I love spring! You see more and more people getting outside enjoying our parks. I have a few things to help get you outdoors this week, including tips for your next trip to Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park, an excuse to take the kids out, and a new perspective of some of the trails in Sequoia National Park.

1. Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park has a new FREE audio tour app! This app is a self-guided walking tour that is intended to educate visitors of the history, geology, and social and cultural importance of this park. Did you know the Great Falls pours roughly two billion gallons of water into the canyon each day?
2. What animal do you think you’ll cross paths with when hiking the trails of our national parks? Bison? Elk? Fox? Birds? Alligators? Everglades National Park offers a unique wildlife experience where this is just an everyday occurrence. Photo courtesy of Everglades National Park Facebook page.
   
   
3. Our national parks are starting to bloom. It is National Wildflower Week and beautiful images of our national parks’ flowers are popping up on Pinterest. Here is a beautiful image of Desert Tissue Spring Flowers found in Joshua Tree National Park, CA. What park is your favorite to watch bloom?
4. The granola gurus at Nature Valley have shown their commitment to our parks  over the last four years by funding exciting projects with their Preserve the Parks campaign (including numerous restoration work days around the country in partnership with NPCA). A really innovative extension of this campaign is “Nature Valley Trail View” where their staff have set out to create a 360-degree “street view” of some of our national park trails. The newest addition are trails from Sequoia National Park. Check it out!
5. May 18th is National Kids to Parks Day, organized by National Park Trust. More than 100,000 people have already pledged to take kids to a park. Make your pledge today! This campaign’s mascot is “Buddy Bison” and we love his quote: “Explore outdoors, the parks are yours!” So get outside and enjoy our national parks!

Find something fun about national parks on the ’net? Let me know!

-Megan Cantrell, Senior Coordinator of Member Engagement

1. Grand Teton National Park hosts its own March Madness competition with wildlife that is found in the park. This year’s Grand Teton March Mania Winner is…
2. Endangered peregrine falcons return to Acadia National Park. These falcons have begun defending their nesting territories, prompting park officials to close areas surrounding Precipice and Valley Cove Cliffs. Be sure to click the photo to see a larger image of these adorable chicks. Did you know: The peregrine falcons were reintroduced to Acadia in the 1980s. Since their reintroduction, more than 100 chicks have fledged on Mount Desert Island.
3. Washington, DC’s cherry blossoms have finally bloomed! Check out this really neat article: Gorgeous “Light Paintings” Show D.C. Cherry Blossoms at Night. Capturing the blossoms at night can be difficult, but this photographer has a very unique approach.
4. Mark Deklin shares with @NPCA his #MyParkStory of how his father’s Parkinson’s temporarily gave way while visiting Badlands National Park. We were touched by this beautiful tweet.
5. The beloved Muppet Kermit the Frog is documented traveling the world. This week we discovered “Kermit on Tour” and his trip to Joshua Tree National Park. If Kermit is having that much fun in the sun, it’s a great reminder for the rest of us to go out and enjoy the warm weather in the parks, too:

Have you seen a fun national park story online? Let me know!

-Megan Cantrell, Senior Coordinator of Member Engagement

We asked the filmmaker, Gavin Heffernan, about his experience creating the video. He shared his passion for parks and photography with us, and sent a few tips for other nature lovers thinking of creating their own time-lapse movies.

NPCA: What inspired you to film in desert national parks?

Gavin: My team and I work in Los Angeles as filmmakers. California’s close proximity to so many parks and wildlife areas gives us an abundance of riches when it comes to filming locations, both for day and night settings.

When shooting the night sky, we’re looking to get as far away from any light pollution as possible. One of our favorite spots is Joshua Tree, which is only about three hours’ drive from us, yet home to jaw-dropping skyscapes and landscapes. The Eureka Dunes in Death Valley are even further away from illuminated civilization, so the results can be even more stunning!

NPCA: Did you encounter anything unexpected or funny in making these videos? 

Gavin: We were surprised by reactions to a “UFO” visible between 1:30 and 1:35 in the video! We added a small note about a very slow circling aircraft in the video description, and the internet exploded with theories from around the globe on what it was.

The aircraft appears to be maneuvering quickly and erratically because of the long-exposure time-lapse. This is misleading. The object is actually moving very, very slowly—one second of video equals about 10 minutes of shooting! Theories about the object have included aliens, experimental aircraft, weather balloons, flying DeLoreans, luck dragons, and more. Several UFO conspiracy sites have picked up the video and made guesses of their own. For more on the subject, here’s a brief Skype interview I did with RightThisMinute.Com.

