Push continues for national park in Delaware
Delmarva Daily Times
Delaware is the only state in the country without a national park, and for almost a decade, Sen. Tom Carper has been working to establish one. Earlier this month, the First State National Historical Park Act of 2011 was introduced to possibly bring the idea to fruition. More

Forest Service seeking to speed up planning process
The Aspen Times
The words "nimble" and "quick" are rarely used to describe U.S. Forest Service planning efforts. This is an agency, after all, that is in its ninth year of work on a travel management plan that will dictate use of the paths and roads in the White River National Forest. Harris Sherman, the undersecretary for natural resources and environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, vowed while visiting Aspen recently that a quicker, more responsive and responsible planning process is coming for the agency.More

Land deal between city, university will help ease overcrowded fields
Athletic Business
A land deal inked between Rosemount, Minn., and the University of Minnesota is expected to help ease the city's overcrowded ball fields. The university has transferred about 27 acres of UMore Park property to the city, which plans to add the parcel to its park system and build five playing fields for baseball and softball, through a pre-dedication agreement approved by the university's Board of Regents recently. More

How to follow the national parks federal budget debates
National Parks Examiner
If you're confused about the debates in Congress and how they relate to the federal budget proposal announced by President Barack Obama on Feb. 14, you're not alone. Let's try to sort out what's going on, so we can all follow the debates with an accurate scorecard. More

Federal officials want to expand Willapa refuge
The Associated Press via Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Federal officials want to expand the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge located on the shores of the Willapa Bay in Washingon by more than 6,800 acres, but the Pacific County Board of Commissioners is opposed over worries it will take away valuable timber land. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's preferred plan also calls for a new refuge headquarters near Long Beach and a new interpretive trail and wildlife observation deck, among other things, The Daily World of Aberdeen reported.More

Western wildlife commissions on the chopping block
High Country News
In Washington and New Mexico, state wildlife commissions could become a thing of the past. As part of their budget-trimming measures, both states' legislatures are considering bills that would do away with the commissions' power to set regulations and policy for managing fish and wildlife. More

Bird enthusiasts count fowl, encourage others to participate
LubbockOnline.com
It was the umpteen-thousandth bird he'd seen over the weekend, but Anthony Hewetson was still excited to see a wood duck recently in the lake at Higginbotham Park in Lubbock, Texas. "Oh, oh, wood duck," Hewetson hollered at his wife. "What a beautiful head pattern and colors, that's just one outrageous duck." The wood duck marked with a rust-colored breast and green, blue and black feathers all over was just one of thousands of birds counted as part of the 14th annual national Great Backyard Bird Count. More

Trying to buffalo buffalo
East Oregonian
Buffalo leaving Yellowstone National Park walk a fine, delicate line, even if they don't know it. While the men from the Umatilla Indian Reservation practiced their traditional hunting rights taking two buffalo, the struggle to manage the migration of the animals out of the park took on a larger reality just a few miles away at Stephens Creek. In a holding pen, 525 buffalo waited for government agencies to decide whether they live or die. More

Park gets $1.6 million for exhibits
The Free Lance-Star
The American Civil War's 150th anniversary has just borne fruit in a project that should benefit park visitors. The top brass in the National Park Service have set aside $1.6 million for Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park to rehabilitate exhibits in its two visitors centers. The funds will help the park prepare for the sesquicentennial by replacing historical exhibits installed nearly a half-century ago.More

Action sports parks bigger, better, more balanced than ever
Recreation Management Magazine
Nearly two inches of snow had fallen on St. Cloud, Minn., on Nov. 13, 2010, yet 125 people turned out for the grand opening of the Heritage Park Skate Plaza, the Minnesota city's newest public recreation space and the state's largest skateboarding complex. Blanketing two-thirds of an acre, the one-of-a-kind skateboarding facility covers 25,000 square feet of horizontal and vertical concrete featuring a volcano element, grind rails and a handrail. Anticipation for the project compelled local skaters and park officials to eagerly remove the snow, an endeavor to not only unveil the project for onlookers, but immediately open the complex for use as well. More