Defense of Place News Updates: February 2009 Archives

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February 24, 2009

Protect Jean Klock Park Awarded Fresh Water Future Grant

The environment in Berrien County Michigan recently received a boost when Protect JKP (Jean Klock Park) was awarded a grant from Freshwater Future. The $2,500 grant is to prevent private developers from placing three holes of a private golf course in Jean Klock Park , a park given to the public in 1917 by John & Carrie Klock in memory of their daughter.

Freshwater Future builds effective community-based citizen action to protect and preserve and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes basin. They work toward the goal by providing financial assistance, communications and networking assistance to citizens and grassroots watershed groups throughout the Great Lakes basin. Grassroots organizations and citizens initiatives in both the U. S. and Canada are eligible for funding in the two annual funding cycles.

“The selection process was especially difficult this fall as so many government agencies are underfunded and citizens are stepping up to fill those gaps,” said Jill Ryan, Executive Director of Freshwater Future. “An amazing array of projects to protect and restore rivers, lakes and wetlands were presented in 29 applications. Protect JKP was one of just 13 that received funding in this grant cycle,” said Ryan.

The mission of Protect JKP is to protect, preserve and help restore Jean Klock Park . The grant from Freshwater Future will help us accomplish this mission. “Beyond preserving the fragile ecosystem within our Great Lakes basin and retaining the integrity of historic nature of the park, this grant allows us to hold the federal, state and local agencies accountable for their decision to allow a private development in a protected, public park,” says Judy Jones.

Defense of Place supports Protect Jean Klock Park, acting as a fiscal sponsor for the organization and providing technical assistance, media support and fundraising assistance.

If you would like more information on this project, contact Protect JKP by telephone: (269)277-6932; email: info@protectjkp.com or write: PJKP, P. O. Box 632 , St. Joseph , MI 49085 or defense of place smeyer@defenseofplace.org, (970) 963-0629

Posted by dop_editor at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)

February 18, 2009

Stimulus Package Creates Green Jobs in Nation's Wildlife Refuges

The newly passed stimulus package - the "2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" includes $290 million for much needed projects in National Wildlife Refuges and Fish Hatcheries. This funding will go towards top priority projects in the National Wildlife Refuge System's $3.5 billion operations and maintenance backlog. In addition to providing much needed relief to refuges that have been struggling for years, the program will put thousands of Americans to work in Wildlife Refuges within 90 days of the bill's enactment. Funding is earmarked in the following way:
$165 million for Resource Management: for deferred maintenance, construction and capital improvements.
$110 million for Construction: for construction, reconstruction and repair of roads, bridges, property and facilities.
$10 Refuge Roads projects.

Posted by dop_editor at 04:59 PM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2009

Friends of Lake Texoma Appeal to OK Attorney General

In a letter dated January 15, 2009 to the OK Attorney General Drew Edmonson, the Friends of Lake Texoma implored the AG to step in to prevent the conversion of public lands around Lake Texoma:

The following are reasons why it is incumbent on you to enjoin the Tourism Department as well as Pointe Vista, from any further conversion of the park:

1) The State LWCF Manager Kris Marek was required by law to consult with the NPS-LWCF manager prior to any appraisal activity. She did not.

2) OTRD was required by law to seek NPS approval prior to any conversion or sale of any park lands contained within the 6(f)(3) boundary. They did not.

3) The CLO was required by law to seek NPS approval prior to closing the State Park Lodge and 70 park cabins in December 2006. They did not.

4) OTRD was required by law to seek NPS approval prior to their decision not to restore the flood damaged RV campgrounds last spring. They did not.

5) The CLO and OTRD were required by law to seek NPS approval and comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) prior to the sale of newly acquired park lands to Pointe Vista Development. They did not.

6) The Environmental Review Process for Area C, which has not begun, must analyze not only the Section 6(f) (3) area proposed for conversion, but also the development of the replacement parkland. The 2005 Environmental Assessment did not include an analysis of the replacement parkland for Areas A or B. Therefore the sales of Areas A and B should be invalidated and those parklands returned to State ownership.

7) The Corps of Engineers was misled by the CLO and OTRD to believe that their sale of Lake Texoma State Park lands was for the purpose of enhancing public recreational access. Instead, once transferred, it was sold to Pointe Vista Development (Aubrey McClendon, Mark Fischer and Chaparral Energy.)

For these reasons, the Friends of Lake Texoma State Park, representing Kingston area businesses and all Oklahoma park patrons and registered voters, hereby request that you inform the state Tourism and Recreation Department to cease all conversion activities, and submit their plan to the National Park Service.

Let it not be said that when the people came asking you to enforce the law, that you turned your back on the citizens of the state of Oklahoma and stood with those who are taking our park.

