POINT REYES STATION -- As the National Park Service (NPS) embarks on its second century of service, Point Reyes National Seashore is celebrating the significant accomplishments of its centennial celebration and engagement with the Find Your Park / Encuentra Tu Parque initiative.
* Removed more than 5 miles of wooden oyster racks from Drakes Estero to restore marine wilderness.
* Two Morgan horses from the Seashore marched in the 127th Rose Parade, in Pasadena, CA. NPS Director Jon Jarvis rode park horse Honcho.
* Worked with REI and gave Centennial evening presentations at multiple San Francisco Bay Area stores. Also coordinated shoreline cleanup of Drakes Estero for National Public Lands Day in September.
* Expanded the Seashore social media presence. Increased the Park’s Instagram account from 3,500 followers to more than 26,000 this year!
* Hired Student Conservation Association Centennial Volunteer Ambassador position to increase volunteerism during Centennial campaign. This person organized numerous volunteer efforts such as four events on National Public Lands Day in September.
* Lagunitas Creek Restoration work including removal of eleven dilapidated structures and seven septic tanks along the creek’s floodplain and replacement of a fish passage culvert in cooperation with Marin Municipal Water District.
* International interviews about national parks and our centennial with BBC Radio Scotland.
* B-roll footage of Bay Area National Parks aired during Super Bowl L reaching more than 110 million viewers!
* Sent staff to various Bay Area events for Centennial (San Francisco Maritime’s Festival of the Sea, California Academy of Sciences NightLife event, evening presentations at Bay Area REI stores, Sonoma State University, Sunset Celebration Weekend, Point Reyes Western Weekend Parade, Cotati’s Kids Day Parade, Sonoma Birding and Optics Fair, etc.)
* In partnership with the Point Reyes National Seashore Association (PRNSA), the park supported more than 2,100 school children in a variety of overnight experiential education programs. Science at the Seashore provided more than 1,000 children with field experience around the Point Reyes National Seashore. PRNSA supported more than six bus trips to schools from underserved communities to experience the park. NPS staff hosted 100 school trips to over 3,300 school children.
* Staff participated in the national centennial bio-blitz hosting local school children at the Giacomini Wetland with PRNSA.
* Issued more than 500 Every Kid In A Park passes to fourth graders for free entrance to national parks. This Program will continue in 2017.
Point Reyes National Seashore Programs Contributed to Overall Success of the NPS Centennial
Across the country, centennial programs resulted in a significant level of public interest and social media engagement with the National Park Service and National Park Foundation (NPF). The NPS, the NPF, and partners across nationwide reached hundreds of millions of people with the centennial’s Find Your Park message, and engaged the public in the NPS stewardship mission.
The Find Your Park campaign has resonated particularly well with younger audiences, which NPS and NPF targeted since they will be the next generation of national park visitors and stewards. Millennials are increasingly familiar with the Find Your Park campaign, and NPS youth programs were a key component of NPS and NPF centennial engagement.
"I like to say the NPS is the only federal agency with a mandate to ensure the public has fun, and the centennial has been a lot of fun," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. "But more importantly, it has inspired and engaged a new generation to take on the mantle of responsibility for the most important places and stories that define us as citizens of the United States of America."
Looking Ahead: Find Your Park in 2017 and Preparing for a Second Century of Service
Planning is underway to build on the success of Find Your Park / Encuentra Tu Parque as the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and other partners will continue the campaign’s momentum in 2017. The Find Your Park movement will continue to engage new audiences, especially around significant moments, including National Park Week in April and the NPS 101st birthday in August. Throughout the year, the NPS and its partners will invite the public to explore parks they haven’t yet discovered, build personal connections to special places in their communities, and find ways to help ensure that future generations are able to fully experience their national parks and the NPS programs that steward America’s treasures.
In 2017, Point Reyes National Seashore will begin the second century of the NPS by continuing the restoration of the Drakes Estero. Additionally, the historic Point Reyes Lighthouse will get a preservation treatment to the iron structure as well as the first order Fresnel lens, designed by Augustine Fresnel in 1867 in Paris. The 1,032 pieces of crystal will be disassembled since the material holding them together is failing, then reassembled.
More information about the success and long term legacy of the NPS Centennial is available online.
About Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes National Seashore is one of 413 units within the National Park Service. Point Reyes was authorized in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy, "to preserve a portion of the diminishing seashore of the United States that remains undeveloped." Learn more by visiting Point Reyes National Seashore's official website, Facebook page, Twitter feed, Instagram page, and YouTube channel.
About the National Park Service
More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 413 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, or on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
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Tags: point reyes point reyes national seashore centennial 2016 accomplishments drakes estero
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
