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Newsrelease NPS Director Jarvis Outlines Agency Challenges

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 15:17:04 -0400

National Park Service Director Outlines Agency Challenges – and Solutions

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) welcomed Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service, as its special guest speaker at the Great Outdoors Week Recreation Exchange. The Exchange was hosted jointly by ARC and the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. Director Jarvis’s remarks covered a number of key topics, including: the challenges currently facing the National Park Service; the agency’s upcoming Centennial in 2016; and new agency initiatives.

National Park Service Director Outlines Agency Challenges – and Solutions

Mon, 10 Jun 2013 12:12:22 -0400

National Park Service Director Outlines Agency Challenges – and Solutions

This report is available as a .pdf here.

June 7, 2013 (Washington, D.C.) – The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) welcomed Jon Jarvis, Director of the National Park Service, as its special guest speaker at the Great Outdoors Week Recreation Exchange on June 4, 2013. The Exchange was hosted jointly by ARC and the Recreation Vehicle Industry Association. Director Jarvis’s remarks covered a number of key topics, including: the challenges currently facing the National Park Service; the agency’s upcoming Centennial in 2016; and new agency initiatives.

News Release Senator Lamar Alexander Receives 2013 Coleman Award

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:06:30 -0400

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander Receives 2013 Sheldon Coleman Great Outdoors Award

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander will receive the 2013 Sheldon Coleman Great Outdoors Award, the recreation community's most prestigious award, at a special Great Outdoors Week celebration on June 5. The award was created in 1989 to honor the life-long efforts of Sheldon Coleman, whose engineering, marketing and advocacy talents made coolers, lanterns and tents bearing his name ubiquitous on America's public lands. The Senator chaired the President's Commission on Americans Outdoors (PCAO) on which Mr. Coleman served, making this year's honor especially noteworthy.

News Release Legends Awards 2013

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:05:57 -0400

ARC Recognizes 2013 Legends Award Winners

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) will present its 2013 Legends Awards to six federal managers in recognition of their outstanding work to improve outdoor recreation experiences and opportunities for the American people. The awards will be presented on June 4, 2013, during Great Outdoors Week – ARC’s celebration of the value and importance of outdoor recreation. Initiated by ARC in 1991, the Legends Award program calls on federal agencies to nominate an individual whose extraordinary personal efforts have made a real difference in enhancing outdoor recreation programs and resources. The 2013 Legends Award recipients represent the Bureau of Land Management, Federal Highway Administration, National Park Service, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Forest Service, agencies together hosting more than a billion recreation visits annually. Winners of the 2013 Legends Awards are: Tony Brady, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Marcia Butorac, Bureau of Land Management; Rachel Garren, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Stan Hinatsu, U.S. Forest Service; David LaRoche, Federal Highway Administration; and Jerry Willis, National Park Service.

News Release Beacon Awards 2013

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:19:53 -0400

2013 Beacon Award Winners Demonstrate Use of Technology to Enhance Recreation at Federal Sites

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) has selected six federal programs and efforts as recipients of the 2013 Beacon Awards, which recognize outstanding efforts by federal agencies and partners in harnessing the power of technology to improve public recreation experiences and federal recreation program management. Beacon Awards were first presented by the American Recreation Coalition in 2005. Nominations are made by federal agencies and are judged against the award criteria – which are:

News Release: GOW and GOM 2013

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 10:07:27 -0400

Great Outdoors Week and Great Outdoors Month 2013 Showcase Economic, Health Benefits of the Great Outdoors

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – Excitement is growing across the nation about plans for Great Outdoors Week and Great Outdoors Month 2013. Great Outdoors Month celebrates a variety of important events and actions that occur during June, and highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors and our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges and other public lands and waters. Great Outdoors Week (June 1-8) showcases efforts enhancing outdoor recreation for all Americans in the 21st century through awards, briefings and other events in the Nation’s Capital.

May 2013 Newsletter

Wed, 22 May 2013 11:48:07 -0400

MAY 2013 NEWSLETTER

This newsletter is available in PDF format here.

