Legislative Forum: Not What I Expected As a first-year employee with NRPA, I attended Legislative Forum this week as a novice, a little wide-eyed at the thought of meeting members of Congress in person and asking for their support on legislation important to the future of parks and recreation. I’ve lived i Read more

Lewis Ledford, Director, North Carolina State Parks & Recreation and Chair, NRPA Public Policy Committee guest blogs and sheds some light on the tremendous influence of in-person constituent meetings such as those that take place during National Legislative Forum. Lewis also tells us all more about an important education session planned for Legislative Forum by the National Park Service (NPS) that will be the first public discussion regarding NPS’ goals for the reauthorization of LWCF.  Read more

Are you thinking about attending NRPA's National Legislative Forum on Parks and Recreation?  Need a little convincing? Michael Biedenstein, CPRP, Recreation Program Coordinator at the City of Eureka, MO attended NRPA's Legislative Forum last year and shares his three reasons why any park and recreation professional or citizen should attend.  Read more

Our government leaders have once again kicked the proverbial can down the road, failing to find the middle ground needed to address tough fiscal issues plaguing our country. The stage is set for a turbulent legislative beginning to 2013 and there is potential to have federally funded park and recreation programs on the chopping block. Read more about what is in store for 2013 and how you can play a role in advocating for issues important to us all. Read more

Transportation will continue to be an important advocacy issue in 2013 for park and recreation agencies and professionals. The New Year brings implementation of a new federal law (MAP 21) as well as a “new Congress." NRPA's Senior Government Affairs Manager shares some insights on what's to come with all this “newness” and gives you an opportunity to voice your opinion to the DOT on MAP-21.   Read more

There is so much to learn in the December issue of Parks & Recreation. Managing Editor Elizabeth Beard highlights five great stories you wont want to miss.  Read the articles and tell us in the comments what your key learnings are! Read more

One of the most reliable indicators of the level of public support for parks and recreation can be measured by how strongly people show their support when it counts the most—when they vote.   The good news in 2012 is that public support for local ballot measures and bond issues for parks and recreation was very high. Read on to get a summary of some of how various park bond referendums and ballot measures fared in this year's election. Read more

By now, you’ve likely heard about the changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) (Pub. L. No. 111 148) and how they relate to health insurance for seasonal workers.  We know you are concerned about how this might impact your ability to hire seasonal workers and the implications for park and recreation programs that depend on seasonal workers for success. Well, you can breathe easy now – the IRS has recently released guidelines that help clarify this regulation and the NRPA Public Policy Team has compiled the details you need to know to understand the changes and guidelines. Read more

It’s time for all of us to start educating Congress that the LWCF program is much more than a federal land acquisition program and rather than simply cut or eliminate funding for LWCF its time for them to invest in state and local projects by allocating a larger percentage of the annual LWCF funding to the State Assistance Program. Read more

On Thursday, Sept. 20, U.S. Senator Kay Hagan (D NC) along with Sens. John Kerry (D MA) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D NY) introduced important legislation into the Senate called the Community Parks Revitalization (CPR) Act. This legislation, if enacted, will help revitalize urban areas through improved access to parks and recreation.  Read more about this critical piece of legislation. Read more