NCPTT

"The very first ever "National Cemetery Summit" was held in Greeneville, recently, according to The Greeneville Sun newspaper. "This historic summit will bring together superintendents of national cemeteries from across the nation. "During the meetings, the leaders will discuss policy, operations, general procedures, sharing of resources and technology, and methods of maintaining these treasured landmarks," an announcement said."" - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"Last month, ForSee Research released their annual survey of government Web sites. The good news? Perception of the usability of government Web sites is on the rise. The bad news? Most still fall behind sites in the private sector." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"Back in late-November, President Obama announced the so-called "STEM" initiative to get U.S. students to embrace science, technology, engineering, and math. More than $260 million dollars in public and private money is going to fund the effort. American students show a below-average aptitude in math and science subjects, relative to students in other countries." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"If a building isn’t saved and revitalized to meet density and activity guidelines within seven years, it would be bulldozed and made into farmland as part of eminent domain." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium will become one of only two National Historic Landmarks in northwest Louisiana today. A draped bronze plaque will be unveiled during a ceremony at 11 a.m. that day in the foyer of the building known for the likes of Elvis Presley, Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash, Kitty Wells and many other country music legends. The marker reads: "This site possesses national significance in commemorating the history of the United States of America." Louisiana has 53 National Landmarks in Louisiana. The only other one in this area is the McNeil Street Pumping Station." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

SEE! I told you enlightenment was overrated! Y'all come. "The careful, mathematical analysis by British researchers showed that Louisiana was the happiest state, followed by Hawaii and Florida. California ranked a distant 46th. Ouch. New York is the most miserable, er, uh, least-happy state." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"“The Future of the Past,” subtitled “A Conservation Ethic for Architecture, Urbanism and Historic Preservation,” is a blueprint for recovering what architecture, urbanism and preservation once were and could once again be. Semes, an architect, runs the Rome Studies Program of the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture. This book explains why preservationists got in bed with the modernists, and how together they have turned preservation on its head. Semes has written an indictment so complete and so damning, and yet expressed with such grace and diplomacy, that all thoughtful preservationists and even some modern architects will finally understand, if not admit, the error of their ways." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"Five environmental groups are voicing concern about a soon-to-be-implemented National Park Service policy that would enable parks to share profits from research within their boundaries." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency board today approved new regulations to curb haze air pollution over northern Minnesota despite concerns from federal land managers and environmental groups that the rules don’t go far enough." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"“Remember the Alamo!” Many travelers to San Antonio already do; they know before they arrive that they want to visit this site, which gained fame during the Texas Revolution. They may, however, appreciate a reminder to remember the Alamo’s four sister sites, the missions preserved in the national historical park that bears their name." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"Download the "Testing the Energy Performance of Wood Windows in Cold Climates" 115 page NCPTT study here: http://www.ncptt.nps.gov/pdf... Here is my summary of the NCPTT window energy performance study:" - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"Jason Church is a materials conservator in the Materials Research Program, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training in Natchitoches, LA. Church coordinates and works to further develop the Center's national cemetery training initiative and related research. His experience is in cemetery conservation with special attention placed on cemetery ironwork. His workshop addressed physical repair and preservation of monuments and markers. SFA students in the History Department’s Public History MA program and students enrolled in Dr. Beisel’s HIS134 (US History since 1865 Survey) provided the “hands-on” labor in the workshop." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"Congress has approved $4 million for the permanent Flight 93 National Memorial." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"Lunny holds the lease for the commercial oyster farm that has operated for years in Point Reyes National Seashore. He wants to extend his lease, but park officials and many local and national environmentalists want to see the site, which includes the shoreline and part of the bay, restored to wilderness." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

http://www.google.com/url... - Jeff Guin

A hits-based ranking with the NPS search term, so not all are NPS official sites. NCPTT is the top-ranked official NPS site and takes two spots: #4 for the site and #6 for its RSS feed. - Jeff Guin

"In the wake of the reported senseless cutting of century-old acacia trees lining the national highway of the historic town of Guindulman, advocates of Boholanos’rich socio-cultural and historical heritage have come up with a plan of conducting mapping of sites, for purposes of preservation or restoration." - Jeff Guin from Bookmarklet

"NIMBY. The acronym stands for "not in my backyard," and it was coined by a conservative British politician, Nicholas Ridley, in the 1980s to deride homeowners fighting encroaching development. Later, the term was applied to the coiner himself when he opposed low-income housing near his own home." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"In looking to set aside parts of their country in settings similar to those managed by the national park system in the United States, a delegation from Mongolia stopped first at Colorado National Monument. Seven men from Mongolia’s Ministry of the Environment trekked through fresh snow Monday morning to see Monument Canyon. The delegation then sat down with monument Superintendent Joan Anzelmo to learn about the way the National Park Service operates." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis today presented the 2008 Appleman-Judd-Lewis Awards for excellence in cultural resource management to H. Thomas McGrath, Jr., Dr. Jeanne Schaaf, and Robert Fox." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"A draft National Park Service study on preserving Hanford's historic B Reactor looks at several options but dismisses the possibility of making the reactor directly part of the national park system." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"The number of federal workers earning six-figure salaries has exploded during the recession, according to a USA TODAY analysis of federal salary data." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"After the third strong breeding year since 2002, there is increasing optimism that wading birds are rebounding from decades of decline in the Everglades." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"The California Coastal Commission has fined Marin's largest oyster farm $61,250 for growing clams within a protected refuge for harbor seals. Drakes Bay Oyster Co. owner Kevin Lunny said a faulty global positioning system device caused one of his employees to put the clams in the wrong place. Yet what Lunny calls a mistake has raised concerns about the oyster farm within the Coastal Commission, and bolstered calls by environmental groups to remove the farm from the Point Reyes National Seashore." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"At around 5:30 on the evening of May 2, 1863, the soldiers of the Union Army's 11th Corps were taking it easy. Three miles to the east, their comrades were fighting Robert E. Lee's Confederate soldiers near a clearing called Chancellorsville, but the 11th manned the far western end of the Union line, where things seemed downright sleepy." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is calling for more high-flow releases of the Colorado River down through Grand Canyon National Park and believes they can be done to benefit the national park's resources while also meeting energy and water needs" - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"U.S. Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester on Thursday urged U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to help them stop continued gold exploration north of Glacier National Park in Canada." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"What should you know when you buy a townhouse that needs a major renovation?" - Heritage news from Bookmarklet

"National Park Service officials began cutting down 100-foot pines along the westerly edge of the grounds Nov. 30. They say the thinning is needed so visitors can experience the same sweeping view toward Mount Ascutney that inspired the site's namesake. But a number of vocal community members say the destruction of the old trees last week would have angered the celebrated sculptor." - Heritage news from Bookmarklet