We’ve been treated to quite a spring here in the California desert. After experiencing the greatest Joshua tree bloom on record this past April, one of our hardest-fought battles finally ended in victory last month—NPCA and our supporters have defeated the Eagle Mountain Landfill proposal once and for all.

Eagle Mountain would have been the largest landfill in the country, and proponents had proposed building it smack in the middle of a mountain range bordered on three sides by Joshua Tree National Park wilderness. At peak capacity, the facility would have accommodated 20,000 tons of garbage—per day—for 117 years. A projected map of the area showed that the landfill would have harmed 75 percent of the critical desert tortoise habitat within the park—one of the most important remaining refuges for this federally threatened species.

On May 23, the Los Angeles County Sanitation District officially scrapped the project. They reported a list of reasons that read like NPCA’s own arguments against the landfill: a belief that people in the area were better served by more recycling and waste diversion, a desire to avoid environmental harm, and concern over the current need for the project, which was originally envisioned back in the 1980s.

NPCA worked on this issue for 15 years and challenged the legality of the project all the way to the Supreme Court. Even after landfill proponents lost the legal battle in 2011, they still attempted to find ways to amend the proposal and move ahead with the development anyway.

More than 300,000 concerned citizens spoke against the landfill, through several proposal stages and presidential administrations. Former Interior Secretary Ken Salazar recently flew over the site and began work on a conservation solution for the region; Senator Dianne Feinstein shared a letter of concern against it; and the Desert Sun, the major newspaper in the region, wrote an editorial in favor of abandoning the landfill and adding the adjacent wilderness land back to the national park. We agree with the newspaper! This strong and persistent opposition has truly meant a better future for Joshua Tree National Park, adjacent wilderness lands, and critical wildlife habitat.

This victory is especially significant for me on a personal level. Not only do I love to backpack, camp, and recharge in this stunning and unique park, I also put together a book on the desert tortoise several years ago that collected student photography as a way to spread appreciation for this threatened animal and the importance of preserving its habitat. This decision will hopefully help many more students and their families enjoy the beauty of this slow and stately desert icon. Joshua Tree remains one of the most important refuges for this species. NPCA is glad that the officials in Los Angeles County finally made the right decision and are finding more responsible ways to manage Southern California’s waste—it’s a real win for everyone.

NPCA will also host four volunteer events this Saturday, so if you’re near North Cascades, Gettysburg, the C & O Canal, or Baltimore City, be sure to check the links below. And… happy trails!

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Northwest

• Obstruction Point to Deer Park Trail (Grand Ridge Trail), Olympic National Park, Washington*

This 7.4-mile trail at a steady 6,400-foot elevation skirts along a ridgeline high above deep valleys within Olympic National Park, revealing a desolate landscape far different from the moss-draped old-growth forests and windswept beaches normally associated with this park.

-David Graves, Northwest Program Manager

• Burroughs Mountain Trail (to Second Burroughs), Mount Rainier National Park, Washington

I love trails that make me feel small and this trail will do just that as you hike out a high, alpine ridge toward the larger-than-life, icy cone of Mount Rainier.

-Shane Farnor, Online Advocacy Manager

Pacific

• The Coast Trail from Palomarin Trailhead to Alamere Falls, Point Reyes National Seashore, California

This moderate, 7.5-mile out-and-back hike is a favorite because it culminates with a spectacular view of a rare kind of waterfall that empties directly into the Pacific Ocean.

-Reina Gonzales, Northeast Regional Coordinator

• The Land’s End Trail, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California**

Golden Gate National Recreation Area’s Land’s End trail offers hiking and labyrinth-walking along the coast, with jaw-dropping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and sailboats traveling in and out of the city’s fog veil. Whether on a typical foggy or a rare, sunny day, the unbeatable scenery makes this trail truly a San Francisco treat.

-Kati Schmidt, Senior Media Relations Manager

Southwest

• Tsankawi Trail, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico

This trail is amazing! The 1.5 mile trail is an ancient trail from the 1400s, which is worn (sometimes several feet deep) into the stone and leads to a mesa top, complete with expansive views, Tewa Pueblo ruins, pottery shards, cave dwellings, and ladders (not a great trail for those afraid of heights)!

