Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club BLOG

The President Richard Angeli is resigning effective April 28, 2009

Follow this link to read his letter of resignation.

“The Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club is being nominated for the George B. Hartzog Jr Outstanding Volunteer Service Award. “The George B. Hartzog, Jr. Awards for Outstanding Volunteer Service were established in 2002 to recognize the commitment of the Service’s most outstanding volunteers. During his nine years as Director of the NPS (1964-1972), George Hartzog created the Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP) Program, which was born of the need for more qualified personnel at a time when national parks were becoming increasingly popular.”There are regional and national awards for individuals and for groups. The following list describes some of the club’s recent accomplishments and current plans:

2008 Accomplishments1.       Donated 4,000 + Volunteer Hours to the Park. a.       Completed construction of a new high traffic capable  ___ mi trail segment between the Visitor Center and the fire road approach to Big Kennesaw Mountain b.      Made improvements to the Pigeon Hill Approach from Burnt Hickory Road by improving drainage, and adding new steps c.       Nature trail accorss from the vistors center had extensive trail work done on it to improve drainage and repair trail. d.      Nature trail accorss from the vistors center - removed the old Boy Scout theater benches that had rotted and become dangerous. e.       Major reroute to the trail in the field accross the Knob Farm. f.        Performed extensive restructuring and drainage improvements to the final approach to Little Kennesaw from Big Kennesaw 2.       Hosted more than 60 Volunteers for Garlic Mustard (invasive weed) Pull in April 3.       Received a $5,000 Grant from REI which was used to: a.       Produce 10,000 Front Country Leave No Trace Brochures encouraging visitors to the park to minimize their impact on the historical and natural features of the park and to enhance the experience for everyone. b.      Produce 10,000 Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club Brochures to encourage visitor’s and others from the community at large to volunteer to help maintain and develop the trails at Kennesaw Mountain c.       Trained 7 new Trail Crew Leaders d.      Remainder will be used to provide equipment for the soon to be launched Visitor Contact program called Trail Ambassadors. 4.       Provided Crew Leader advisors for 4 Boy Scout Eagle Leadership Projects completed in the park during 2008 5.       Hosted an American Hiking Society National Trails Day event with REI that drew a record 250+ Volunteers and produced more than 1,250 service hours on a single day. 6.       Received and began working on a $30,000 NPS Challenge Grant to facilitate a Front Country “Leave No Trace” visitor awareness program to encourage visitor’s to minimize their impact on the park, protect the historical and natural resources, and maximize the enjoyment of their visits for everyone.  The grant will be used to: a.       Acquire and install 4 Information and Interpretive Kiosks at major trail heads b.      Implement a Visitor Contact Program called Trail Ambassadors 7.      Published Earthworks newsletter 9 times and emailed copies to 400 + people on the mailing list.8.      Registered over 300 volunteers using the NPS Volunteer Service Agreements9.      Conducted Outreach activities with Kiwanis Club, Keep Cobb Beautiful, Boy Scouts of America10.  Participated in Partnership with Kennesaw REI & involvement in their Grand Opening 11.  Registered with Guidestar in order to receive donations as a non-profit organization   2009 Plans and ActionsFor the remainder of Fiscal 2009, pending the outcome of the Strategic Trail Plan Environmental Assessment, and the finalization of the Strategic Interpretive plan for the park the club will be focusing on:1.       Completing implementation of the Leave No Trace Challenge Grant 2.       Implementing a “Section Overseer” program with our trail crew leaders to give us broader coverage of the entire 21+ mile trail system and expand opportunities for volunteer work in the park beyond our scheduled 2^nd Saturday Workdays. 3.      Assisting with a Garlic Mustard Pull for Public Lands Day April 4  4.       Host a National Trails Day event. 5.       Implement General and project specific Memorandums of Agreement with the Park to help ensure a long term sustainable relationship between the club, the community, and the park6.      Increase volunteer participation through partnerships with REI, Hands On Atlanta, Volunteer Match, Keep Cobb Beautiful and other community service groups7.      Increase public awareness of Trail Club volunteer activities at the park by posting signs monthly on park trails and seeking media coverage of club activities. Challenges Confronting the Organization            There are two ongoing challenges to the long term success of the Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club: First is the need to develop a general Memorandum of Agreement between the Organization and the Park that will guide our activities over the long term, and survive existing management in both organizations. The second challenge is to establish a strong financial footing for organization that will allow it to manage itself, and also participate as a full partner in the efforts of the Park Service to preserve and develop the park for the benefit of all current and future visitors and the community at large.    

