March 2013 - Parks & Recreation - 20

Front Page

Briefly Noted
Q Last month, President Obama appointed REI CEO Sally Jewell as the
Secretary of the Department of the
Interior, replacing Ken Salazar once
he steps down this month. Jewell has
headed the successful outdoor outfitting company for eight years and previously worked in the private sectors of
oil, banking, and business. Her nomination has been widely applauded by
natural resource nonprofits and outdoor-focused companies nationwide.
Upon her approval through Senate
hearings and confirmation, she will
take the post in March.
Q The park and recreation community has lost three longtime advocates in
recent months with the passing of Helen Doria, Bob Robertson, and Chester
Freeman. Doria was instrumental in
creating programs for teenagers through
the 1980s and '90s in Chicago city parks,
and she later became a founding member of the City Parks Alliance. A tireless advocate for city parks nationwide,
Doria may be best remembered as the
executive director of Chicago's Millennium Park. In Alaska, Robertson served
as director of the Albany, Corvallis, and
Anchorage Departments of Parks and
Recreation over his career, and he was
also a founding member of the Alaska
Recreation and Park Association. He
represented the NRPA Citizen Board
both as president and vice president,
and he also served on NRPA's Board
of Trustees. Freeman, another NRPA
trustee, spent more than 30 years developing parks and recreation in Cullman,
Alabama. All three leaders leave an impressive legacy for their colleagues to
follow.
Q After the Detroit City Council
failed to vote in time on a proposal by the State of Michigan to turn
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Parks & Recreation

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over operations of Belle Isle Park
to the state, Governor Rick Snyder
pulled the proposal. The offer would
have saved the city $6 to $8 million
in maintenance fees per year, and
as a result of the failed deal, Detroit
Mayor David Bing has announced
that the city will have to close 50 city
parks this spring to make up for the
deficit. A number of other cuts will
be made to park services as well.
Since 2008, the Detroit Recreation
Department has reduced its number
of operating parks from 317 to 57
due to budgetary constraints. A cadre
of 108 volunteer groups has adopted
different parks around Detroit, and
they have vowed to work tirelessly to
keep the parks in usable shape.
Q After decades of informal public
use, the clothing-optional Pirate's
Cove area of Avila Beach is now
part of California's San Luis Obispo
County's park system. The county's
Board of Supervisors accepted the
title to the 27-acre property in February and plans to begin a $1.4-million
upgrade that will include a new parking lot, restrooms, a trail connecting
Pirate's Cove to Shell Beach, and improved access trails to the beach. Although the site's most popular feature
is the secluded, 3,100-foot-long nude
beach at Pirate's Cove, the property also includes a series of informal
trails that lead to sea caves and spectacular views of the Pacific Ocean.
The area is also rich in Native American artifacts. Supervisor Adam Hill,
whose district includes Pirate's Cove,
said he supports continuing current
uses of the property.
For more news from around the industry, visit www.parksandrecreation
.org/2013/March/Briefly-Noted.

March 2013 - Parks & Recreation

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