed once filled by Rio Grande floodwaters), marshes, dense thorn-scrub, and mature palm and ebony forests. The park includes five types of habitat: Tamaulipan thornscrub, ebony-anacua forest, sugar hackberry woodlands, revegetated grasslands and the resaca wetlands.
“Resaca de la Palma’s most significant habitat is the six-mile resaca that winds through the park,” said Pablo de Yturbe, park superintendent. “Our park staff worked for many months to clear the old channel to get it ready to refill. We started pumping water into the resaca in July of 2008.”
This day-use park has four observation decks, a picnic area, visitor center, interpretation hall and numerous trails, some of which are handicapped accessible. There are more than 8 miles of dirt hiking trails, including a half-mile trail that is compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, and a paved 3.5-mile loop traveled by a tram that makes two stops.
Resaca de la Palma attracts more than 250 species of birds due to its diverse habitats, its location along two American migratory flyways and its proximity to Mexico and Central America, some of whose bird species range only as far north in the United States as Texas’ Rio Grande Valley. Visitors can expect to see a number of colorful species such as the summer tanager, American redstart, green jay and Altamira oriole, as well as the black-bellied whistling duck, groove-billed ani, olive sparrow, and a host of migrating waterfowl.
The opening of the new state park results in part from increased funding provided by the Texas Legislature in 2007 that pays the salaries of 14 full-time and part-time employees, including tram drivers, maintenance assistants, park interpreters and a natural resource specialist. For 2008, the state’s newest wing of the WBC received an $82,000 budget increase. In addition, the legislature approved $28,000 in concession funds to stock the State Park Store with merchandise.
Park visitors must park at the visitor center and walk, bicycle or take the park’s tram into the park. The tram ride is included in the required entrance fee and visitors can rent binoculars, bicycles and tricycles for an additional daily fee.
Resaca de la Palma, 1000 New Carmen Blvd., will have bird walks on Saturday mornings, nature walks on Wednesday mornings and occasional bike tours. For more information, call (956) 350-2920.
To reach the park from Brownville, visitors can take FM 1732 to New Carmen Boulevard. The entrance is on the east side of the boulevard.
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Hartwick Pines State Park of Michigan Offers Snowshoe-Making Workshops
November 13, 2008
Hartwick Pines State Park near Grayling is hosting two snowshoe-making workshops this winter at the Michigan Forest Visitor Center. The first of the weekend workshops is Dec. 13-14, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and the second workshop will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Feb. 28-March 1.
Snowshoe styles available will be the 46-inch Huron Snowshoe and the 36-inch Green Mountain Bearpaw. While making their shoes, participants will learn about the history of snowshoes and why their popularity is growing. The workshops are very informal; participants are encouraged to wear comfortable clothes and bring a sack lunch. The visitor center will provide a variety of hot beverages.
Class sizes are limited and reservations are needed. The $160 registration fee includes all materials and equipment needed to make one pair of snowshoes. A $25 deposit is required and the reservation deadline for the December workshop is Dec. 3. For more information and to request a registration packet, please call (989) 348-2537 or e-mail burgr [at] michigan [dot] gov.
Hartwick Pines is offering several other programs this winter. These include cross-country skiing by lantern light Jan. 3, 17, 31 and Feb. 14 and 28, and guided snowshoe hikes Jan. 24, and Feb. 7 and 21.
The park also will be hosting a “Winter Trails Day” snowshoeing event Jan. 10 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to come out and try a variety of snowshoes for a guided snowshoe hike or attend an interesting nature program.
Also plan to attend the winter lecture series of historical topics to be held on the following Sunday afternoons: Dec. 21, Jan. 18, Feb. 15 and March 8. Times to be announced. For more information, please call (989) 348-2537 or go online at www.michigan.gov/hartwickpines or www.michigan.gov/loggingmuseum.