-Madeleine Starkey, Membership Senior Administrative Coordinator

• Queens Garden Trail continuing to the Peek-A-Boo Loop Trail, Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

The trail winds through bright orange hoodoos of all shapes and sizes through a trek that reminded me more of Mars than Earth.

-Sarah Gaines Barmeyer, Great Waters Program Manager

• Rim Trail-Queens Garden-Navajo Loop (three trails to form a loop), Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah

I only hiked this trail once in late winter, but it left quite an impression on me. A fresh blanket of snow covered the hoodoos and we saw only a couple other hikers; it was like getting a glimpse into another bizarre, lonely planet.

-Shane Farnor, Online Advocacy Manager

• Angels Landing, Zion National Park, Utah

I love it because it is a challenging trail with chains that takes you close to the edge of a cliff; the views are spectacular! You get to see what the soaring condors see! A close second is Observation Point, also in Zion. Both trails are magical and make you really appreciate the park and the environment.

-Elizabeth Kirsch, Southwest Regional Coordinator

Midwest

• Miller Woods Trail (just opened this spring), Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana**

In a little over a mile you go through all the great landscapes in this park–from woods to wetlands to dunes to Lake Michigan shoreline! BEAUTIFUL!

-Lynn McClure, Midwest Regional Director

Northeast

• Abol Trail, Appalachian Trail, Maine

Climb Mount Katahdin, which is at the beginning or end of Appalachian Trail (dependent upon your point of view), then for a change of scenery, take the Saddle Trail back down (which is supposedly easier, but it’s definitely longer than it looks).

-Alexander Brash, Northeast Regional Director

Mid-Atlantic

• Whiteoak Canyon and Cedar Run, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia*

This trail is non-stop waterfalls for about nine miles and gains about 2,000 feet in elevation—it’s challenging, with great views.

-Ben Sander, Travel Program Coordinator

• Limberlost Trail, Shenandoah National Park, Virginia**

It’s great for hiking with young children, and we always get good wildlife viewing, from wild turkeys to black bears up in trees!

-Laura Atchison, Board and National Council Liaison

• The Southern Arboreal Section of Rock Creek Park, Washington, D.C.

This very nice nearly nine-mile loop is a great hike for fall or spring with a really nice view of the city from Holy Rood Cemetery.

-Bruce Marshall, Director of Member Services

Southeast

• White Rocks-Sand Cave Loop Trail, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky*

Coming out of Ewing, Virginia, this trail takes you up to White Rocks, with a beautiful vista of the Tennessee Valley and (on a clear day) the distant Great Smoky Mountains, and then over to an enormous sandstone amphitheater characteristic of the Cumberland Mountains.

-Don Barger, Southeast Regional Director

• The Appalachian Trail across the Roan Highlands and over Hump Mountain, western North Carolina*

This is a stunning 14-mile hike over a series of open mountain peaks exceeding 6,000 feet in elevation and that feature rare heath balds and purple Catawba rhododendrons.

-Ron Tipton, Senior Vice President of Park Policy

NPCA-Hosted Volunteer Events

NPCA is hosting four events on Saturday, June 1, to celebrate National Trails Day.

• Join us for a trail cleanup at Valley Forge National Historical Park in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Take part in our annual restoration project at North Cascades National Park in Diablo, Washington, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Help restore the towpath and trails on the C&O Canal by removing invasive plants and clearing debris near the River Center at Lock 8 in Cabin John Maryland, near Washington, D.C., 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Join us in improving the Gwynns Falls Trail by removing debris and invasive plants and planting trees in Baltimore, Maryland, starting at 9 a.m.

*This trail can be strenuous and is recommended for experienced hikers. Always research the route in advance and bring a buddy and plenty of water and snacks.

**This trail is less difficult and may be appropriate for less experienced hikers and families with children, though be sure to consult a map, bring plenty of water, and ask a park ranger questions if you have specific concerns.