NPCA: Was creating a time-lapse video the initial goal, or did it evolve to that point? 

Gavin: That was the goal. My team and I had recently completed a popular trilogy of day/night time-lapses called “Joshua Tree Journey,” and we were eager to branch out to more locations. Though we had never been there, the Eureka Dunes in Death Valley had always held a mythical place in our hearts, and with the coming Geminid meteor shower, we knew we had to strike. Even though the temperatures were supposed to drop very low that night, we bought some cold-weather gear and went for it!

NPCA: Do you have tips for creating time-lapse videos? 

I learned a lot from the great community at Vimeo, where incredibly talented users are eager to share their works and techniques. I recommend browsing their excellent time-lapse clips and tutorials, then going out and doing some tests yourself.

Gavin Heffernan’s five quick tips for shooting starscapes and star trails.

1. Aim for nights with the smallest possible moon. At long exposures, the moon is extremely bright and can drown out a dark, starry sky. You can also experiment with different moon phases, as the effect of the moonlight moving over the dark terrain can also be pretty cool. With “Dreamlapse,” we got a perfect setup, as the Geminid peak came at a time when the moon was almost non-existent.
2. Set up your cameras far away from campsites and avoid stray lights. At long exposures (set between 20-30 seconds with a high ISO–I was shooting at 3200), even a tiny light source can interfere with the starscape (and even break the star trails). However, like most of these “rules,” you can break it to achieve artistic effects. For “Dreamlapse” we used a small lantern to illuminate the foreground sand, to replicate the feeling of fire and highlight the mixed color temperatures.
3. Don’t touch the camera in the middle of a shoot! Sometimes even the slightest touch to the lens can shift the frame and ruin the entire effect–or make a nightmare in the editing room. We shoot with two cameras, which keeps us busy enough to avoid the temptation and allows us to get “total coverage.”
4. There are two ways to accomplish star trails. One is to simply take one picture with a very long exposure (like, 60 minutes). However, we use a technique that blends regular star shots (at 25-second exposures) using specialized software known as StarStaX. In either scenario, you need to avoid clouds at all costs! To get the “circle” effect, aim the camera for the North Star, and let the globe’s spin do the work for you! Once in a good position, I recommend shooting until the entire battery is done. On the Canon 5D we use, this is about 3.5 hours.
5. Don’t panic if things look grim! Even if the skies cloud over or conditions worsen, the camera may be seeing something you’re not. It’s seeing the world with a set of superhuman eyes, so let the shot play out–you may be surprised. Some of the best shots in Terje Sorgjerd’s famous “The Mountain” time-lapse came in the middle of a sandstorm, with what Sorgjerd thought was zero visibility! In our Joshua Tree Storm video, we had a similar storm roll over and dampen our hopes, but we kept shooting and ended up getting amazing stuff that we never would have imagined. So stick with it and crack a beer. You’re in for the long haul, and you never know what you’re gonna get. Maybe even a UFO!

See more of Gavin’s work in Sunchaser’s “Joshua Tree Journey” series:

• Part One: http://vimeo.com/15437000
• Part Two: http://vimeo.com/37587197
• Part Three (Storm): http://vimeo.com/53822527

Follow Gavin on Twitter: @GavinHeffernan.
Check out Sunchaser Pictures on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SunchaserPicturesPage

Note: This is the first of several stories on the upcoming presidential election. You can sign NPCA’s petition urging the candidates to pledge their support for national parks.

I will be watching tonight’s presidential debate closely, and I hope park lovers around the country will be watching with me.

The decision American voters make this November will have a very real impact on the future of our national parks. When the votes are finally tallied, we will have chosen the person who will lead the Park Service into its centennial in 2016—a symbolic time when the nation’s attention will be focused on our parks. Do we want our government to continue to cut federal support for the Park Service budget? Or do we want a government that recognizes the value of protecting and improving our nation’s most beautiful and historically important places—and puts our money where our values are?

I know many Americans are disgusted by the state of partisan politics and feel their votes make no difference. I can’t say I never feel that way myself. But this is a particularly bad time to sit on the sidelines. Our ballots this fall will have real consequences for many of the places we love.