Posted by dop_editor at 09:00 PM | Comments (0)

February 11, 2009

Parks Blocked from Stimulus Funding

The stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate contains one major problem for parks. Sen. Coburn (R-Okla.) successfully inserted an amendment that restricts any funds from going to local parks. The exact language:
None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project.
The bill is now headed to conference committee, where it can again be altered to remove or edit this piece.
The following excerpt from the Trust For Public Land’s City Parks Blog looks at federal funding of city parks during the Great Depression.
The Works Progress Administration was the federal agency in the 1930s that employed more than eight million people around the country, with the purpose of putting them to work and creating jobs. Many of the projects undertaken by the WPA helped create, rehabilitate, or improve city parks, and newspapers around the country are mentioning those projects today as the country considers a large stimulus package. Here’s a sampling:
• The Dallas Morning News reports that the city’s parks benefited greatly from WPA projects, and that most parks were touched in one way or another. Workers built pavilions, picnic shelters, playgrounds, foot bridges, trails, comfort stations and recreational buildings.
• MinnPost reports the Minneapolis Park Board was a major recipient of WPA funds, and that the “labor-intensive improvements at park and parkway sites provided a good fit for the federal program, with its emphasis on small-scale construction projects that could be implemented quickly…….Seventy five years later, many of these improvements are still in place at sites such as Minnehaha Park, Theodore Wirth Park and Victory Memorial Drive.
• The Sioux City, Iowa Journal reports that the WPA undertook several projects in city parks, including park shelters in the city’s Stone Park, a bandshell in Grandview Park, improvements at four other parks and a swimming pool.
• Business First of Columbus, Ohio notes that residents still can see the lasting legacy of the WPA’s projects in the area, including a caretaker’s cottage and improvements to the city’s 24-acre Schiller Park.
In addition, other WPA projects include New Orleans’ botanical garden in City Park, the rehabilitation and improvement of many parks in New York City, the development of Lincoln, Nebraska’s Pioneers Park, programs and projects in Seattle’s parks, and many more projects that would require weeks of research to locate and tally.
Parks were one of the key areas where money could be allocated to create jobs and improve the public infrastructure of the country at the same time. That seems to meet the goals any stimulus package is meant to deliver today as well.
From the Trust for Public Land's City Parks Blog http://cityparksblog.org/2009/02/09/parks-and-stimulus/

Posted by dop_editor at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)