There are few places better known or more loved than Yosemite National Park. As a transplated Californian originally from Iowa, it wasn’t until I was in my 20s that I first emerged from the park’s famous Tunnel View to the jaw-dropping, iconic sight of El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls rising from the Valley floor and Half Dome shining in the background. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve come out of that tunnel now, but the novelty hasn’t worn off. Yosemite is the first place I take family and friends who visit from the Midwest, and it never fails to transform each of them in some way, as I believe it does for everyone who visits.

Today, I am asking people around the country to take action to help protect this majestic valley, as much for my personal love of Yosemite as my professional role to help protect the park for future generations.

My friends, family, and I are just a few of the four million people from around the world who visit Yosemite each year, mostly during the busy summer season. This enormous number of visitors during just a few months’ time means that park officials must manage large crowds while maintaining strong protections for the park’s outstanding resources—a significant challenge. Officials must adhere to many management guidelines, but one of the most important is commonly referred to as the Merced River Plan.

In 1987, Congress provided a Wild and Scenic River designation to 81 miles of the Merced River within Yosemite. The goal of this designation–the highest level of protection awarded to a river—is to preserve the Merced’s free-flowing condition and to protect and enhance its unique values that deemed it worthy of the designation. Like any body of water, a river’s health is not just about the water itself, but the riverbank and surrounding area that directly impact its vitality. In the case of the Merced River, this means that large portions of Yosemite Valley are key to its protection.

Unfortunately, for the last 13 years, Yosemite has been unable to proceed with crucial changes in infrastructure and management because the Merced River planning process has been held up by litigation. The good news is that the park has recently released a new version of the plan. NPCA supports the park’s preferred alternative (listed as alternative five in the planning documents), which is also the environmentally preferred alternative. This management strategy strikes a reasonable balance between protecting resources and delivering a quality visitor experience. It also provides a compromise for groups who have challenged versions of the plan over the years, potentially allowing this multi-million dollar process to move forward.

NPCA supports the preferred alternative of the Merced River Plan because it will maintain access for all visitors, near and far, but will also increase access to public transportation, making infrastructure changes that will decrease congestion in Yosemite Valley while allowing the same number of visitors to visit and enjoy its many natural wonders. The preferred alternative calls for more camping facilities, allowing those of us on a budget who love the most pure sights, smells, and sounds of nature more options to stay overnight, while enhancing protections for the river corridor’s natural resources. More than 200 acres of meadow will be restored under the preferred alternative and, in time, the riverbank will return to a more natural state.

Because Yosemite National Park is beloved by so many who have different opinions about how to best manage the park’s iconic natural wonders, it’s impossible to completely satisfy everyone. I personally, and NPCA organizationally, hope that park officials will find a way to continue to provide bike rentals for Yosemite Valley and implement even more public transportation in and around the park. Although some detractors raise issues with controversial aspects of the plan, such as the elimination of certain swimming pools, an ice skating rink, and rafts for rent, it shouldn’t stop the plan’s approval. My mom doesn’t travel from Iowa to Yosemite to do the types of things she has available in her own backyard. She comes to walk among the big trees, marvel at the sheer granite walls, feel the spray of waterfalls on her face. I support this Merced River Plan because it means that someday her grandchildren will be able to do the same.

You can tell Yosemite’s planners that you support the plan as well by taking action on NPCA’s website. (Note: The last day to comment is April 18, 2013.)

Scientists estimate that rats are responsible for half of bird and reptile extinctions worldwide, and island wildlife populations are particularly vulnerable. The Channel Islands provide critical habitat and nesting grounds for a variety of land and shore birds, including the threatened Scripps’s murrelet. In 2001 and 2002, seven governmental and nonprofit organizations collaborated on an innovative invasive species removal program as part of a larger effort to protect and restore biodiversity on the islands.

A new Park Service video describes some of the efforts conservationists made to remove the rats, and some of the hopeful results, including a four-fold increase in Scripps’s murrelet nests, an increase in the Scripps’s murrelets’ hatching rates from 30 to 85 percent, a wider habitat range for Cassin’s auklets, and strong improvements for other animal populations, including native lizards and mice. The researchers also recorded ashy storm-petrels nesting on the island—for the first time ever.