Hartwick Pines State Park is located on M-93 (Hartwick Pines Road), two miles east of I-75, exit 259. All motor vehicles entering a Michigan State Park or Recreation Area must display a Motor Vehicle Permit, available for purchase at the park entrance. Cost is $24 for a resident annual and $6 for a resident daily. A nonresident annual is $29 and a nonresident daily is $8.
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Franklin Mountains State Park to Grow By Almost 1,700 Acres
November 11, 2008
AUSTIN, Texas — The largest urban wilderness park in the continental United States — Franklin Mountains State Park in El Paso — is destined to grow even bigger as a result of action taken Thursday by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.
Commissioners directed the executive director to take steps necessary for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to acquire roughly 1,670 acres in two separate tracts from the El Paso Water Utilities Public Service Board to add to the 24,247-acre state park. The 80th Texas Legislature required TPWD to acquire the additional park land and allocated $162,000 for that purpose.
The larger piece of new real estate, a 1,470-acre tract adjacent to the Castner Range, would expand the Franklin Mountains State Park boundary at the northeastern corner of the park. The smaller 200-acre tract on the western side of the Franklins would provide the state park some protection against pending development in the southwestern corner of the park.
“At the end of the day, the property acquisition will give us a buffer between previous state park boundaries and pending development areas,” says John Moses, director of El Paso’s state park complex that includes Franklin Mountains State Park. “The buffer zone on the east side of the mountain will be where we’ll put trailheads that will connect new communities in northeast El Paso with the park.”
Franklin Mountains State Park is the United State’s largest urban park, being entirely located within the city limits of El Paso. The state park offers rock climbing, mountain biking, primitive overnight camping, picnicing and guided tours.
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Caprock Canyons State Park of Texas Unveils New Exhibits Nov. 15
November 6, 2008
QUITAQUE, Texas—Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway will unveil new interpretive exhibits to help tell the park story, with guided tours and other activities planned for the general public Saturday, Nov. 15. The day before the public unveiling, dozens of students from area schools will get a sneak peek at the new exhibits Friday, Nov. 14.
The additions include interior exhibits at the park’s newly constructed $1 million visitor center opened last year, new exterior interpretive wayside signs at the bison overlook adjacent to the visitor center, and a complete overhaul of the existing exhibits at the park’s outdoor Interpretive Pavilion.
New interior exhibits at the visitor center include four different “zones,” each with a different content focus: geology of the canyonlands, the North American bison, the ecology of the canyonlands, and the story of the Trailway.
The exterior interpretive waysides at the bison overlook interpret the near-extermination of the North American bison during the 1800s, Charles Goodnight’s efforts to protect the animals, and the story of the Texas State Bison Herd at Caprock Canyons.
The new interpretive exhibits at the Interpretive Pavilion tell the human story of the canyonlands, revealing the lifeways of various cultural groups, including native people, Hispanics and Anglos.
Student groups on Nov. 14 will partake in several indoor and outdoor activities led by staff members. Various experts will discuss many aspects of the Canyonlands, and students will learn about relevant subjects such as bison, pioneer life and fossils. Student groups will be hosted from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Nov. 15, the exhibit will open to the general public. In the morning, staff will be available to answer questions and children will be given activity booklets to complete while observing the exhibit. From 2 p.m. till 4 p.m. children’s games will be offered including clay marble making, pin the tail on the bison, horse shoes, woodblock puzzles, string games and more. At 4 p.m., chuck wagon-centered activities will be offered, including a molasses taffy pull, butter making, and a Dutch oven demonstration. At 6 p.m. the unveiling will conclude with a community potluck dinner.
Caprock Canyons State Park is located 100 miles southeast of Amarillo in Briscoe County. It consists of 15,313.6 acres, including a 64.25 mile hike, bike and equestrian trailway, and is home of the official Texas State Bison Herd. The park offers day-use and camping facilities, hiking, an overnight cabin, horseback riding, mountain biking, boating on a no-wake lake, fishing, lake swimming, a scenic drive, guided tours, and seasonal concessions offering mountain bike rentals. The park is 3.5 miles north of State Highway 86 in Quitaque on FM 1065.