Here are a few real-life examples of what could happen if funding for our national parks continues to decline in 2013 and beyond:

• Fewer seasonal rangers at Acadia National Park in Maine, leading to a sharp decline in visitor services in the busy summer season.
• Fewer staff to protect archaeological resources at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, including its famous cliff dwellings.
• Shorter hours and possible closings at visitor centers serving the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia, the most visited part of the park system.
• Delays in critical restoration projects that affect the health of the Everglades in Florida.
• Cuts to seasonal employees and shorter hours at visitor centers in Olympic in Washington State, as well as delays to needed maintenance work, such as trail repair and replacement of aging pit toilets.
• No home for the 149,000 artifacts in storage at the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument in Montana. These historic documents and sacred objects could remain out of public view due to inadequate facilities.*

Underfunding is just one of many important issues facing national parks—but the steep, system-wide cuts currently being debated in Congress would have a chilling effect on parks and local communities throughout the country. Does this really reflect what we find important as a nation?

One thing we know for sure is that Americans on both sides of the political aisle love the national parks. An overwhelming 95% said in our recent survey that it is appropriate for the federal government to support national parks.

We also know that the entire Park Service budget costs just one-fourteenth of one percent of the federal budget, and that this small investment boosts local economies around the country, providing good jobs and supporting private-sector businesses in small towns and urban centers alike. Every dollar invested in park operations yields about $10 for local communities.

Times are tight, but cutting the Park Service budget would have virtually no impact on America’s debt. Even minor funding cuts to the parks, however, can have serious consequences that degrade our favorite places, as well as our ability to enjoy them.

Last Thanksgiving, my husband and I spent the long weekend visiting Joshua Tree National Park for the first time, and for us, it was an ideal place to feel gratitude. We hiked Ryan Mountain on a clear, beautiful day and got a perfect view of the valleys below with their sculpted granite, clusters of cholla, and feathery nolinas. We spent days marveling at those famous Joshua trees, with their tufted, twisted arms, and we were overwhelmed by the sight of them dotting the vast, sparse landscape, seeming to spread endlessly into the solitude of the Mojave. But of course, this wilderness is not endless. Undisturbed natural places grow scarcer every year, more precious and precarious. It can take effort to seek them out. Sometimes I wonder how our land and our legislative priorities would be different if trees and mountains and endangered animals could vote. But they can’t… it’s just people like us doing our best to speak up for them.

If you’re one of those people who value the national parks, please, tell the candidates. Remind them that not only do our national parks protect America’s heritage, but they are vital to the economic health of our country. Sign NPCA’s petition. Register to vote, if you haven’t already. And if you can, tune in for the debates tonight. It really does matter.

*All of these examples of funding threats to various parks are taken from NPCA’s Made in America report. For more information, see NPCA’s recent fact sheet on park funding (PDF, 11.4 MB).

More stories in this series

• Putting National Parks into the Debate: Questions for Obama and Romney (October 9, 2012)
• Preserving National Parks: It’s Not Just Popular, It’s Patriotic (October 22, 2012)

We are driving east on a rugged powerline road in Clark Mountain’s shadow. The 8,000-foot peak is covered in snow. Pinyon-juniper forest commands the windshield view, with Joshua tree woodland in the rearview. As we negotiate the rocky pass with its perilous drop-off, we see the shimmering dry lakebed of Ivanpah Valley encircled by tall mountain peaks.

We get out of the truck. From this viewpoint, all I can see is Mojave National Preserve and three wilderness areas. My passenger is a botanist by training, who marvels at the diversity of cacti: beavertail, barrel, calico, cotton-top, foxtail, fishhook, and mound, until she finds a unique agave with a limited range in California. Botanists are excited by these things. I know this plant as well, one of the smallest agaves. June hikes in the Clark Mountains feature the explosion of their 10-foot flowering stalks, which are attended by a range of insects and hummingbirds, and serve as lookout towers for desert spiny lizards.

This experience contrasts with the intention of my first trip here. I came to the Clarks in 2008 to understand the visual impacts of the proposed Ivanpah Solar project to Mojave National Preserve. This valley is at an ecological crossroad, intersected by a political crossroad. We will decide this valley’s long-term fate in the next few years.     

The Ivanpah Valley is a biologically diverse region and home to important desert tortoise migration corridors connecting populations in southern Nevada with those in California’s Mojave National Preserve. Unfortunately, it is also ground zero for the nascent solar energy industry. Companies have started building industrial-scale solar projects and are proposing even more for those precise Bureau of Land Management (BLM) areas. Projects currently underway include Ivanpah Solar (3,400 acres) and Silver State North (600 acres). Projects proposed for construction include Silver State South (2,900 acres) and Stateline (2,000 acres). Approval and construction of these proposed projects would sever migration corridors for the federally threatened desert tortoise. Coupled with other proposed projects such as the upgrade of the El Dorado transmission line, development of a high speed rail line, an agricultural check station, and a new Ivanpah International Airport, these projects would completely build out the valley. Such development puts the region’s immense scenery, iconic species such as the desert tortoise, and biological and cultural resources at risk. The National Parks Conservation Association is speaking out against further development in this valley, but is only as strong as the sum of its supporters. We need your help.