Park officials and their partners will release a report on their findings later this year, but in the meantime, the video summarizes the good news while capturing some of the scenic vistas that make this part of the world so special.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

Learn more

• See more photos of park wildlife and learn more about these stunning islands by watching NPCA’s recent slideshow on this park.
• Read about the recent recovery of the island night lizard at Channel Islands National Park.

Death Valley National Park is renowned for its awe-inspiring landscape and its extreme temperatures and elevations. Five months ago, the region was officially recognized as the hottest place on Earth after a team of climate scientists verified the park’s historic high temperature of an incomprehensible 134 degrees Fahrenheit.

That’s why it can come as a shock to learn how just frigid and dark this most blazing part of the desert can become on a February night. As I prepare for my own winter camping trip in the park, the frosty forecasts have me stuffing my backpack with a sleeping bag liner, thermal clothes, and extra socks and gloves, in addition to my 20-degree bag and bivy tent.

Why brave this kind of cold? For a rare reward: To bask in the beauty of the park’s profoundly dark night skies. Much like Death Valley’s record-setting heat, the park’s intense starscape is also making headlines for being… well, extreme.

Last week, the International Dark Sky Association (IDA) confirmed what local residents from communities like Shoshone, Tecopa, and Furnace Creek have long celebrated: Death Valley’s stargazing is world-class. IDA officially designated Death Valley the largest International Dark Sky Park in the world, and only the third national park in the country to receive the distinction, after Big Bend National Park and Natural Bridges National Monument. The park received a gold-tier classification, the organization’s highest rating.

According to a recent IDA press release, “The skies there are affected by only the smallest amounts of light pollution … Astronomical objects seen there are available only to some of the darkest locations across the globe.” Amazingly, IDA also states, “The park is distant enough from the large cities of the Southwest so that much of the night sky above the desert floor is near pristine and, in many places, offers views close to what could be seen before the rise of cities.”

I can attest to the wonder of really seeing the night skies for the first time in the California desert—it was like having a film peeled off of my eyes. I am proud of the work NPCA does to help protect this underappreciated and rapidly disappearing resource, including outreach to directly connect people to these breathtaking views, often for the first time, through star parties and other events.

If you’re thinking of a trip to this record-setting park, don’t let the temperature extremes dissuade you. A growing number of visitors from around the world even travel in July as “temperature tourists,” specifically to experience the extreme heat—but understandably, that’s not for everyone. Rest assured, Death Valley’s blazing summers give way to comfortable fall temperatures, and its spring seasons are famous for their wildflower blooms of pink, purple, and yellow that carpet the playas, alluvial fans, and salt pan valley floors. For the very best stargazing opportunities, however, it’s hard to beat a crisp winter night, especially if you are hardy enough to camp out during a new moon when visibility is at its peak, or just after a snowfall, when fewer particulates cloud the air.

Getting to enjoy this ornate blanket of stars can also make us more aware of the light pollution and air pollution most of us have become accustomed to in our day-to-day lives—and make us want to fight these threats to our environment so we can enjoy skies like Death Valley’s for years to come.

If you liked this story you might also like

• VIDEO: Behind the Scenes of “Death Valley Dreamlapse” (February 1, 2013)
• Friday Photo: Billions of Stars on View in the Lone Star State (February 17, 2012)
• Author Shares His Love for the Darkest Skies and Most Brilliant Stars (May 30, 2012)

NPCA recently forged a new partnership with the organization I helped found, ioby, as a way to provide a platform for local groups to crowdfund projects in our country’s beloved national parks. It sounds like a cutting-edge idea, and it is—though another cause beat us to the punch by more than a hundred years.

In the late 19th century, French writer and political figure Edouard de Laboulaye came up with the idea for France to give to the United States a symbol of liberty, 100 years after Bastille Day and the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Statue of Liberty was built in two parts. French cities, towns, and individuals contributed two million francs, securing all the necessary funding for the statue’s steel and copper by 1880. But, years later, the United States, still embroiled in a rivalry of which city—Philadelphia, Boston, or New York City—would be the statue’s home state, was unable to come up with the money to build the pedestal upon which Lady Liberty would stand.