6:00 AM Saturday 2/14/2009:

Today’s Workday at the Park is rescheduled to next Saturday 2/21 at 8:30 AM. Meet at the Park Service Area.

The rain is passing, however the ground will still be too wet to work for at least 24 hours.

 Richard Angeli
President
Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club

Acting Superintendent Ms. Nancy Walther notified us this morning, Wednesday October 8, 2008 that Dr. Stanley C. Bond has been named Superintendent of Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.  Dr. Bond will assume duty at KEMO on Monday December 8, 2008.  Currently Dr. Bond serves as the Superintendent for the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail.

Biographical sketch of Dr. Stanley C. Bond Jr.

Dr Bond is a native of Beaufort, South Carolina, He received a BA in Anthropology and a BS in Geology from the University of Alabama and a MA and PhD in Anthropology from the State University of New York at Albany.His dissertation, titled “Tradition and Change in First Spanish Period(1565-1764) St. Augustine, Florida Architecture: A Search for Colonial Identity”, examined the role town planning and architecture played in the development of New World Spanish colonial identity. Along with spending 14 years as the Archaeologist for the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board, Dr. Bond has work on prehistoric and historic archaeological sites throughout the east, southeast, Caribbean, and Hawaii. Other position he has held include Archeologist for the US Army Environmental Center, Integrated Resources Manager for Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Hawaii, and adjunct instructor at Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida.