Watch video of Caprock Canyons State Park
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Historic Fort Massac to Host Centennial Celebration
November 3, 2008
Event to Commemorate 100th Anniversary of Dedication as Illinois’ First State Park
METROPOLIS, IL – The 100th anniversary of the dedication of Fort Massac State Park as Illinois’ first state park will be commemorated with a centennial celebration at the park on Saturday, November 1. The park was formally dedicated as Illinois’ first state park on November 5, 1908.
“The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is pleased to host this celebration, and we thank the Friends of Fort Massac, the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution, local and regional members of the DAR, the City of Metropolis, and our site staff for planning a wonderful event,” said IDNR Acting Director Sam Flood. “Millions of visitors during the past 100 years have made Fort Massac a destination to learn about and experience a sample of what life was like on the banks of the Ohio River in days gone by.”
The November 1 celebration will include a parade beginning at the park entrance at 10 a.m., followed by a ceremony at 11 a.m. The ceremony will include a rededication of the George Rogers Clark statue overlooking the Ohio River at the park. Colonel Clark led his “Long Knives” regiment from Kentucky in 1778 to help capture the Illinois Territory for the American cause during the Revolutionary War.
A monument honoring George Rogers Clark was dedicated at Fort Massac in 1908, while the statue of Clark was erected there in 1932. Both were made possible through the support of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The Clark statue has been restored – again thanks to the support of the DAR.
Fort Massac State Park serves as the venue for “living history” programs throughout the year. Its most popular event is the annual Fort Massac Encampment – a weekend festival each October that highlights the area’s Colonial and early American past.
The reconstruction of historic Fort Massac, completed in 2003, resulted in a fort that is historically accurate to construction of the American fort in 1802. A new visitor center was also constructed at the park, and the exhibit gallery at the visitor center was dedicated last March.
The park also features a hiking trail, fishing and boat access on the Ohio River, a campground, picnic areas, and hunting programs.
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2008 Best of Wisconsin State Parks Awards Announced
October 28, 2008
MADISON — Every year, visitors to Wisconsin State Parks and Trails are asked to vote for their favorite park or trail in 10 categories. The votes have been tabulated and the 2008 Gold Seal and Hero Awards have been announced.
The awards will be presented at the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks (FWSP) annual meeting and banquet ceremony on Friday, Nov. 7, 2008, at the House on the Rock Resort in Spring Green.
The winners of the 2008 Gold Seal Awards are:
- Best Water Feature: TIE: Amnicon Falls State Park and Pattison State Park
- Best Mountain Bike Trails: Blue Mound State Park
- Best Interpretive Display: Heritage Hill State Historical Park
- Best Prairie Restoration: Mirror Lake State Park
- Best View of a Sunset: TIE: Big Foot Beach State Park and Heritage Hill State Historical Park
- Best Swimming Beach: TIE: Kohler-Andrae State Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park
- Best Fishing Area: TIE: Governor Dodge State Park and Mirror Lake State Park
- Best Area for Pet Lovers: TIE: Governor Dodge State Park and Mirror Lake State Park and Whitefish Dunes State Park
- Best Group Campsite: Governor Dodge State Park
- Best Birding Trail: Wyalusing State Park
The Gold Seal results were acquired throughout the 2008 summer season using an online survey that was available on the Friends of Wisconsin State Parks Web site at [www.fwsp.org] (exit DNR). The Web site provides current news and information about the Friends groups at most State Parks, along with monthly events and ways to get involved at these sites.
Nominations were also taken for the Hero Awards during the 2008 summer season and the final winners were chosen by the Board of Directors for FWSP.