Newspaper publisher Joseph Pulitzer had recently purchased the New York City daily, The World. He decided to take up the cause for New York City and inadvertently launched the first American crowdfunding campaign. On March 16, 1885, The World ran this plea:

We must raise the money! The World is the people’s paper, and now it appeals to the people to come forward and raise the money. The $250,000 that the making of the Statue cost was paid in by the masses of the French people—by the working men, the tradesmen, the shop girls, the artisans—by all, irrespective of class or condition. Let us respond in like manner. Let us not wait for the millionaires to give us this money. It is not a gift from the millionaires of France to the millionaires of America, but a gift of the whole people of France to the whole people of America.

By August 11, 1885, the campaign brought in 125,000 donations totaling $100,000, many people donating less than a dollar each to create the foundation for this great symbol of liberty, now managed by the National Park Service.

Today, NPCA and ioby join together to provide an environmental crowdfunding tool (ioby.org/NPCA) that will allow local leaders to continue this great legacy of using citizen philanthropy to support more of our urban national treasures.

ioby is a Brooklyn-based web crowd-resourcing platform. ioby’s name stands for “in our back yards”—the opposite of NIMBY. We’ve designed this platform for all people who say, “Yes, I want positive change in my community!” On ioby, anyone with a great idea to make her neighborhood stronger and more sustainable can raise tax-deductible donations, recruit local volunteers, and share ideas in a like-minded community.

ioby began as a pilot program in New York City and has a special interest in supporting projects in dense urban centers, which is why we are so excited to be working on this partnership with NPCA and their community partners, National Aquarium (Baltimore, Maryland), Tropical Audubon Society (Miami, Florida), and Roots and Wings (Los Angeles, California), who are dedicated to connecting city dwellers to the great outdoors.

We launch the pilot today with three great campaigns. In Baltimore, the National Aquarium and National Park Service will recruit volunteers to clear and maintain trails at the wetland adjacent to Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine. Tropical Audubon Society will lead kayaking trips in Biscayne Bay in Miami. In Los Angeles, the Roots and Wings Program will bring high school students on outdoor adventures into five different urban national parks.

These crowdfunding campaigns are not so different from the campaign to fund the Statue of Liberty. Sure, we have some advantages. Web tools make collecting donations easier and social channels like Facebook and Twitter help us amplify these stories and visions.

But the premise is not unlike what Mr. Pulitzer posed in 1885. Combined with thousands of other small donations, a single dollar gains power. With others, the voice of a lone micro-donor grows louder, and says, “Yes, I want healthy wetlands in Baltimore!” and, “Yes, I support kayaking trips in Biscayne Bay!” and “Yes, I want Los Angeles youth to visit more national parks!”

Learn more about easy ways you can contribute a dollar (or more) to support these urban national park projects and other important causes at ioby.org/NPCA.

UPDATE, March 14, 2012: Thanks to generous community support, one of the three NPCA-supported projects, the Roots and Wings Program, has met its fundraising goal, enabling organizers to bring Los Angeles high school students to national parks this spring. To volunteer for this project, or to support the other two active urban national park projects, visit the ioby website at ioby.org/NPCA.

According to the Center for Biological Diversity, most of the credit for the species’ successful recovery goes to a decision by the U.S. Navy and the Park Service to remove non-native pigs and goats from Santa Barbara, San Clemente, and San Nicholas Islands where the lizard lives (Santa Barbara Island is officially part of Channel Islands National Park; the other two islands are managed by the Navy). The invasive animals had degraded the lizards’ habitat, leading to the decline in their populations. After their removal, the lizards slowly but surely regained their footing. Now, more than 21 million of the reptiles live on San Clemente alone! (NPCA also fought successfully to remove non-native grazing animals from Channel Islands, though in a different region of the park. On Santa Rosa Island, a private hunting and cattle-grazing operation was also degrading habitat; the invasive species were finally completely removed by 2011.)

