Journey above the Arctic Circle through the remote reaches of the Noatak National Preserve, rafting and fly fishing along the way.
High res video, pictures, and trip journal at:
www.celebratebig.com/alaska-kugururok-river
Duration : 0:16:13
The Fishkateers on Alaska’s Kugururok River
The Great Redwoods – Part 1
The “Redwood National and State Parks” (RNSP) are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. The parks consist of a combined area of 131,983 acres (534.12 km2) located entirely within Del Norte and Humboldt Counties and they protect 45% of all remaining Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) old-growth forests, totaling at least 38,982 acres (157.75 km2). These trees are the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. In addition to the redwood forests, the parks preserve other indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, portions of rivers and other streams, and 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline.
In 1850, old growth redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of the California coast. The northern portion of that area, originally inhabited by Native Americans, attracted many lumbermen and others turned gold miners when a minor gold rush brought them to the region. Failing in efforts to strike it rich in gold, these men turned toward harvesting the giant trees[1] for booming development in San Francisco and other places on the West Coast. After many decades of unobstructed clear-cut logging, serious efforts toward conservation began. By the 1920s work of the Save-the-Redwoods League, founded in 1918 to preserve remaining old growth redwoods, eventually resulted in the establishment of Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks among others. Redwood National Park was created in 1968, by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged. The National Park Service (NPS) and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) administratively combined Redwood National Park with the three abutting Redwood State Parks in 1994 for the purpose of cooperative forest management and stabilization of forests and watersheds as a single unit. This degree of collaboration between the National Park Service and a state park system is unique in the nation.
The ecosystem of the RNSP preserves a number of threatened animal species such as the Brown Pelican, Tidewater Goby, Bald Eagle, Chinook Salmon, Northern Spotted Owl, and Steller’s Sea Lion.[2] In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a World Heritage Site on September 5, 1980,[3] and an International Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983.
Duration : 0:3:49
The Great Redwoods – Part 4
The “Redwood National and State Parks” (RNSP) are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. The parks consist of a combined area of 131,983 acres (534.12 km2) located entirely within Del Norte and Humboldt Counties and they protect 45% of all remaining Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) old-growth forests, totaling at least 38,982 acres (157.75 km2). These trees are the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. In addition to the redwood forests, the parks preserve other indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, portions of rivers and other streams, and 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline.
In 1850, old growth redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of the California coast. The northern portion of that area, originally inhabited by Native Americans, attracted many lumbermen and others turned gold miners when a minor gold rush brought them to the region. Failing in efforts to strike it rich in gold, these men turned toward harvesting the giant trees[1] for booming development in San Francisco and other places on the West Coast. After many decades of unobstructed clear-cut logging, serious efforts toward conservation began. By the 1920s work of the Save-the-Redwoods League, founded in 1918 to preserve remaining old growth redwoods, eventually resulted in the establishment of Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks among others. Redwood National Park was created in 1968, by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged. The National Park Service (NPS) and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) administratively combined Redwood National Park with the three abutting Redwood State Parks in 1994 for the purpose of cooperative forest management and stabilization of forests and watersheds as a single unit. This degree of collaboration between the National Park Service and a state park system is unique in the nation.
The ecosystem of the RNSP preserves a number of threatened animal species such as the Brown Pelican, Tidewater Goby, Bald Eagle, Chinook Salmon, Northern Spotted Owl, and Steller’s Sea Lion.[2] In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a World Heritage Site on September 5, 1980,[3] and an International Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983.
Duration : 0:4:31
S. African Thatched Roof Airport….seriously.
11-2005. Mpumalanga, S. Africa….the airport – which IS commercial – in Kruger National Game Preserve. Normally, National Parks don’t have their own commercial airports (duh); however, Kruger is over 90,000 sq miles. ALL of the materials used in its construction are 100% natural, such as: wood, thatching, stone, etc. Even the nails are wood pegs. Glass is the only exception; the runway is concrete because of international law. Not only is it 100% natural; it was NEVER tested on the bajillions of animals within miles of it — so it’s safe to fly into OR cunsume raw.
