Trailblazer

Hi friends,

By the close of 2016 our tally of projects to benefit people in parks was: six completed, six in progress and six under development.  On December 5th, Doug McConnell received the Fund's first annual Trailblazer Award for his untiring work to shine light on western parks and the organizations that work to build and sustain them. Trailblazer is also the name we've chosen for our newsletter.   Happy Trails!   Bob Hansen  (415) 730 0946                                            

A New Sail Keeps A Chinese Junk Sailing
The Grace Quan is a replica of a 19th century San Francisco Bay Chinese shrimp fishing junk built by a team of Park Service rangers and volunteers. It sails between China Camp State Park in Marin County and San Francisco Maritime Museum. But to keep plying the bay, the boat needs a new sail.  The Fund for People in Parks is making that possible with a grant to San Francisco Maritime National Park Association.

Frank Quan, one of the team of boat building volunteers, (pictured above) named the boat after his mother. His family was among the founders of the shrimp fishing village.  T he Grace Quan is a living history lesson. It closely resembles boats from the fishermen's home waters in Guangdong Province, China. Visitors at San Francisco Maritime National  Park and China Camp State Park continue to learn about the history of the Bay Area's Chinese–owned dried shrimp industry.
OMG Fact #3
From Dante's View, a mile high above the heart of Death Valley National Park, visitors look 15 miles to the west and see the summit of Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range (11,050ft).  North and south, scans 60 miles of the Valley Floor, a vista that was included in the first Star Wars film -- the landscape of the planet Tatooine.  Everything in all directions is within the boundaries of the park, but you are looking at only 20% of the entire park.  It's HUGE!!!
Featured Park: Point Reyes National Seashore
“To have special reserves of land where nature can flourish is perhaps as close as we can get to Eden” writes Kathleen Goodwin in Point Reyes Visions. Point Reyes National Seashore, created in 1962, preserves an extraordinarily long stretch of California coast land.

Encompassing 71,00 acres, Point Reyes is a peninsula, separated from the “mainland” by Tomales Bay where the San Andreas fault lies directly beneath the long, narrow bay. Near the Bear Valley Visitor Center, a dramatic result of the 1906 quake can be seen on the Earthquake Trail.

Visitors enjoy spectacular beaches and headlands, trails along old ranch roads and ancient pathways, Tule elk (a herd was reintroduced in 1978), b reeding elephant seals, migrating gray whales, and a wide array of birds and mammals. 

Point Reyes is unique as a park unit in that it is a working landscape with dairy farms and cattle ranches.

The Estero Trail, recently repaired with support from the Point Reyes Association, traverses open rangeland thick with wild purple irises in spring, crosses a tidal inlet, and leads to Sunset Beach. 

The Fund for People in Parks will be enhancing this trail with interpretive signage through a grant made to the Point Reyes Association.
Fun Facts for People in Parks

In July 1963 a group of Boy Scouts backpacked 35 nene into Haleakala Crater in Haleakalā National Park. The Boy Scouts were collaborating with park rangers as part of a successful effort to reintroduce the state bird of Hawaii, the nene, also known as the Hawaiian goose.

Inside Santa Monica National Recreation Area there are 13 California state parks. The interagency visitor center, opened in 2012, puts all the park partners in one building in a central location. Touch screens with bilingual trip planners help visitors plan their outdoor experience no matter who manages the land it's on.

This year Open Road with Doug McConnell is in its third season. Shows will include the  Fund for People in Parks, along with Coyote Ridge and Bay Area wetland areas,  on Sunday, February 12th at 6:30pm.
Thank you for your support for The Fund for People in Parks! 

Our mission is to provide private funding and professional services to complete inspirational projects that enhance the visitor experience in western National Parks

The Fund for People in Parks is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.