The island night lizard is one of 145 plant and animal species that live only on the Channel Islands and nowhere else on Earth. The lizard is also not the only threatened species to make a dramatic recovery at this park—the brown pelican and the island fox are two others that went from near-extinction to a healthy recovery. See photos of park wildlife and learn more about these stunning islands by checking out NPCA’s recent slideshow on this park.

A few interesting facts about the island night lizard, from the Park Service website:

• Studies on Santa Barbara Island have shown that island night lizards are not nocturnal as their name suggests, and are actually most active at midday.
• The island night lizard gives birth to live young (as opposed to laying eggs), which is not common among reptiles.
• Island night lizards are slow growing and long-lived, some reaching 25 years of age.
• During the course of their long lives, they accumulate many injuries, including regenerated tails, miscellaneous cuts, missing toes, eye injuries, infections, and the presence of cactus spines.
• With their unusually low metabolic rate, the lizards do not have high energy demands and can live on about half the food that other similar-sized lizards require.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications

This Sunday, many national park supporters will keep their hiking boots in the closet and get their blood pumping in a different way: by cheering their favorite teams to victory when the San Francisco 49ers face the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. With national parks—as well as NPCA staff—based in both teams’ hometowns, two NPCA colleagues defend their turf in our first-ever national park smackdown!

What city do you think has the best national parks? Vote in our Super Bowl park poll!

In the Western corner: San Francisco

-Kati Schmidt, Senior Media Relations Manager and lifelong 49ers fan

As one of the most visited sites in our National Park System with more than 13 million annual visitors, Golden Gate National Recreation Area is as diverse, stunningly gorgeous, and steeped in history as San Francisco, the City by the Bay, itself. Nearly half of this park’s featured sites are within the city limits, and I consider myself lucky to call it my “home” park. A favorite setting for Hollywood blockbusters, its beauty is an easy walk, jog, or public transit ride from my front door, as well as rest of the city. While a love letter to Golden Gate National Recreation Area could easily elevate from sonnet to epic saga, in the name of brevity, I’ll call out a few of my favorite ways to experience the park:

• The Land’s End trail offers hiking and labyrinth-walking along the coast, with jaw-dropping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and sailboats traveling in and out of the city’s fog veil. The trail winds down to Sutro Baths, a former swimmable playground for many and, in recent months, home to a lovable river otter, aptly named “Sutro Sam.”
• Alcatraz is a must-see attraction for global visitors, and my most memorable experience there came last summer, when I braved chilly bay waters to swim from “The Rock” to shore–landing at yet another national treasure, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
• My weekend jogs feature Ocean Beach as a turnaround point. This beach beckons visitors to climb windswept sand dunes, stroll the shoreline, or just scope out surfers.
• My first San Francisco home was in the Presidio, where Ohlone natives originally lived and where numerous battles were waged, before the U.S. Army took control in 1846.

Our beloved San Francisco 49ers rally cry says it all as far as Golden Gate National Recreation Area and our city is concerned: “Who’s Got it Better Than Us?! Nobody!!!”

In the Eastern corner: Baltimore

-Ed Stierli, Steve & Roberta Denning Land Conservation Fellow and die-hard fan of all things Chesapeake

You’ll get a taste of Baltimore in the Superdome this weekend when Ravens fans show support for their city with a thunderous “OH!” as Alicia Keyes hits the high notes of the Star-Spangled Banner. Francis Scott Key never could have predicted this lyrical change, but he would be proud of the city that valiantly defended America’s freedom (while San Francisco was still a part of Spain). Stories from the War of 1812 and the landscape of the Chesapeake Bay make the Baltimore region the most unique city for national parks in the United States.