The following article is shocking at best.  What has happened to force us all away from enjoying all the marvelous natural spaces our ancestors worked so hard to protect and preserve for our future enjoyment?The Following Article is taken from the Economist July 10, 2008ON JULY 4th, normally the busiest public holiday of the year, tourists were put off by high petrol prices and more than 300 wildfires raging across California. On Memorial Day, traditionally the beginning of the summer season, it was cold. In 1999 there was a grisly murder. In 1997 the Merced river flooded, inundating a hotel and wiping out hundreds of campsites. There are always excuses for the absence of people in Yosemite National Park.The number of visitors to California’s most spectacular valley has dropped for nine out of the past 13 years, and seems to be heading down again this year. Even in 2007—a relatively busy year—attendance was 11% below the mid-1990s peak. In America as a whole the number of visitors to national parks and historic sites peaked in 1987. Visitors are staying for less time and camping less often, especially in the wilderness. And rangers are hearing less American-accented English. Were it not for British and German tourists enjoying the weak dollar, the parks would be desolate.Falling enthusiasm for what the writer Wallace Stegner called America’s “best idea” is especially striking in such a fast-growing part of the country. Since 1994 California has swollen from 31.5m to over 38m people. The speediest growth is inland, close to parks like Joshua Tree, Sequoia and Yosemite. The same pattern holds further east. Larry Swanson of the Centre for the Rocky Mountain West notes a strong correlation between population increase and proximity to national parks and forests. Americans plainly think it is a good idea to live near national parks, but they are not so keen on visiting them.Americans are retreating from other outdoor activities too. Despite an explosion in the deer population, the number of hunters fell from 19.1m to 12.5m between 1975 and 2006. Fishing has declined more steeply, particularly among the young. This worries everybody from urban liberals (who fret about the health of a generation growing up indoors) to rural conservatives (who fear that public lands will be closed to hunters if not enough turn up). The “No Child Left Inside” act, which would pay for children to be taught about the delights of the countryside, is trundling through Congress. Nebraska now provides turkey-hunting lessons for women.By contrast, it is not clear to everyone in the National Park Service that the lack of visitors is a problem, admits Dean Reeder, its tourism director. Some rangers, indeed, seem to view visitors as an impediment to the smooth running of the parks. Wiser heads know this is folly. As Americans lose interest in the national parks, they will become less willing to pay for them through taxes. Some worry about Hispanics, a fast-growing group that seems resistant to the call of the wild.Like many things that go wrong in America, the drift away from nature is commonly blamed on television, video games and the internet. This is implausible. The number of park visitors rose steeply between the 1950s and the mid-1980s, even as the first two electronic lures spread. Rather more credible is the explanation that Americans are more fearful for their children and have become unwilling to leave them in the company of strange men, green-hatted or otherwise. But the biggest reason of all is competition.Attendance at national parks was not the only thing that peaked between the late 1980s and the early 1990s. In 1991 America’s homicide rate reached 9.8 per 100,000 people. Many cities were known for lawlessness and grot; not surprisingly, holiday-makers were passing them up for greener spots. Then, miraculously, the murder rate began to slide, falling to just 5.5 per 100,000 in 2000. Led by New York, cities spruced themselves up and began to attract more tourists.Fred Kent of the Project for Public Spaces, a consultancy, reckons Americans have rediscovered the pleasures of densely-populated, exciting places. Not all of these are cities, although they tend to look like them. In 1994, the year Yosemite’s crowds were at their thickest, MGM announced plans to build a casino on the Las Vegas strip that resembled New York. By the time it was finished, three years later, work had begun on Paris and Venice. Shopping malls began to transform themselves from covered boxes into ersatz downtowns open to the elements.Yosemite is long on staggering views but short on what most people would today regard as entertainment. It contains fewer diversions than it once did. Scott Gediman, the park’s spokesman, points out that it used to have a Cadillac dealership and a zoo. Although pretty, Yosemite’s hotels are basic compared to most cities (if they were in Las Vegas they would have been dynamited long ago). Camp Curry, a vaguely military cluster of fixed tents and cabins, has hardly changed in a century.As in other national parks, Yosemite’s rooms tend to sell out in descending price order. Expensive hotels go before cheaper ones—indeed, they routinely book up as soon as reservations can be made, 366 days in advance. Cabins with bathrooms go before cabins without. This suggests there is pent-up demand for luxury hotel rooms. Not only is there little chance more will be built; it is proving almost impossible to put up a handful of campsites.The Merced river flood of 1997 almost halved the number of campsites in Yosemite Valley. Today there are just 464, accommodating 2,700 people at most. The park wants to build more, although not nearly as many as there were before the flood. This plan, which is part of a modest package of improvements to the park’s infrastructure and one of its hotels, has been opposed by local conservation groups on the ground that it fails to address threats to the valley’s ecology.So far conservationists have managed to block the renovations. And they have opened a broader front in the battle against development. Earlier this year a federal court ruled that the National Park Service must limit human use of Yosemite Valley. That may mean a daily cap on visitor numbers. If the park imposes one, the example is likely to spread across America. This will create pressure to solve environmental problems by turning more people away.This is a shame, and a self-defeating exercise. America’s environmental movement emerged in the 19th century to push for national parks. In the 20th century it sold them to the public through photographs and writing. It now seems bent on driving people away from them.

Please Join Us for our annual meeting in the Community Room at the back of the REI Kennesaw Store.  This is our annual meeting, and the only formal club meeting we hold during the year. 

This is the 6th anniversary of the Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club.  (KEMOTrail Corps, Inc.).  We will have a state of the Club Presentation by our President, elect new officers, and have a general discussion of the future of the orgainzation. 

We will also have a drawing for door prizes of REI Merchandise.

All Active members, Associate members, of the Club and any interested parties are invited to attend. Each Active member is entitled to one vote for a candidate for each position on the Board of Directors and one vote for each issue presented for approval. Associate members are not eligible to vote.

An Active member is any member over the age of 18 who has participated in a minimum of two trail workdays or other planned activities in the current fiscal year or in the preceding 12 calendar months if this is their first year of participation. An associate member is any member of any age who has participated in at least one club activity in the current year.

Additional nominations may be made through our web site http://www.kennesawmountaintrailclub.org/id3.html or by postal mail to:

KEMOTrail Corps, Inc.905 Kennesaw Mountain Dr.,Kennesaw GA, 30152.

