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Post by Tapering on Jul 14, 2006 9:46:02 GMT -5
The following information was pasted on the GA High School T&F/XC web site.
I thought others may want to know and possibly attend.
T-
Greetings,
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park is a member of the National Park System and was established in the 1930's as a memorial to those who fought and died during the battle in June of 1864. Over the years many people have sought to use the site for many different purposes however, the staff at Kennesaw Mountain continues to manage the park for its established purposes; therefore---
Please be advised that Kennesaw Mountain NBP superintendent, Dan Brown will hold a meeting to discuss Cross Country teams' usage and other running clubs that use the site for training. The meeting will take place on July 25, 2006 at 7 pm in the Visitor Center at 900 Kennesaw Mountain Drive. All schools & their booster clubs, as well as running clubs, are strongly advised to have a representative present at the meeting to gather information or give comment to alternatives which will be discussed.
Sincerely,
L. R. Morris Chief Ranger
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Post by Cardmaster on Jul 14, 2006 13:23:19 GMT -5
I believe Griz is planning on going. I am definitely going to try to go.
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Post by janice on Jul 15, 2006 11:34:27 GMT -5
I will defnitely be there. I believe VP is coming too
janice P.
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Post by janice on Jul 15, 2006 11:37:45 GMT -5
We are going to run at the park (as a group no less) beforehand - maybe a little earlier than normal. Maybe 5:45? I don't mind running a little and/or being a little late.
Let me know if you are interested in running with us Janice
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Post by janice on Jul 25, 2006 21:36:52 GMT -5
hey richcheese
i see you are online.
what say u about the meeting? sounded ok for GUTS
special use permits for all organized groups....as i expected
i will post notes tomorrow janice
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Post by janice on Jul 26, 2006 15:20:47 GMT -5
The meeting was held last night and it was packed! So much so that they turned some folks away. Anyway, here are the notes that I took. Comments anyone?
KNBP Meeting Notes – Team/Club Park Use 7-25-06
There was an overflow crowd and they turned some folks away. I'm sorry if anyone did not get to attend because of that.
Dan Brown, superintendent led the meeting; also in attendance from the park – chief ranger Lloyd Morris
Dan introduced himself; he is a long time national park employee, worked at 10 other parks across the US; was a former cross-country and marathon runner (sub 3 hours!); also rides horses
About 1.5M users per year at KNBP; 2nd busiest Battlefield to Gettysburg, but it is considered a small park, and receives a small park budget based on it’s size; 160K cars pass through the park per day
Complaints-Messages-Concerns the park has received from visitors: Felt over-run; left in tears because park wasn’t the same What can we do about all the HS and college teams? Make it very hard to park Teams leave behind bottles and trash and sometimes hang “sweats” from trees/monuments Cheatham Hill-is a very important historical battle area (Dan read passage of vicious battle that took place there); none of us mind sharing, but schools disturb me – it’s one big track meet Teams park in grass Every school and club around uses park, make them go use Piedmont Park! Park Statement of Purpose – teams and clubs violate it
Dan admitted that some of the concerns were a little exaggerated, but they do consistently get complaints about the schools, and not other groups that use the park (ie horses, bird watchers, boy scouts)
Dan spoke about the park’s purpose (historical monument to battle of Altanta); read Historical passage; defined need for Special Use Permits (SUP)
SUPs – should be used for all “organized groups” that require management by the park; organized groups were defined by Dan as those having a charter, bylaws, 501c3 or incorporated status SUPs – will be issued on a yearly basis; fee of $100; Should include dates, times, location, size of group and number of vehicles; Will not be given for Saturday or Sunday after noon; Will not be given for having a “staging” area at Cheatham hill monument parking lot Additional requirements: team/club must attend a park presentation on the park history; team/ club must attend discussion on trail etiquette **GUTS suggested adding a volunteer requirement
Discussion: What about all the other obnoxious users of the park (horses, dog walkers with long leashes, etc) – this subject was quelled quickly by Lloyd-saying the purpose of the meeting was to discuss running teams How about using horse trailer parking area? Answer: Maybe When do we need to apply? Answer: soon When does this start? Answer: soon (but no date given) Define organized groups (my ed: needs to be done on paper, although Dan tried to explain his definition, see above, this question was asked multiple times in multiple ways) Can the fee be waived for non-profits? Answer: NO How will it be decided who gets a permit for a give day/time? First come, first serve? Lottery? Answer: TBD
Main Issues: Parking Multiple groups at same place/same time Use of sensitive park areas (ie Cheatham Hill) for staging areas Big groups running together on trail won’t yield/move over for other trail users
For now they will compile notes from the meeting, and comments and schedules collected from the team/club representatives. Once compiled they will make another announcement on how this process will work going forward. They did ask that we remember it may not be exactly right to begin with but they want to work with groups on the process.
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Post by richcheese on Jul 26, 2006 17:43:40 GMT -5
My mental notes for myself (some may apply to all of us): - 84 parking spaces at the visitor center fill up fast when you have 1.4 million annual visitors
- Try to arrive on time for training runs so there's no need to park at the park
- Car pool if possible if parking at the park
- Avoid wearing GUTS logo items at the park (a personal paranoia item)
- Avoid running in Cheatham Hill / Illinois Monument area of park
- Keep volunteering and to that end, get trail supervisor status (personal)
My impression was that none of the other running organizations do any volunteer work. Given that GUTS has been volunteering as a group (especially outside the KEMO trail work days), we should be on the list of "good" running groups. I'm wondering how the changes will work with our scheduled events. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
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Post by janice on Aug 2, 2006 21:01:59 GMT -5
ya know i really didn't think my comment that "maybe volunteering should be required as part of the permit" went over all that well, but read below from superintendent Dan. I plan to go on the 12th and help out.
Cross Country and Track Coaches, and Running Club Representatives,
It was very obvious from the attendance and responses at the meeting on July 27 that all of the teams and running groups really enjoy and appreciate the experience of being able to run and train at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. If you would like to give back to the park, we really, really do need your help with maintaining the trails. As I shared at the meeting, all of our trail maintenance is accomplished by volunteers. The Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club coordinates volunteer work days on the second Saturday of every month, year round, from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The next work day is on Saturday, August 12. Thanks for your consideration - I hope to see some of you there.
Below is an email from Richard Angeli, President of the Kennesaw Mountain Trail Club. He wanted to attend the meeting on July 27, but his message below captures what he had to share. ***NOTE I didn't include this because it was really long and re-hashed the whole history-give back to the park story***
Sincerely,
Daniel R. Brown Superintendent National Park Service Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park 905 Kennesaw Mountain Drive Kennesaw, GA 30152
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Post by Cardmaster on Aug 2, 2006 21:41:14 GMT -5
I'm glad someone was listening. Volunteerism should be a requirement of the running group special use permits. It's time for people to stop taking the approach that "someone else" will take care of the park. It's our park, we use it, we should take care of it.
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Post by richcheese on Apr 10, 2007 21:15:55 GMT -5
[/li][li]Keep volunteering and to that end, get trail supervisor status (personal)[/quote] I've completed this and am now a "certified" Crew Leader.
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slwrunner
GUTS Member
If you start to feel good during an ultra, don't worry you will get over it.
Posts: 257
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Post by slwrunner on Apr 11, 2007 8:54:47 GMT -5
;DThats great..... Leads us and we shall follow....
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