Why we are the best Bay Area:

• Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine—This site is the only such doubly designated national park and one of the country’s last standing star-shaped forts. After the burning of Washington, DC, during the War of 1812, the fort bravely defended Baltimore and repelled the British Navy, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner. Almost one million visitors come to the fort each year, which also is home to a sprawling wetland.
• The Chesapeake Bay—North America’s largest estuary is home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals. The bay’s watershed encompasses 54 national parks, and its iconic skipjacks, oysters, ospreys, and Cypress trees are unrivaled.
• Water Trails—Baltimore is home to not one, but two congressionally designated water trails: the Captain John Smith Chesapeake and Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trails. Both offer an outdoor paradise with thousands of miles for boating, fishing, hiking, and birding throughout one of the most beautiful landscapes in America.
• Charm City—Babe Ruth, Edgar Allan Poe, and the cast of Hairspray have all called Baltimore home. The city has more than 56,000 buildings listed in 52 National Register historic districts, providing a bustling National Heritage Area. Ask anyone who frequents historic Fells Point, a neighborhood which transports visitors back to when Baltimore was a “nest of pirates.”
• Blue Crabs—The Dungeness has nothing on Maryland Blue Crabs. The Maryland state crustacean is a favorite for crab cakes or steamed with some Old Bay. Crabcakes and football, that’s what Maryland does.

Is your heart in San Francisco? Does Charm City have the real charm? You decide the most Super City for Parks! Vote for your favorite in the poll above to help us crown the winner!

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

Korematsu’s story is not widely known, though three state governments are helping to change that by declaring January 30 Fred Korematsu Day—the first such holiday honoring an Asian American.

The United States officially entered World War II after Japanese fighters bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941; the country had been at war for more than a year when President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 giving U.S. armed forces broad powers to incarcerate anyone in the name of military defense. The government overwhelmingly used this power to imprison Japanese Americans for having “foreign enemy ancestry” (though German Americans, Italian Americans, and Jewish Americans were also detained, in smaller numbers). Ultimately, the military kept 120,000 innocent people under armed guard in isolated areas of the West, forcing them to leave their homes, businesses, possessions, and normal lives behind—for years.

When the incarcerations began, Korematsu chose to defy the executive order and live as an ordinary American, changing his name and even undergoing minor plastic surgery on his eyes in an attempt to hide his ethnicity. Still, he was arrested in May 1942, convicted in a federal court, and held against his will at a “relocation center” until the end of the war.

“Fred was not interested in a pardon from the government; instead, he always felt that it was the government who should seek a pardon from him and from Japanese Americans for the wrong that was committed.” – Kathryn Korematsu

Korematsu maintained his innocence and appealed his arrest all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled against him in 1944, claiming the imprisonments were a “military necessity.” His arrest was a black mark on his record for decades. Finally, in 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed a special commission on the incarcerations that ultimately determined in 1983 that the government had imprisoned thousands of Japanese Americans based on racism and prejudice, not military necessity. In 1982, Peter Irons, a political science professor at the University of California, uncovered secret government documents while conducting research. The documents proved that the Justice Department had knowingly suppressed evidence showing that the incarcerated Americans were innocent of wrongdoing and posed no military threat to justify their imprisonment. The new evidence and the presidential commission’s findings allowed a legal team to reopen Korematsu’s case and overturn his criminal conviction in 1983, more than four decades after his arrest.

During the litigation, the government offered Korematsu a pardon in exchange for dropping his lawsuit. His wife, Kathryn Korematsu, described his reaction this way: “Fred was not interested in a pardon from the government; instead, he always felt that it was the government who should seek a pardon from him and from Japanese Americans for the wrong that was committed.”

Korematsu spent the later years of his life protesting the government detention of suspected combatants at Guantanamo Bay after 9/11, filing amicus briefs on behalf of Muslims incarcerated without trials.

The National Park Service has played an important role telling the story of Japanese-American incarceration during World War II. Three of the ten “relocation camps” at Manzanar, Minidoka, and Tule Lake are now parts of the National Park System, though the camp where Korematsu spent most of his incarceration, the Topaz War Relocation Center in Utah, was mostly stripped of its buildings and artifacts after the war when the government auctioned off much of the land and property there. Some items are preserved in a local museum, and the site is recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

Learn more about Korematsu’s legacy on the Korematsu Institute website, and read a recent story in National Parks magazine about some of the remarkable works of art created by Japanese Americans in the camps, written by the daughter of two internees.

-Jennifer Errick, Editor, Online Communications