In this issue:

• Great Outdoors Month Nears
• National Park Service Centennial Preparations
• FLREA
• Exciting Opportunity for Forest Service Recreation Program
• Trail Partners Work Hard to Overcome MAP-21 Challenges

ARC Criticizes Yosemite Management Proposals

Wed, 01 May 2013 13:36:59 -0400

ARC Criticizes Yosemite Management Proposals

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) submitted comments criticizing all the management alternatives presented in Yosemite National Park’s Merced Wild and Scenic River Draft Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. In a letter sent to Superintendent Don Neubacher on April 30, 2013, ARC President Derrick Crandall stated, “We strongly object to reductions in visitor experience opportunities in Yosemite, an outcome under each of the offered alternatives in the proposed plan. We believe that the NPS has failed to meet the requirement of the National Environmental Policy Act by failing to offer any alternative that would add to the opportunities for quality visitor experiences in the park.”

Great Outdoors Month 2013 Activities

Tue, 04 Jun 2013 09:12:26 -0400

Great Outdoors Month is an excellent time to, well, get outdoors! Below is a list of the national events encouraging people to hike, fish, boat, camp, and get outdoors! Click on the day to be linked to the website.
National Trails Day, American Hiking Society: June 1
National Fishing and Boating Week, Take Me Fishing: June 1 - 9
National Get Outdoors Day, ARC & USDA Forest Service: June 8

April 2013 Newsletter

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 09:27:24 -0400

APRIL 2013 NEWSLETTER

This newsletter is available in PDF format here.

In this issue:

• America’s New U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell
• Great Outdoors Month 2013
• National and Local Groups Champion Recreational Trails Program
• Federal Fees Update
• Bipartisan Policy Center Holds Bridgebuilder Session on Funding National Parks
• USFS Selects New Recreation Chief

Great Outdoors Month 2013 Proclamations

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 09:17:58 -0400

June is a special time to celebrate America’s Great Outdoors. National leaders for years have issued proclamations recognizing this month as Great Outdoors Month, a time when America celebrates its natural treasures. This recognition highlights the benefits of active fun outdoors in our magnificent shared resources of forests, parks, refuges, and other public lands and waters. Proclamations generate widespread media attention, encouraging millions of American families to move outside, and prompting public discussion of important issues linked to outdoor recreation, including volunteerism, health, and outdoor ethics.

Partners Outdoors 2013 Wrap Up

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 16:48:28 -0500

Partners Outdoors 2013 Identifies Route to Healthy Recreation in the Great Outdoors

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – An annual gathering of leading recreation innovators from the public and private sectors concluded three days of brainstorming and sharing with a report on findings, actions and recommendations to the members of the Federal Interagency Council on Outdoor Recreation (FICOR). Partners Outdoors 2013 was held at the National Conservation Training Center in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Discussions were especially intense as the group sought ways to add quality and quantity to recreation opportunities on federally managed lands and waters even as the agencies and organizations involved were engaged in planning contingencies for sequestration and years of federal agency budget uncertainty.

Jan/Feb 2013 Newsletter

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:16:27 -0400

JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2013 NEWSLETTER

This newsletter is available in PDF format here.

In this issue:

• Sally Jewell Named as Interior Secretary Choice
• NPS Gears Up For Cuts
• Bridgebuilder Event on Park Funding
• Efforts to Enhance Cell and Wifi Service in Parks Underway
• ARC Moving Office to 1200 G Street, NW
• Partners Outdoors Update
• Great Outdoors Month Activities

December 2012 Newsletter

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:03:39 -0500

DECEMBER 2012 NEWSLETTER

This newsletter is available in PDF format here.

In this issue:

• December Recreation Exchange Looks at the Politics of Recreation
• Healthcare Webinar
• Partners Outdoors 2013
• Penny for the Outdoors
• Forest Service Recreation Initiative

GO Day 2013

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 11:11:01 -0500

National Get Outdoors Day 2013 Set for June 8

This news release is available as a .pdf here.

Washington, D.C. – National Get Outdoors Day (GO Day) 2013 will be celebrated on Saturday, June 8. This will be the sixth year of a partnership effort by hundreds of government agencies, recreation and healthcare businesses and nonprofit organizations to introduce America’s youth to the healthy fun of America’s Great Outdoors. Events will be held at 200+ sites in urban centers, state and local parks and other places and the USDA Forest Service will waive many recreation fees on GO Day in national forests covering 192 million acres of the nation.