The winners of the 2008 Hero Awards are:
- Outstanding DNR Land Manager: Paul Zajackowski, Superintendent of Mirror Lake State Park
- Successful Friends Group of the Year: Kettle Moraine Natural History Association
- Friends Hero of the Year: Bryan Casper, Friends of Kohler-Andrae State Park
“These individuals and groups demonstrate terrific leadership and dedication to the State Park system,” says Dan Schuller, director of the Wisconsin State Parks Program. “Their energy and commitment inspires others to get involved and improve Wisconsin’s State Parks and Trails.”
The awards event is free, but contributions are welcome. All FWSP members, Friends group members, State Park and Trail visitors, and Park System staff are invited. People interested in attending are asked to register in advance by contacting Luthien Niland at (608) 264-8994 or luthien [dot] niland [at] wisconsin [dot] gov. More information can be found at [www.fwsp.org/calendar] (exit DNR).
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Luthien Niland at (608) 264-8994
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Kansas State Parks Offer Off Season Bargains
October 21, 2008
Cabins, reduced prices, uncrowded conditions make parks attractive in fall and winter
PRATT — Summer is over, but for many outdoorsmen and women, that doesn’t mean the end of Kansas state park visitation. Many hunters and anglers — and even campers looking for a cool-season adventure — take advantage of the “off-season” in Kansas state parks. Lower prices during the off-season — Oct. 1-March 31 — make trips even more attractive.
Hunters and anglers probably use parks more than other visitors, and the growing number of cabins in parks makes stays more inviting. Cabins provide all the amenities of home and proximity to popular outdoor activities. Cabin rental fees vary depending on size, days of the week, and time of year.
Standard off-season state park permit fees are as follow:
- Daily Vehicle permit — $3.70 (senior/disabled, $2.60);
- Annual Vehicle permit — $19.70 (senior/disabled, $11.10);
- additional Annual Vehicle permit — $12.20 (senior/disabled, $7.35):
- Daily Camping permit — $7.50; and
- 14-Day Camping permit — $87.50.
Costs listed include applicable service fees, except online purchase convenience fee. Annual permits purchased in either the off-season or the prime season are valid for the remainder of the calendar year. 2009 permits go on sale Dec. 15.
The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks’ (KDWP) Parks Division operates a system of 25 parks and the Prairie Spirit Rail-Trail. In addition to cabins, most state parks provide utilities and primitive camping and are located adjacent to lakes or reservoirs. Utility fees remain unchanged although some camping fees are cheaper if purchased in the off-season.
In addition to camping facilities, parks offer boat ramps, courtesy docks, shelter houses, trails, and a variety of other amenities. Parks also host numerous special events, such as concerts and festivals, throughout the year.
More information on state park fees is available at the KDWP website, www.kdwp.state.ks.us.
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ODNR Presents Check to City of Alliance For Parks
October 21, 2008
$250,000 to be used for various parks improvements
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) today presented a check in the amount of $250,000 to the City of Alliance and its Department of Parks, Recreation and Public Lands for various park improvements. The check presentation took place at Silver Park in the Miller Pavilion with attendees including Mayor Toni Middleton from Alliance, Director Sean Logan from ODNR, State Senator John Boccieri, State Representative Mark Okey and State Representative John Hagan.
“Parks do not only facilitate social interaction,” said Director Logan, “but also help preserve public lands and preserve critical wildlife habitat. Parks and recreation truly provide the opportunity for residents to be physically active while also providing true economic benefits to the local community.”
The $250,000 grant awarded to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Public Lands came from ODNR’s portion of House Bill 562, the Capital Budget bill, designated for local park projects. The funds will be used to make capital improvements to Alliance Park.
The City of Alliance Department of Parks, Recreation and Public Lands currently maintains 220 acres consisting of 24 parks and parklands.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR web site at ohiodnr.gov for more information.
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Volunteers Needed for Stewardship Workdays in Southern Michigan
October 21, 2008
The Department of Natural Resources announced today the schedule of volunteer stewardship workdays to be held in November throughout southeastern