To pyromaniac-wannabees, like me, it’s a sensational bonfire waiting to happen.
WISELY: SMOKING ***IS*** ALLOWED. Native “logic” at its best.
Duration : 0:1:35
Timucuan Adventures: DVD Introduction
Andy Leverett Andrew Leverett Timucuan Preserve National Park Service
Duration : 0:0:39
Timucuan Preserve National Park Service DVD Starting Intro
Timucuan Preserve National Park Service Timucuan Preserve National Park Service
Duration : 0:0:36
Preserving the Vanishing Culture of the Ifugao
Contours of Change
by Aurora Ammayao with Gene Hettel
A member of a celebrated Philippine mountain tribe contemplates the erosion of her native culture and the ancient rice terraces that have nurtured it.
My American husband certainly is not alone as a foreigner with a keen interest in the Ifugao and our rice terraces. My people have been the subject of articles that date back to the early days of National Geographic magazine. Dean C. Worcester, then the secretary of the interior of the Philippine Islands, featured the Ifugao in a special September 1912 issue of the publication devoted entirely to the headhunters of northern Luzon. In that issue, he considered the Ifugao to be barbarians who were nonetheless excellent hydraulic engineers, as demonstrated by their marvelous rice terraces.
Nine decades later, foreigners are still fascinated with headhunting. The practice was abandoned long ago by the Ifugao, but we still have not escaped that moniker. In the 2000 book The Last Filipino Head Hunters by David Howard, we are described, along with our sister tribes the Bontoc and Kalinga, as having among our elders the last living headhunters in the Philippines. I seriously doubt that anyone now alive has ever been a headhunter.
Throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century, there has been continued interest in the direction and pending disappearance of our 2,000-year-old rice terraces and related rituals and culture. In 1995 there was a flurry of activities and meetings in Manila and Banaue — some of which I attended — to formally nominate our rice terraces for inclusion in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List as a protected cultural landscape.
Later that year, when officially adding the terraces to the list, UNESCO stated: “For 2,000 years, the high rice fields of the Ifugao have followed the contours of the mountain. The fruit of knowledge passed on from one generation to the next, of sacred traditions and a delicate social balance, they helped form a landscape of great beauty that expresses conquered and conserved harmony between humankind and the environment.” During its annual summit in December 2001 in Helsinki, UNESCO noted its continued deep concern for the rice terraces by putting them on its List of World Heritage in Danger. It stated, in part: “Despite efforts to safeguard the site by the Banaue Rice Terraces Task Force and the Ifugao Terraces Commission, more resources, greater independence and an assurance of permanence are needed.
Teodoro Baguilat, governor of Ifugao Province, stated in the local press that he would prefer to have fewer tourists in the area to facilitate the terraces’ preservation. He also said that once the terraces are commercialized, more hotels and establishments will sprout like mushrooms. During a conversation I had with him in May 2002 in his office in the town of Lagawe, he clarified that tourism could be part of a strategy to help develop the rice terraces and provide additional income for the people. “Although part of the country’s cultural heritage, the terraces are still primarily agricultural land,” he said.
He is afraid that the goals of tourism officials may not always support what is really needed to preserve our rice terraces and best serve the people. “Let’s not preserve the terraces for the tourists, but for the Ifugao themselves,” he told me emphatically. I agree with Mr. Baguilat that the government should focus on issues of concern to Ifugao rice farmers, including infestations of rats and golden snails as well as enhancing the irrigation systems for mountain farms. Perhaps most important of all is educating our youth to appreciate that their culture revolves around rice cultivation — and to consider staying in the region instead of moving to the lowlands to seek their fortunes.
As politicians continue to discuss what to do, some ordinary Ifugao citizens, for their part, express a wide range of feelings and are engaged in a variety of activities related to the preservation of the Ifugao rice terraces and the traditions and culture tied to them.
Since 1995, when my husband was stationed in the Philippines as a science writer and editor for the International Rice Research Institute – http://irri.org – we have made an effort to record on videotape the various rituals associated with the rice-growing calendar.
