Commuter Rail vs Hiking Path

 A current debate in Queens NY is reported in today's New York Times.  On one end are the proponents of the QueensWay Project.  They propose:

"Connections + Neighborhoods

The QueensWay is a connector. At its heart is Forest Park. To its south lies Gateway National Park and the Jamaica Bay Gateway Greenway, and to its north is Flushing Meadows-Corona Park." And:

"The QueensWay is a community-led effort to transform a blighted, 3.5 mile stretch of abandoned railway in Central Queens into a family-friendly linear park and cultural greenway."

Sounds pretty good eh?

But the other idea is to restore mass transit for residents and businesses.

Known as the QueensLink, where these advocates hope to 

"The QueensLink is 3.5 mile long transit and park corridor which would connect northern and southern Queens."  This group emphasizes the need for mass transit, but also recognize the need for park space.

NYT story here (behind paywall for non-subscribers).

Which one do you like?

Trust for Public Land ParkScore

How accessible to parks is your community?  Sure, many towns have parks but frequently these are away from the people.  Further for some there is no access by public transit.  

My town has a lousy score of

Westfield, MA

9% of Westfield residents live

within a 10-minute walk of a park

National average is 55%

Caveat, these data may not include smaller parks in the neighborhoods.

Disney part 2, more layoffs for the Holidays

 Two months ago, I reported an article from the New York Times where 28,000 people were getting laid off from Disney.

Well in my local paper, it is reported that "Disney to lay off 32,000." Yet another 4,000 layoffs the day before Thanksgiving.  See this article from Fox.

Talk about a bummer.

The info graphic for Orange County (Orlando is found here) from Johns Hopkins University Covid Mapping site shows this:

To throw gas on the fire, Florida voted for the losing candidate in the presidential election.  In all fairness, the counties around Orlando voted for the winner.

Had the citizens listened to the science, maybe this could have been averted.

So what can we learn from this?  Wear a mask and save your jobs!

National Public Lands Day is September 26

 Public lands are a national treasure.  We need them and we need to support the idea.

 

 Get out and take a walk today.

 

 

LiDAR for Parks and Protected Areas

 

Applying LiDAR for Parks and Protected Area Management 

Robert S. Bristow, Anna Therien, Timothy LeDoux 

 Abstract: Many parks and protected areas around the globe lack basic resource inventories needed for the creation of effective sustainable management plans. Despite the absence of comprehensive resource inventories, outdoor recreation planners still have to address existing problems and threatened resources on protected lands as best as they can. The challenge for parks and protected areas managers is to establish this priority, given the lack of much-needed resources and data. To address this gap, remote sensing technologies such as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) can be used by recreation managers to create cost-effective resource inventories for large areas of land in national and local parks. This research note demonstrates how the use of LIDAR technology and historical archives can be used to create a resource inventory of a variety of historic features in the Bear Hole Watershed of West Springfield, Massachusetts, an area that encompasses over 1,293 acres of protected park lands. 

Cascading Falls in Bear Hole Watershed 

 https://js.sagamorepub.com/jpra/article/view/10481 

 

Post Covid-19 Outdoor Recreation Openings in Massachusetts

For outdoor recreation, see this link.

Farley Ledges, Massachusetts.

Stay safe.

The vital statistics of America’s state park systems

See report here : https://extension.usu.edu/iort/ou-files/2019_outlook_and_analysis_report_rfs.pdf

American Hiking Society Tips for Covid-19

I like AHS's suggestion since many sites are closing parks to the visitor (like our local Stanley Park).  So here are the tips:

Lean on the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) for the most reliable, science-based, and up-to-date information about COVID-19. They update their webpages frequently.

Check The Trek for park closures that may affect trails.

For cancelations of events and closures that are related to the National Trail System, see the Partnership for the National Trail System website.

Try to get outside for at least 20 minutes every day, even if it’s just for a couple of laps around the block or playing with your kids. 

If you do decide to travel to a trail for a hike or go to your local park, please practice social distancing, vigilant handwashing, and avoiding touching your face. 

I like the last two most!

For more info, visit AHS.

Oh yeah, in Massachusetts, state parks are open although visitor centers are not.

Story Maps and parks

Story Maps is a great way to link a narrative with a map.  Check out this one for parks and protected areas in America.

National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day: Connecting to Nature through Service
Saturday, September 28, 2019

for more info

Historical Ruins in State Parks

Nothing new here.  Parks and recreation always gets the short end of the stick when if comes to funding.

So now we may start a new line of research, that is studying neo-historical ruins in our parks.  Check out some ruins in Robinson State Park in Massachusetts.

Want to rent this pavilion?

Or use this washroom?

How about a drink of water?

Shame, huh?

Valley of Fire State Park

some shots in the beautiful park about an hour north east of Las Vegas (by car that is).

Red Rock Canyon

Here are some shots in the BLM property in Nevada.

BLM is the largest public land management agency in the US!

State Economic Impact from Parks

How important are parks?  Well darn important IMHO.

http://www.nrpa.org/parkeconreport-state-charts/ to fine out how important parks for your state!

Giant City State Park resident.

For the full report, click here.