	« December 2008 \| Main \| March 2009 » February 24, 2009 Protect Jean Klock Park Awarded Fresh Water Future Grant The environment in Berrien County Michigan recently received a boost when Protect JKP (Jean Klock Park) was awarded a grant from Freshwater Future. The $2,500 grant is to prevent private developers from placing three holes of a private golf course in Jean Klock Park , a park given to the public in 1917 by John & Carrie Klock in memory of their daughter. Freshwater Future builds effective community-based citizen action to protect and preserve and restore the water quality of the Great Lakes basin. They work toward the goal by providing financial assistance, communications and networking assistance to citizens and grassroots watershed groups throughout the Great Lakes basin. Grassroots organizations and citizens initiatives in both the U. S. and Canada are eligible for funding in the two annual funding cycles. “The selection process was especially difficult this fall as so many government agencies are underfunded and citizens are stepping up to fill those gaps,” said Jill Ryan, Executive Director of Freshwater Future. “An amazing array of projects to protect and restore rivers, lakes and wetlands were presented in 29 applications. Protect JKP was one of just 13 that received funding in this grant cycle,” said Ryan. The mission of Protect JKP is to protect, preserve and help restore Jean Klock Park . The grant from Freshwater Future will help us accomplish this mission. “Beyond preserving the fragile ecosystem within our Great Lakes basin and retaining the integrity of historic nature of the park, this grant allows us to hold the federal, state and local agencies accountable for their decision to allow a private development in a protected, public park,” says Judy Jones. Defense of Place supports Protect Jean Klock Park, acting as a fiscal sponsor for the organization and providing technical assistance, media support and fundraising assistance. If you would like more information on this project, contact Protect JKP by telephone: (269)277-6932; email: info@protectjkp.com or write: PJKP, P. O. Box 632 , St. Joseph , MI 49085 or defense of place smeyer@defenseofplace.org, (970) 963-0629 Posted by dop_editor at 05:17 PM \| Comments (0) February 18, 2009 Stimulus Package Creates Green Jobs in Nation's Wildlife Refuges The newly passed stimulus package - the "2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" includes $290 million for much needed projects in National Wildlife Refuges and Fish Hatcheries. This funding will go towards top priority projects in the National Wildlife Refuge System's $3.5 billion operations and maintenance backlog. In addition to providing much needed relief to refuges that have been struggling for years, the program will put thousands of Americans to work in Wildlife Refuges within 90 days of the bill's enactment. Funding is earmarked in the following way: $165 million for Resource Management: for deferred maintenance, construction and capital improvements. $110 million for Construction: for construction, reconstruction and repair of roads, bridges, property and facilities. $10 Refuge Roads projects. Posted by dop_editor at 04:59 PM \| Comments (0) February 12, 2009 Friends of Lake Texoma Appeal to OK Attorney General In a letter dated January 15, 2009 to the OK Attorney General Drew Edmonson, the Friends of Lake Texoma implored the AG to step in to prevent the conversion of public lands around Lake Texoma: The following are reasons why it is incumbent on you to enjoin the Tourism Department as well as Pointe Vista, from any further conversion of the park: 1) The State LWCF Manager Kris Marek was required by law to consult with the NPS-LWCF manager prior to any appraisal activity. She did not. 2) OTRD was required by law to seek NPS approval prior to any conversion or sale of any park lands contained within the 6(f)(3) boundary. They did not. 3) The CLO was required by law to seek NPS approval prior to closing the State Park Lodge and 70 park cabins in December 2006. They did not. 4) OTRD was required by law to seek NPS approval prior to their decision not to restore the flood damaged RV campgrounds last spring. They did not. 5) The CLO and OTRD were required by law to seek NPS approval and comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) prior to the sale of newly acquired park lands to Pointe Vista Development. They did not. 6) The Environmental Review Process for Area C, which has not begun, must analyze not only the Section 6(f) (3) area proposed for conversion, but also the development of the replacement parkland. The 2005 Environmental Assessment did not include an analysis of the replacement parkland for Areas A or B. Therefore the sales of Areas A and B should be invalidated and those parklands returned to State ownership. 7) The Corps of Engineers was misled by the CLO and OTRD to believe that their sale of Lake Texoma State Park lands was for the purpose of enhancing public recreational access. Instead, once transferred, it was sold to Pointe Vista Development (Aubrey McClendon, Mark Fischer and Chaparral Energy.) For these reasons, the Friends of Lake Texoma State Park, representing Kingston area businesses and all Oklahoma park patrons and registered voters, hereby request that you inform the state Tourism and Recreation Department to cease all conversion activities, and submit their plan to the National Park Service. Let it not be said that when the people came asking you to enforce the law, that you turned your back on the citizens of the state of Oklahoma and stood with those who are taking our park. Posted by dop_editor at 09:00 PM \| Comments (0) February 11, 2009 Parks Blocked from Stimulus Funding The stimulus bill passed by the U.S. Senate contains one major problem for parks. Sen. Coburn (R-Okla.) successfully inserted an amendment that restricts any funds from going to local parks. The exact language: None of the amounts appropriated or otherwise made available by this Act may be used for any casino or other gambling establishment, aquarium, zoo, golf course, swimming pool, stadium, community park, museum, theater, art center, and highway beautification project. The bill is now headed to conference committee, where it can again be altered to remove or edit this piece. The following excerpt from the Trust For Public Land’s City Parks Blog looks at federal funding of city parks during the Great Depression. The Works Progress Administration was the federal agency in the 1930s that employed more than eight million people around the country, with the purpose of putting them to work and creating jobs. Many of the projects undertaken by the WPA helped create, rehabilitate, or improve city parks, and newspapers around the country are mentioning those projects today as the country considers a large stimulus package. Here’s a sampling: • The Dallas Morning News reports that the city’s parks benefited greatly from WPA projects, and that most parks were touched in one way or another. Workers built pavilions, picnic shelters, playgrounds, foot bridges, trails, comfort stations and recreational buildings. • MinnPost reports the Minneapolis Park Board was a major recipient of WPA funds, and that the “labor-intensive improvements at park and parkway sites provided a good fit for the federal program, with its emphasis on small-scale construction projects that could be implemented quickly…….Seventy five years later, many of these improvements are still in place at sites such as Minnehaha Park, Theodore Wirth Park and Victory Memorial Drive. • The Sioux City, Iowa Journal reports that the WPA undertook several projects in city parks, including park shelters in the city’s Stone Park, a bandshell in Grandview Park, improvements at four other parks and a swimming pool. • Business First of Columbus, Ohio notes that residents still can see the lasting legacy of the WPA’s projects in the area, including a caretaker’s cottage and improvements to the city’s 24-acre Schiller Park. In addition, other WPA projects include New Orleans’ botanical garden in City Park, the rehabilitation and improvement of many parks in New York City, the development of Lincoln, Nebraska’s Pioneers Park, programs and projects in Seattle’s parks, and many more projects that would require weeks of research to locate and tally. Parks were one of the key areas where money could be allocated to create jobs and improve the public infrastructure of the country at the same time. That seems to meet the goals any stimulus package is meant to deliver today as well. From the Trust for Public Land's City Parks Blog http://cityparksblog.org/2009/02/09/parks-and-stimulus/ Posted by dop_editor at 07:47 PM \| Comments (0)

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