WASHINGTON – On Monday, March 26, 2007, Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne will be in Seattle, Wash., hosting a listening session to seek suggestions and ideas on President Bush’s $3 billion National Park Centennial Initiative.
While there, Kempthorne will visit a local classroom at B.F. Day Elementary School to talk with 4th and 5th grade students about Olympic National Park and tour Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park – Seattle Unit. Both events are open to the news media. There also will be a news media availability immediately before the listening session.
The session at Town Hall Seattle is part of a series of meetings being held around the country. The President’s proposal would provide up to $3 billion in new public and private investment during the next ten years to reinvigorate and strengthen national parks by the National Park Service’s 100th birthday in 2016.
Participants are being asked to focus their comments on three vital questions:
Imagine you, your children, or future generations enjoying national parks
in 2016 and beyond. What are your hopes and expectations?
● What role do you think national parks should play in the lives of Americans
and visitors from around the world?
● What are the signature projects and programs that you think should be
highlighted for completion over the next 10 years?
“These sessions are a great opportunity to think big and act boldly to develop a plan to prepare national parks for the future," said Kempthorne.
From the session discussions, the Interior Department and the National Park Service will identify signature projects and programs, set specific performance goals and report to the President by May 31. The public also may comment on the National Park Centennial Initiative through April 2 online at the following site: www.nps.gov/2016.
| WHO: | Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, National Park Service Regional Director Jonathan B. Jarvis |
| WHAT: | Visit to Seattle, Wash.; Listening Session on NPS Centennial Initiative |
| WHEN: | Monday, March 26, 2007 EVENT # 1: Visit to B.F. Day Elementary School – 2 to 2:55 p.m. EVENT # 2: Tour Klondike Gold Rush NHP (Seattle Unit) – 3:20 to 3:50 p.m. EVENT # 3: News Media Availability – 5:10 to 5:25 p.m. EVENT # 4: Centennial Initiative Listening Session – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. |
| WHERE: | 1) B. F. Day Elementary School, 3921 Linden Avenue N, Seattle, WA 98103; 2) Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park (Seattle Unit), 319 Second Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98104; 3 & 4) Town Hall Seattle, 1119 Eighth Ave (at Seneca Street), Seattle, WA 98101. |
| MEDIA: | All credentialed news media are welcome to attend all of the events. |