Here's a good deal: The National Park Foundation will give you a free "Owner's Guide" to the National Park System to help you enjoy the parks.
The colorful guide, which breaks down the park system into regions, is available on-line in a PDF format. It offers a great reference guide to the nation’s 391 national parks complete with maps, insider hints, and great photos of America’s National Parks. The guide is available for download from the foundation's website.
“We expect more and more people in the national parks this summer as Americans look for economically and environmentally friendly ways to spend their vacations,” said Jamie Patten, the foundation's senior vice president. “Every citizen is a part owner of the National Park System, and this guide has everything you need to get started planning your trip in one place, available for free and online. Getting outside and into the parks has never been easier.”
The guide includes practical content for everyone from the novice park visitor to avid outdoors people including:
* A complete directory detailing camping accessibility, fees and junior ranger programs
* Contact information for every single park, including website and phone numbers
* ‘What Not To Miss’ points for every single National Park in the country
* Full color photos and maps
Now, to be able to download the guide you do have to register with the NPF, but what's wrong with that? While doing so you can sign up for regular email newsletters from the foundation to help you stay atop what's going on in the National Park System.
For those who don't know, the National Park Foundation is an independent charitable organization chartered by Congress in 1967 to strengthen the connection between the American people and their national parks. As the official national non-profit partner of America’s National Parks, the Foundation raises private funds, makes strategic grants, creates innovative partnerships and increases public awareness about the need and opportunity for park philanthropy. In its 2008 fiscal year, the National Park Foundation distributed grants and program support of $27.3M.
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Comments
This is excellent!
LOL. Trying to cut down on the traffic for your own trips?
Well, I would agree that more people should consider taking PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION to our national parks!
But to "just leave the parks alone and let them heal the scars that humanity has wrought across their sacred faces" would deprive human beings of the beauty of life on earth. Not to be overly religious about it, but, I would think that would not be God's intention.
Less people, yes. How we can accomplish that democratically, I would not know. The recession is certainly helping!
More stringent rules on where people can go and what they do there, certainly. Harsher punishment for violators, certainly.
I would like our National Parks to recover and remain in pristine condition, too. I just don't think quarantining them is the answer.
C'mon, Beamis, you know the Beatles were bigger than Jesus.
Thanks for sharing this information, Kurt.
This looks like a useful guide, the price is sure right, and the fact that it's available for download saves a lot of paper vs. a printed guide.
Is it possible to buy it? I don't have a color printer
I wish that we would make the people on unemployment give 20 hours a week while they are looking for work to work in our parks !!!!!! We are paying them make them at least do something while they are out of work and it will help preserve our parks
Richard Locke: It's been at least a decade or more, but the last time I collected unemployment I thought was being paid from the funds I've had deducted from my wages over the now 50+ years I worked [plus, I believe, matched funds by my employers]. Realizing that has stilled any critical comments by me.