President – Richard C. Angeli, incumbent

The following announcement was made today Thursday July 31, 2008 by interim superintendent Riana Ventura-Bishop

“After an extensive review process of 15 applicants for Facility Manager at Kennesaw Mountain, Mr. Thomas Sparks of George Washington Memorial Parkway has been offered and accepted the position.

He comes to the park with a wealth of National Park Service experience as well as experience as an individual business owner/operator. He has extensive partnership, financial and supervisory skills in all areas that are critical to serving as a Facility Manager. Not only can he do the administrative duties of the position, but he also brings with him experience as a roads and trails employee (later as supervisor of the division of 20), but also is certified as HVAC specialist and general maintenance mechanic.

The decision to hire Mr. Sparks took in every aspect of every candidate to ensure that the very best candidate was hired for the park. Extensive reference checks were conducted on the top six applicants with intensive interviews of the top 3.

While there were very many well qualified candidates on the certificate, we feel that we have made the selection of the best candidate and hope that all park employees will be supportive of the decision.

Mr. Sparks will officially enter on duty effective August 4 and will report to the office on August 11.

In closing, we have been very fortunate to have two acting Facility Managers (Andrew Callens of MALU and Steve Crowder of HOBE) while the position was vacant. The work that they have accomplished during their stay was critical to keeping the park operational and does not go unnoticed nor unappreciated. They have demonstrated their commitment to the agency to serve where needed and we all are very grateful for their assistance.”

Nature is God’s first missionary. Where there is no Bible there are sparkling stars. Where there are no preachers there are spring times…. If a person has nothing but nature, then nature is enough to reveal something about God.

Max Lucado

Psalm 19:1-6

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. Day to Day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. There is neither speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard, yet their voice goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world.  In them he has set a tent for the sun which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens and its circuit to the end of them; and there is nothing hid from its heat. 

So here in these two quotes though previously unspoken or at least not recognized in the foreground of my consciousness is all the reason needed to explain why we do what we do to preserve our natural and historic wonders.

The following is the list of items from the Flip Charts we wrote during our meeting Tuesday Evening 1/22/2008. I’ve added Italicized and bolded comments on the things I know are in progress since the meeting. I will also post these unedited notes on the blog page of our web site. As you can see there is already a great deal of activity that has been stimulated out of our meeting.

• What are Examples of Pressure On the Park
• Need More Info / Distance Signage
  • Leah & Claude (Outreach Committee) Are working with Park Service and Vendors to design and order Kiosks and Trail Signs for 2007 Challenge Grant implementation
• Why do Other Parks have more Monuments?
• Generate Community Interest and Awareness (Education)
• Leverage Media
  • Sue (Communications Committee) Researching Requirements and Costs to develop program for Television
  • Requires participation and approval from NPS MGT.
  • Timing important need approved plans and projects in place to take advantage of response when published
  • Receiving Media Kit from KSU PR Class Fall 2007
• Can State / Local Governments Assist?
  
  • Yes
• Petition Representatives (US) to Earmark funds for KEMO
• Survey Volunteers for Skills to Match Needs
• Who Does http://nps.gov/kemo Web Site?
• Broaden our Web Site
  • Sue / Lewis working on ways to increase interest and appeal of site and drive more traffic.
• What is a successful model of a web site?
  • http://friendsofthesmokies.org/
  • http://www.friendsofacadia.org/
  • http://gettysburgfoundation.org/
  • http://georgiabattlefields.org/
• Deal with NPS willingness to address negative things
• Approach Private Sector
  • Need a Patron Local
  • 1^st the Broader
• NPS Visitor Fees | New Rules
• Visibility Day
• Also Native American Site, But No History in Place
• Marietta Mayor is a Neighbor of the Park
• Why do we need an MOA? We got the bridge done Without One.
  • As the relationship between KEMOTrail Corps and the Service (Dept of the Interior National Park Service) becomes more involved and complex, it is important to have a clear understanding of responsibilities, and limitations to action between the organizations.
• Need a description of skills needed
• Start with 3 people to focus on this project
  • We now have 4 people and a meeting scheduled for Friday February 1^st to begin work.
    • Richard Angeli (President)
    • Jay Haney (Finance Director)
    • Fred Feltmann (News Letter Editor)
    • Anne Strand (Grant Writer)
• How do We Make the Transition from Volunteer Service to “Full Fledged Friends of the Park”?
  • Slowly deliberately with a great deal of support and guidance from our peers in several other parks (Acadia, Gettysburg, Great Smoky Mountains)
• Tap History Buffs
  • Establishing contact with the Georgia Battlefields Association (includes former superintendent John Cissell).
• Are Other Organizations Interested In Joining?
  • Finding out is a Task for the Organization Committee
• Create a New Organization to do the larger mission and work with the existing organizations
  • Consensus at the meeting was to build on our established foundation
  • Comment from the floor “This is a natural progression for our development.”
• Be Patient VS Be Ready for New Superintendent
  • Be Ready
• Can’t see any reason not to Explore
• Consensus We Go Ahead
• Work with Lloyd to review MOA
• Pamphlet Tourist Destination

