Delaware seeks first national park

Delaware was the first state to sign the Constitution and was one of the original thirteen colonies, but still doesn’t have a single national park. However, Sen. Tom Carper and Rep. John Carney, both of Delaware, hope to change that. They recently introduced the First State National Historical Park Act in both the Senate and the House.

The measure create a park with several, unconnected locations, which would celebrate early American Dutch, Swedish and English settlements located throughout Delaware, including the Old New Castle courthouse (photo), and Delaware's role in the events leading up to the founding of our nation.

Carper adds that even in these difficult economic times, cost should not be an obstacle.“This proposal would not increase the budget deficit, will not increase the nation’s debt. I think that gives us a leg up.”
Freshman Congressman Carney has made this bill his first. He believes the only remaining hurdle is explaining to his fellow Congressmen how important Delaware is to the nation’s history.

Cane River Creole National Historical Park

Natchitoches Parish, La. – Beneath the surface of Oakland and Magnolia plantations, the roots of live oaks spread through the earth, grasping the soil and anchoring the trees. The oaks carry their bulk proudly, appearing regal in spite, or perhaps because, of the substantial girth of their trunks.

These ample boles, covered with rough bark, branch into limbs that stretch, with royal ambition, over the lush, history-steeped scene beneath them, striving to encompass it with their embrace.

Cane River Creole National Historical Park shares—and realizes—the ambition of the live oaks. Made up of two locations along the Cane River, the park encompasses centuries of history, starting in the 1700s, as well as the land on which that history unfolded.

The fields of the plantations and the many surviving buildings form an image that is both landscape and portrait, for these tracts and structures tell the stories of French colonists and their descendants, enslaved Africans and African Americans, Confederate and Union soldiers, landholders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, African Americans who stayed in the region after the abolition of slavery, and the Creole culture.

“Louisiana’s Creole culture thrives in our park,” said Cane River Superintendent Laura Gates. “We’re excited to share it with visitors, and we invite everyone to come out and get acquainted with Creole music and other expressions of this rich culture.”

The color of Creole traditions, like the majesty of live oak trees and compelling historical narratives, await you at Cane River Creole National Historical Park. The last week of African American History Month (February) might be a particularly appropriate time for a visit, but throughout the year, the park commemorates and vivifies the experiences of the people who lived and worked here.

Learn more about Cane River Creole National Historical Park.

Death Valley's Kangaroo Rats never need a drink of water

Kangaroo Rats can live their entire lives without drinking a drop of liquid, a very handy ability when living in the Death Valley and other desert areas. All of the water they need to survive can be metabolized within their bodies from the dry seeds they eat. They also conserve moisture; their kidneys can concentrate urine to five times that of humans.

Kangaroo rats avoid the intense heat of the day in underground burrows that are both cooler and higher in humidity than outside. Water vapor in the humid air is reclaimed by special membranes in their nasal passages, and is also absorbed by the food stored within the den. They may even plug the burrow’s entrance with dirt to keep out heat and intruders.

National Park Service Funds Trail Projects in 10 States and DC

The National Park Service has awarded $340,000 to eight projects that will link existing national historic and scenic trails to national parks and other Federal facilities.

The annual “Connect Trails to Parks” awards will develop or enhance trail connections. They will also fund educational services, informational waysides, bridge and trail designs, and planning services.

“These grants will help upgrade trails and expand access to national parks and national trails,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis. “Trails are increasingly important not just as places to exercise but as places where we can unplug and rewind, places where we can explore and commune with the outdoor world and learn about our heritage.”

The National Park Service plays a vital role in operating the 54,000-mile National Trails System. The Trails System dates to a 1968 law that created the Appalachian and Pacific Crest National Scenic Trails. Today, the National Trails System is comprised of 11 national scenic trails (NSTs), 19 national historic trails (NHTs), and more than 1,100 national recreation trails (NRTs).

Each “Connect Trails to Parks” project must cost $100,000 or less and be slated for completion by the end of next year. The program was established in 2008 to increase awareness, appreciation, and use of the National Trails System as it approaches its 50th anniversary in 2018. For more information
visit the National Trails System website.


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