NPS Partnership Council Conference Call Highlights September 2006 Participants: Wendy O’Sullivan Gerrard Jolly Mark Engler Chis Jarvi John Paige Steve Elkinton Tom Dyer Rich Fedorchak
Karyn Ferro Anne O’Neill Brenda Barrett Marty Sterkel Greg Kendrick Nancy Woods Bob McIntosh Shannon Stone
Cindy Ott-Jones Gary Ingram John Piltzecker Don Kodak Diane Jung Leslie Dietrich Nora Mitchell
1. Update from the Associate Director-Chris Jarvi a. Service First project is moving forward. A MOU has been developed between FWS, BLM, NPS, and the FS and is currently being circulated among the four agencies. b. Chris Jarvi is looking for good examples of federal agency partnerships. If you are aware of any examples of these federal partnerships, please send the topic and a brief statement about the partnership to Chris Jarvi at Christopher_Jarvi@nps.gov. Chris would like your information within the next week or two. c. The reorganization of the Associate Directorship has received the green light and is in the process of being implemented. There are four jobs that are opening and the position descriptions are currently being developed and classified. The following positions need to be filled: Assistant Associate Director for Visitor Experience-GS-15, Director of the Center for Media Services-GS-15 (a selection should be made for this position soon), Chief, Conservation and Outdoor Recreation, GS-14, and Chief, Partnership Office, GS-14. There will also be a Youth Programs Coordinator position filled in the future. d. John Piltzecker will become the Assistant Associate Director for Partnerships. This is a lateral re-assignment. Nancy Kaufman will retire in November. PIEVOR will now be called Partnerships and Visitor Experience (PVE). An organization chart with all the positions and job functions will be sent to the group. e. The Congressional hearing on Visitation was held Sept. 13th, 2006. Chris Jarvi presented the Administration’s testimony. 2. Next In-Person PC Meeting
a. The meeting will be held November 14th and 15th in Washington DC at the American Geophysical Union. Both days will be full working days. b. Hotel rooms have been reserved at the Jury’s hotel and the Normandy Inn. Specific information on making room reservations will be sent out shortly. c. Potential agenda items mentioned to date include: Cooperative Agreements (Departmental Guidance and OIG report), Interface with work of NPS Education Council, Potential need for policy on providing office space to park partners. d. If there are any other agenda items, please send them to Diane Jung. There will be a separate call for those interested in setting the agenda for the November PC meeting. 3. OIG Survey re: NPS Partnership Construction Process a. Chris Soller and Dan Wenk have had an entrance interview regarding the Partnership Construction Process. b. The OIG is conducting a 30-day survey looking at how the process is working, which projects have been approved, which projects are in which region, and which projects are in the process of being approved. The OIG is visiting NER and PWR. This may or may not evolve into an investigation. 4. Training Update- Rich Fedorchak a. There are 90 people signed up for the Obtaining Grants TelNet. There are 115 people signed up for the DO21 TelNet. b. There is a need for photos of NPS employees working with partners. If you have any, please send to Rich Fedorchak. c. Information from the Clemson University Needs Assessment is being processed next week. 5. National Park Foundation- Anne O’Neill a. Junior Ranger Ambassador program- 25 parks had funds for SCA interns. There is a need to revamp the Junior Ranger program in several parks. The NPF is currently receiving final reports on the program from the parks. Each of the 25 parks will receive a $1,000 grant for Junior Ranger books and badges. This has been a very successful pilot program and will hopefully be implemented next year. b. The next electronic field trip is Oct. 17th, 2006 at Independence HNP. The field trip will be 60 minutes long.
c. The Junior Ranger Gazette has been geared towards adults, parents, or grandparents to share with children. d. The NPF is also working on a Connecting Communities to Parks program to support community engagement programs. Grants are being provided to assist underserved communities. Pinnacles NM and Rosie the Riveter/WW II Home Front NHP have received grants from PG&E. 6. Other Business a. The Partnership Graphic Identity program is currently in the process of receiving responses. A report will be given at the Nov. PC meeting. If anyone wants to get involved with the Partnership Graphic Identity program, please contact Steve Elkinton at Steve_Elkinton@nps.gov. 7. Mark Your Calendars - Training, Conferences, etc. a. Obtaining Grants to Meet Your Needs TEL (September 19) b. DO #21 TEL (September 28) c. Friends Alliance meeting in San Francisco (November 2-3) d. National Partnership Council meeting in D.C. November 14-15 (full days) e. NPF Superintendents' Council meeting in D.C. (November 16) f. APPL Annual Convention Sacramento, CA (March 18-22, 2007) g. Intellectual Property Seminar in Newark, NJ (Sponsored by Northeast Region) April (week of 16, 23, or 30 TBD)