Gateway Communities Come Together for Parks 
On January 25, 2006, NPCA and nine chambers of commerce in the California desert hosted the “Gateway Communities Desert Parks Funding workshop” in Yucca Valley, just outside of Joshua Tree National Park. This ambitious workshop was designed to produce initiatives that would enable local businesses and communities to improve funding for the California desert parks—Joshua Tree, Death Valley, and the Mojave National Preserve. The enthusiastic crowd of 60 included elected officials, city managers and employees, National Park Service (NPS) staff, business owners, conservationists, and citizen activists. Representatives from Governor Schwarzenegger’s and Senator Feinstein’s offices also attended.
Two lively morning panel discussions educated the crowd. The first panel, made up of desert gateway community leaders, discussed the national parks’ importance to their communities and businesses. Speakers highlighted some new and unique community projects that benefit from their proximity to the desert parks, such as the “Sky’s The Limit” observatory project in 29 Palms and the Barstow-to-Kelso Heritage Railroad. On the second panel, NPS managers and NPCA staff reviewed potential solutions to funding challenges facing the desert parks and the entire park system. During the working lunch, a field representative for Sen. Feinstein, D’Ann Lanning, explained some of the Senator’s efforts on behalf of parks. Also, NPCA staff discussed their efforts on behalf of parks to organize community leaders to work with Congress.
After lunch, breakout groups generated diverse ways to improve the desert parks’ capacity to fulfill the Park Service mission, focusing on fundraising, collaborating with Congress, regional marketing and education, increasing park volunteerism, and pursuing community projects that benefit from and reinforce the parks’ mission.
As lead organizer of this event, NPCA is now following up by channeling participants’ enthusiasm and organizing committees to pursue the excellent ideas suggested at the conference. If you’d like to be involved, contact Howard Gross, NPCA California desert program manager, at 760-366-3035 or hgross@npca.org.
Thanks to “Gateway Communities Desert Parks Funding Workshop” sponsors:
Barstow Area Chamber of Commerce
Barstow Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
Death Valley Chamber of Commerce
Joshua Tree Chamber of Commerce
Morongo Valley Chamber of Commerce
Ridgecrest Area Convention & Visitors Bureau
Twentynine Palms Chamber of Commerce
Yucca Valley Chamber of Commerce
