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March 12, 2007
Gatlinburg, Tennessee Hosts First Listening Session on $3 Billion National Park Centennial Initiative
The first listening session on the National Park
Centennial Initiative will be in eastern Tennessee, in the
area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. NPS Photo
I received the following Media Advisory this morning. This should be of interest to all hikers and outdoor enthusiasts. If you can clear your schedule, attend these meetings, and let your voice be heard in support of our National Parks and our trails, that would be great! If you can't make one of these meetings in-person, you can submit written comments at the link below.
Additional listening sessions are planned throughout the country, including the following cites;
Anchorage, Alaska (March 14); St. Louis, Mo., and Boston, Mass. (March 15); San Antonio, Texas, New York City and Seattle, Wash. (March 20); Denver, Colo. and San Juan, Puerto Rico (March 21); San Francisco, Calif. and Miami, Fla. (March 22); Cleveland, Ohio (March 26); Albuquerque, N.M., Atlanta, Ga. (March 27); Washington, D.C. (March 28); and Los Angeles, Calif. (March 29). Venues and additional sessions will be announced at a future date. Please visit The Department of the Interior website for the most up to date information about these public meetings.
Here is the DOI Media Advisory:
WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, March 13, 2007, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne and National Park Service Director Mary Bomar will host a listening session in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to seek suggestions and ideas on President Bush’s $3 billion National Park Centennial Initiative.
The session, which will be at the Gatlinburg Convention Center from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., is the first in a series that will be held around the country in the next three weeks. The President’s proposal would provide significant new public and private investment during the next 10 years to reinvigorate and strengthen national parks by the National Park Service’s 100th birthday in 2016.
“These sessions are a great opportunity to think big and act boldly to develop a plan to prepare national parks for the future," Secretary Kempthorne said. From the discussions, Kempthorne and Bomar will identify signature projects and programs, set specific performance goals and report to the President by May 31. The public also may comment on the National Park Centennial Initiative from March 12 through March 31 online at the following site: www.nps.gov/2016.
WHO: Interior Secretary Kempthorne, NPS Director Mary Bomar and NPS
Southeast Regional Director Patricia Hooks
WHAT: Listening Session on National Park Centennial Initiative
WHEN: Tuesday, March 13, 2007; 6 to 8 p.m.
WHERE: Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Gatlinburg Convention Center, 303 Reagan
Drive, Gatlinburg, Tenn. 37738
Hiking in the News | By Jeffrey Hunter | 09:46 AM
