Fire Island National Seashore News

The following press release was issued by the Fire Island National Seashore regarding several upcoming activities:

National Park Week/Junior Ranger Day Programs at Fire Island National Seashore:
Variety of Activities Planned for April 19 - 27, 2008 Patchogue, NY—

Fire Island National Seashore and its partners and volunteers are providing several opportunities to help you celebrate National Park Week this year. As part of an annual nationwide event, National Park Week 2008 is being held from April 19 to April 27. The theme this year is Kids in Parks. Across the country, National Park Service (NPS) sites will celebrate the natural and cultural history preserved in these treasures by promoting active learning, recreation, inspiration, and stewardship. Long Island’s local national parks offer a chance to explore and learn about the significance of national treasures close to home.

Fire Island National Seashore will launch National Park Week with a March for Parks 2008 event at the Fire Island Lighthouse on Saturday, April 19 at 8 a.m. The annual Fire Island Lighthouse Area Trek is a special 2- hour guided tour of the grounds of the historic Fire Island Light Station and beyond, to the site of the Surf Hotel and the former Fire Island State Park. A $10 program fee includes light refreshments and commemorative T- shirt. Reservations are required. Call the Fire Island Lighthouse Preservation Society at 631- 661- 4876 to sign up.

National Park Week coincides with Earth Day (April 22). This year special Earth Day Hikes into the Fire Island Wilderness are scheduled to honor the event. Three- hour programs will leave the Wilderness Visitor Center on Sunday, April 20 and Tuesday, April 22 at 10 a.m.

Fire Island National Seashore’s National Junior Ranger Day activities on Saturday, April 26, include Orienteering at the Fire Island Lighthouse and at the Wilderness Visitor Center, both available from 9:30 a.m. – 3 p.m., along with a new program at the Wilderness Visitor Center. Ocean Discovery is offered from 1 – 2 p.m. on April 26 at the Wilderness Visitor Center. This program includes a craft activity for kids as they learn about waves, tides, marine life, and how people have had an influence on the marine ecosystem.
Finding Your Way around the Park is an orienteering/mapping program developed for children and their families to learn more about Fire Island National Seashore. Site specific programs provide an enjoyable way to explore the grounds around the historic Fire Island Lighthouse or the Wilderness Visitor Center, gateway to New York State’s only federally designated wilderness area, the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness. Kits include a guide booklet, clipboard, compass, work booklet, and a park map. Children must sign out a kit with their parents. Participants in this program on Saturday, April 26, 2008, will receive a Junior Ranger patch. The activity may also help local girl scouts and boy scouts earn their orienteering badges. Call Irene Rosen at 631-687- 4765 for more information.

To learn more about National Park Week 2008 and March for Parks and National Junior Ranger Day, visit the National Park Week website at www.nps.gov/npweek/.

For more information about the Junior Ranger Program and Webrangers, visit their websites at www.nps.gov/webrangers/ and http://www.nps.gov/learn/juniorranger.htm.

For more information about Fire Island National Seashore, visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/fiis.