Richard C. Angeli
President
Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club
http://kennesawmountaintrailclub.org
kmtcpresident@kemotrailcorps.org
(770) 356-4265

The Park

The latest word is that we still need an interim superintendent. Replacement of Marion Harris as Maintenance Supervisor will be the responsibility of the new Superintendent. Hiring of new Maintenance Staff will await naming of the Maintenance Supervisor. I learned this morning that the NPS Regional office in Atlanta is also awaiting the appointment of an new Director.

The net of all this is that it could be almost a year before we see a complete management team in the park.

In the same discussion with Charlotte Gillis from RTCA, I learned that the EA for the Strategic Trail Plan is at the Regional Office in the Environmental Assessment office. There are issues with the complexity of the plan that they are working to resolve. In the mean time there is nothing that can be done to expedite the process. In the meantime we will continue to work on the projects that are already approved. More on that below.

The Club

Organization

We’re forming a team to work on building the organization we discussed at Tuesday’s meeting. The team will consist of Richard Angeli, Jay Haney, Fred Feltmann, and a new participant Anne Strand. Please welcome Anne to the organization. We will hold a kick off meeting at my house on Friday February 1, 2008 to plan our tasks, divide up the work, and set some targets.

This week I have opened communications with three additional organizations that may be of assistance to us as we move forward:

1. The NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program http://nps.gov/rtca
2. The Friends of the Smokies http://friendsofthesmokies.org/
3. Georgia Battlefields Association http://georgiabattlefields.org/

Trails

Work is continuing on Phase I of the new ADA accessible mountain trail. With continued strong volunteer participation, and cooperation from the weather it may be possible to open the first phase in March 2008. Work will then commence on rehabilitating the current trail back to nature.

The Trail Committee is currently researching the types of materials, and costs involved in hardening the surface, and providing any other facilities to make the trail completely ADA Compliant.

The committee is also looking into ways and means of assisting the park with equipment maintenance expenses for things like replacing the Tracks on the 5 year old Ditch Witch SK 500 for which we are the principle users.

We’re awaiting word on the status of our 2008 NPS Challenge Grant Application for funds to replace the “Steel” Bridge Below the Illinois Monument.

The 2009 Challenge Grant for a bridge that will be needed on the new trails that make up the western extension, and open up access to many of the Union Positions on that side of the park is dependent on the outcome of the EA of the Strategic Trail Plan.

Outreach

The outreach committee is moving ahead with implementation of our 2007 NPS Challenge Grant for Leave No Trace which includes new trail head kiosks, new directional signs on the trails, and launching the Trail Ambassador Program for Visitor Assistance and guidance.

Communications

The communications committee is investigating ways to add to the information value, and encourage visitation to our web site.

They are also looking into resources and costs for developing a television broadcast covering the park, it’s significance to the community, and its need for support.

When the time is right we will be ready to assist the park service to create and distribute the program for the best advantage in generating a response from the community.

If any of you want to add things to this message, please don’t hesitate to reply all with your reports and comments.

Richard C. Angeli

President

Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club

http://kennesawmountaintrailclub.org

kmtcpresident@kemotrailcorps.org

(770) 356-4265