Celebrate Catalina State Park’s 30th Anniversary

Rainshadow Images by Audrey Kanekoa-Madrid | Catalina State Park

This Saturday, Catalina State Park in Tucson will celebrate its 30th anniversary with a fun-filled day of hiking, activities, animal displays, food and more.

Though the official ceremony will take place at 11 a.m., there will be guided hikes starting at 7 a.m., and beginning at 9 a.m., there will be interpretive programs, live animal displays, informational booths from partners and friends, activities for children, food trucks, vendor booths and a raffle. There will also be a “star night” party, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., where visitors can explore the night sky through astronomers’ telescopes.

Here’s more information about Catalina State Park and the role it plays in the lives of Arizonans:

• The park attracts between 170,000 and 200,000 visitors each year from all over the world.
• The Park plays an important role in the communities of northern Tucson, Oro Valley and Catalina.
• Many people who live and work in these areas visit it regularly with their families to hike, camp, picnic, ride bikes and horses and walk their dogs.
• Many local groups and associations — such as the Tucson Audubon Society, local schools such as Basis Schools, Citizens for Solar, and the Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection — organize events at Catalina State Park.
• Catalina State Park has a significant economic impact on Pima County. People who visit and camp at the park patronize many local businesses and visit other sites in the area. A 2009 report by Northern Arizona University estimated that the park created 262 jobs in Pima County.

Catalina State Park’s regular entrance fee of $7 per vehicle will be waived for this event. Primitive to full-hookup camping sites are available at a fee of $15 to $25, depending on the type of camping site needed. Catalina State Park is located on State Route 77 (Oracle Road) at mile marker 81, just 9 miles north of Tucson and 6 miles north of Ina Road.

Celebrate Earth Day at the Grand Canyon

Kathleen Reeder | Grand Canyon

 

Earth Day is right around the corner (April 22 is the big day), and if you don’t already have plans to celebrate Mother Earth, why not visit the Grand Canyon? Starting April 19, Grand Canyon National Park is kicking off National Park Week with Earth-friendly activities over the weekend and waived entrance fees all week long.

Check it out:

Grand Canyon National Park will kick off National Park Week with a weekend of Earth Day activities and then will join national park units around the country in waiving entrance fees on April 22 – 26, 2013.

The festivities will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, April 19, with a free screening of the film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time in the Grand Canyon Visitor Center theater.  On Saturday, April 20, at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of the Ages, Grand Canyon’s Green Team will host environmental author Mary Ellen Hannibal, who will explore the critical nature of wildlife corridors and review the history of America’s native wildlife habitats, which include natural habitats found within national parks, and share what scientists are doing to combat the gradual loss of these important lands along the spine of the continent.  On Sunday, April 21, an open-house style Earth Day celebration will be held at the Grand Canyon Visitor Center plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and will include educational activities, demonstrations and games, samples, and information on local and national environmental initiatives.  The day will conclude with a walk and trash pick-up along the rim at 2:30 p.m., volunteers are welcome.  All of the weekend’s activities are family friendly and free of charge.

The fee-free celebration of National Park Week begins the next day.  Visitors who arrive at the Grand Canyon April 22 – 26 will be allowed to enter the park free of charge.  Those who plan to spend time in the park beyond April 26 will need to pay the regular entrance fee for the remainder of their stay.

“This year’s National Park Week theme, ‘Did you know…’, provides a fun way to discover the wonders of America’s national parks,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis.

According to Grand Canyon National Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, “Oh, there are some wonderful ‘Did you knows…’ at Grand Canyon!  For instance, did you know the oldest rocks at Grand Canyon are estimated to be about 1.8 billion years old?  Did you know Grand Canyon was once a designated forest reserve, and then a game preserve?  Did you know that the oldest human artifact found at Grand Canyon is about 12,000 years old?  The staff here at Grand Canyon National Park encourage everyone to take advantage of National Park Week to visit one of their national parks free of charge and see what ‘Did you knows…’ they can discover.”

Park visitors are reminded that the fee-free designation applies to entrance fees only and does not affect fees for camping, reservations, tours or use of concessions.  Park entrance stations will have Interagency Senior and Annual Passes available for those who wish to purchase them.

To learn more about Grand Canyon’s Earth Day celebrations, please contact Green Team member Marty Martell at 928-638-7834.  For more on National Park Week, please visit www.nps.gov/npweek or www.nationalparkweek.org. And to learn about the year’s remaining national park fee-free days, please visit: www.nps.gov/findapar/feefreeparks.htm.

Celebrate National Trails Day at Mt. Lemmon This Saturday (RSVP Today!)

Photo by Harrison J. Elkins

The Coronado National Forest, Santa Catalina Ranger District, will host trail building activities on Mt. Lemmon June 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in celebration of National Trails Day.

El Grupo, Parks in Focus, REI and the Southwest Conservation Corps will perform trail maintenance on the Green Mountain Trail. They will meet at the Middle Bear Picnic Area for registration and for lunch.

Work will take place on the Upper Green Mountain Trail (located just before San Pedro Vista) and the Lower Green Mountain Trail (located at Middle Bear Picnic Area). Volunteers will focus on eradication of social trails, minor trash removal, and light trimming of vegetation. Youth participants with Parks in Focus will document volunteer efforts and trail conditions “before and after” the work was completed.