Of course, solar energy in itself can be a very good thing. The problem, like with any development, is where and how these arrays are built. These proposed developments should be weighed cumulatively, in terms of their impact to wildlife, scenic vistas, water resources, recreation, tourism, and their cost to local communities. Taxpayers will subsidize grants, loans, and tax incentives for industry, while footing the bill to recover the threatened species harmed by such development. Species that forage and migrate within the Ivanpah Valley will also be affected. Unmitigated impacts will continue to Mojave National Preserve, the third-largest National Park Service unit in the lower 48 states, which receives more than 600,000 recreational visits per year and contributes more than $12 million in annual visitor spending to local economies. Viewscapes, reported as one of the top visitor attractions at the preserve, will also be marred, from the mountain-top views throughout the northern preserve to the Clark Mountain Wilderness which stands above Ivanpah Solar.

Fortunately, advocates have fiercely defended the Ivanpah Valley, and local, regional, and national groups including the National Parks Conservation Association continue to speak out to save the valley.

Becoming involved with the public process and submitting written comments are some of the best ways to share your voice with decision makers.

• Contact the California (951.697.5200) and Nevada (702.515.5173) BLM offices to voice your opinion about protections for national parks and preserves and responsible energy development.
• Submit public comment on the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan (DRECP) in person or online at drecp.org. This forum seeks input from the public, desert counties, the state, and the federal government. Send your feedback to DRECP Program Managers Vicky Campbell (916-978-4320) and Scott Flint (916-651-3774).
• Contact Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar at 202-208-3100 or feedback@ios.doi.gov to voice your opinion about protections for national parks and preserves.

A version of this story was recently published in The Sun Runner magazine.

What are the ingredients for a successful restoration event? Ours started with volunteers from the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), National Park Service (NPS), Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Student Conservation Association (SCA), and U.S. Marines from the Twentynine Palms Air Ground Combat Center, with generous support from Nature Valley. We added rakes, shovels, strong backs, fresh air, cold drinks, a desire to help the planet, and a good helping of humor. The result was a fun Saturday for us, and long-term habitat improvements for the wildlife at Joshua Tree, including the endangered desert tortoise!

The restoration event occurred on Saturday, April 14, 2012. Thirty volunteers teamed up to restore public lands in an area known as the “Saddle,” just south of the city of Twentynine Palms in the California desert. The Marines, BLM, NPS, and NPCA staff reclaimed lands that were damaged by off-road vehicles to better protect desert tortoise habitat and “wildlife corridors”—places where animals move between different habitat areas. 

Our teams planted “vertical mulch”—dead branches and tree trunks that mimic native vegetation. Vertical mulch creates microclimates, areas which trap moisture and help native desert seeds germinate while discouraging future incursions from off-road vehicles. Volunteers then raked away off-road vehicle tracks, which crisscrossed the sandy desert soil. We also removed what seemed like a dumpster load of old clay pigeons, broken glass, relic electronics, plastic, paper, and other debris from canyons and hillsides.

The Saddle’s spectacular desert lands were once part of Joshua Tree National Monument, land later designated as Joshua Tree National Park, then removed for mineral exploration in the 1950s. The BLM currently manages the area. The majority is designated as the Pinto Mountains Desert Wildlife Management Area and serves as critical desert tortoise habitat. We didn’t come across any tortoises on this particular day, but it was easy to see how tortoises could move and burrow in the sandy desert soils of this area.

The Saddle is also known wildlife habitat for a number of other species based on studies conducted by the South Coast Wildlands, a non-profit environmental organization that has identified five distinct wildlife corridors, in this area. The Saddle also has federally designated wilderness and culturally significant mining sites that are remnants from when this was a thriving mining community.

After several hours of work, the Marines, BLM, and NPS staff enjoyed lunch and listened to an interpretive program about the desert tortoise, an iconic and threatened species. 

“This event was a great opportunity to connect communities with our public lands,” said Tim Williamson, wilderness manager for the Barstow Bureau of Land Management.  “Our partnership is a great reminder that we need to work together to protect special places in the California desert.”