Story continues at http://www.irri.org/publications/today/pdfs/3-1/RiceToday3-1.pdf
Read more at http://irri.org/Hope_Bile_is_Good.pdf
Also see “Bird’s eye views of an enduring rice culture” at http://beta.irri.org/news/images/stories/ricetoday/7-1/feature_birds%20eye-views.pdf
Duration : 0:6:58
The Great Redwoods -Part 2
The “Redwood National and State Parks” (RNSP) are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. The parks consist of a combined area of 131,983 acres (534.12 km2) located entirely within Del Norte and Humboldt Counties and they protect 45% of all remaining Coastal Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) old-growth forests, totaling at least 38,982 acres (157.75 km2). These trees are the tallest and one of the most massive tree species on Earth. In addition to the redwood forests, the parks preserve other indigenous flora, fauna, grassland prairie, cultural resources, portions of rivers and other streams, and 37 miles (60 km) of pristine coastline.
In 1850, old growth redwood forest covered more than 2,000,000 acres (8,100 km2) of the California coast. The northern portion of that area, originally inhabited by Native Americans, attracted many lumbermen and others turned gold miners when a minor gold rush brought them to the region. Failing in efforts to strike it rich in gold, these men turned toward harvesting the giant trees[1] for booming development in San Francisco and other places on the West Coast. After many decades of unobstructed clear-cut logging, serious efforts toward conservation began. By the 1920s work of the Save-the-Redwoods League, founded in 1918 to preserve remaining old growth redwoods, eventually resulted in the establishment of Prairie Creek, Del Norte Coast, and Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Parks among others. Redwood National Park was created in 1968, by which time nearly 90% of the original redwood trees had been logged. The National Park Service (NPS) and the California Department of Parks and Recreation (CDPR) administratively combined Redwood National Park with the three abutting Redwood State Parks in 1994 for the purpose of cooperative forest management and stabilization of forests and watersheds as a single unit. This degree of collaboration between the National Park Service and a state park system is unique in the nation.
The ecosystem of the RNSP preserves a number of threatened animal species such as the Brown Pelican, Tidewater Goby, Bald Eagle, Chinook Salmon, Northern Spotted Owl, and Steller’s Sea Lion.[2] In recognition of the rare ecosystem and cultural history found in the parks, the United Nations designated them a World Heritage Site on September 5, 1980,[3] and an International Biosphere Reserve on June 30, 1983.
Duration : 0:3:59
Who Preserves Marine Corps History?
The mission of the museum is to preserve and exhibit the heritage of the U.S. Marine Corps; to make certain their stories are recorded and told; to preserve the Corps’s rich heritage of artifacts and icons; and to honor the sacrifice and courage Marines have shown throughout our history.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps isn’t just about displaying the finest collections of military tanks, aircraft, weaponry and uniforms. It’s so much more.
Our facility is about immersing visitors into the complex, high-paced and intensive experiences of the Corps. It’s why today’s mission for completing the museum’s design will not only preserve our history, but also educate every visitor about the United States Marine Corps.
Please join this important mission, and be part of our historic journey—for you, the Marine Corps, and for generations to come. Please visit http://MarineHeritage.org
Duration : 0:6:3
Who Preserves Marine Corps History?
The mission of the museum is to preserve and exhibit the heritage of the U.S. Marine Corps; to make certain their stories are recorded and told; to preserve the Corps’s rich heritage of artifacts and icons; and to honor the sacrifice and courage Marines have shown throughout our history.
The National Museum of the Marine Corps isn’t just about displaying the finest collections of military tanks, aircraft, weaponry and uniforms. It’s so much more.
Our facility is about immersing visitors into the complex, high-paced and intensive experiences of the Corps. It’s why today’s mission for completing the museum’s design will not only preserve our history, but also educate every visitor about the United States Marine Corps.
Please join this important mission, and be part of our historic journey—for you, the Marine Corps, and for generations to come. Please visit http://MarineHeritage.org
Duration : 0:6:3