Please RSVP to Heidi Schewel at (520) 388-8484 or hschewel@fs.fed.us if you are interested in attending by close of business Thursday, May 31.

 

Apache-Sitgreaves opens Escudilla Wilderness and other areas for Memorial Day Weekend!

Photo by Kelly Kramer

Don’t have plans this Memorial Day weekend? Well, we’re pleased to report that Escudilla Wilderness and other areas in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest will be open this weekend.

The Escudilla Wilderness Area Emergency Closure Order is being lifted on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (ASNF) after nearly a year since last May’s historic Wallow fire. “The resilience of the Escudilla Wilderness is truly remarkable! Escudilla is no stranger to fire, as it was nearly 61 years ago when fire swept across its landscape. But, as you will see, meadows are green, aspen groves are springing up, and some areas have mixed conifer. We are asking the public not to loose sight that there are still a lot of hazardous conditions when entering any forested area, burned or not,” ASNF Forest Supervisor Jim Zornes stated.

Many areas of the Apache National Forest at a glance will look pretty similar, but the Forest wants to remind campers, hikers and all visitors to Look Up, Look Down, and Look All Around. What to look for? Look for stump holes, unstable trees and if there is a chance for rain, the possibility of flash flooding may occur. When strong winds occur, which is typical of the White Mountain area; hikers and campers may want to stay out of burned areas just as a precautionary measure. “We aren’t telling people that they that can’t go into the burned areas, we are just encouraging people if there’s another place to hike or camp they may want to do so,” according to Eric Flood, Alpine Ranger District recreation staff officer.

NOTICE: Low clearance vehicles and those pulling trailers are being advised not to use FR276 through the East Fork Recreation Area that will be open, because of the number of deep drainage ditches and salvage logging occurring on the north end of the road between FR249 and FR37. Visitors should access the East Fork area via US191, and take FR26 west, and then FR24 north, or follow FR 24 south from the Big Lake area.

Routes to (re)open: NFSR #81 (Auger Canyon Rd.) and NFSR #276 along the East Fork of the Black River.

Recreation Sites to (re)open: Aspen Camp Ground (CG), Deer Cr. CG, Buffalo Crossing, Diamond Rock CG, Horse Springs CG, and Raccoon CG, Rainbow CG, and South Fork Day Use Area (the area was a campground, but is now closed to all overnight camping).

Areas that will remain CLOSED to Dispersed Camping Until Further Notice: Auger Creek Closure Area, Fish Creek Closure Area, Middle Mountain Closure Area, Milligan Valley Closure Area, Prime Canyon Closure Area, and West Fork Closure Area.

Recreation Sites that will remain CLOSED Until Further Notice: West Fork Dispersed CG

Grand Canyon Hosts 5th Annual Archeology Day

Courtesy of Grand Canyon National Park

This Saturday, Grand Canyon National Park will host its 5th annual Archeology Day in honor of Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month.

Arizona Archaeology and Heritage Awareness Month is intended to inform the public about archeology in the state of Arizona. In Grand Canyon National Park alone, over 4300 archeological sites have been recorded to date, and archeologists estimate that the park may have as many as 50,000-to-60,000 sites. Some of the artifacts found in the park date back almost 12,000 years, testimony to the vast extent of the human history of the area. That history lives on as the descendents of those ancient peoples continue to utilize the area today.

The event will feature opportunities for visitors to try their hands at making clay pinch pots and split-twig figurines; creating rock art using scratch art paper; coloring Hopi pot designs; sifting for artifacts; and planting corn, beans and squash seeds- traditional foods of the park’s native peoples. Additionally, there will be special programs by park archeologist Jason Nez and NAU anthropology professor Chris Downum.

All activities are free and family friendly and will take place between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. at the Shrine of the Ages which can be easily accessed via the park’s free Village Route shuttle.

Archeology Day will conclude with a very special evening program by Shonto Begay, artist, author, educator and Grand Canyon Master Artist-in-Residence. Begay will discuss how his Navajo heritage and the rich culture of the Navajo reservation have influenced his contemporary paintings, as well as his environmental and social justice activism. Begay’s program will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Shrine of Ages Auditorium located on the South Rim near Parking Lot A.

For more information on Archeology Day and on special park programs happening throughout Archeology and Heritage Awareness Month, please visit the park’s web site or call Supervisory Park Ranger Libby Schaaf at 928-638-7641.

A Good Cause: Sharing the Grand Canyon with Schoolchildren

Photo by Michael Pancier

Virtual Field Trips for Kids is a ranger-based program that will stream live over the Internet from historic Kolb Studio reaching as many as 10,000 students annually. At one point, the program hit a serious roadblock due to lack of funds, but thanks to your generous donations and the matching donations made by members of the Grand Canyon Association board of directors, this special program will live on — stronger and better than ever.

To date, $30,000 has been collected and the donations continue to pour in, so a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated.

Using the beauty of the Grand Canyon as a backdrop, Virtual Field Trips for Kids features uniformed park rangers encouraging children to explore their local parks, connect to the outdoors and learn about the environmental issues facing not only the Grand Canyon but the planet as a whole. Through the program, children learn the importance of caring, preserving and protecting the natural world.

New equipment will connect with students through streaming video, green-screen technology and shots of Grand Canyon. Kids will be able to talk live with a park ranger and see what the Canyon looks like at that very moment!