A three-carat, "lightning design" diamond bracelet giveaway;
A Diamond Camping Pass with a 25 percent discount on camping;
A State Parks Geocaching Challenge with special awards;
Outdoor Classroom programs to get kids into nature…
These are just a few of the highlights of New Mexico State Parks’ 75th Diamond Anniversary celebration in 2008. New Mexico State Parks evolved from a federal New Deal initiative in 1933 to a system of 34 parks serving more than 4 million people a year. State Parks kicked off its celebration in February of 2008 by honoring former state park directors, longtime volunteers and retired state park managers.
"This year, let’s dedicate ourselves to protecting and improving state parks for present and future generations," State Parks Director Dave Simon said. Visitors to all state parks can enter to win a free "lightning design" diamond bracelet, worth about $5,000 and featuring approximately three carats in diamonds set in 14-karat gold. Finalists for the diamond drawing will be chosen every month from each park, with a grand-prize winner drawn in late 2008. In the same diamond anniversary vein, New Mexico State Parks will offer a Diamond Camping Pass in 2008, providing discounted rates for 10 nights of camping. It sells for $75, normally a $100 value. Campers may purchase the pass at any state park or office.
The State Parks Geocaching Challenge dares cachers to visit each State Park to find the hidden treasure and learn more about parks in the state. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunt adventure game in which participants use Global Positioning System, or GPS units, to track treasures. The caches, which are not buried, are waterproof containers of various sizes that contain a logbook and possibly some items for trade. "Participating in a cache hunt is a good way to take advantage of the wonderful features and capability of a GPS unit," said Wrennee Reynolds of New Mexico Geocaching. Each state park will have one cache and the first person to reach all 34 will get a special reward, while visitors who locate all 34 geocaches also will qualify for awards.
New Mexico State Parks has partnered with the Public Education Program to launch the pilot phase of the Outdoor Classroom Program, an effort to increase student academic achievement statewide through outdoor learning. New initiatives include a Clayton Lake State Park Dinosaur curriculum guide in partnership with the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque. Clayton Lake also is the site of education programs with the Jicarilla Apache tribe, which has brought students on several occasions to this traditional use area. A collaborative curriculum guide for Bottomless Lakes State Park and Bitter Lakes Wildlife Refuge near Roswell also is under development, and the southern Rio Grande portion of the Bosque Education Guide has been updated.
One component of the Outdoor Education Program is the State Park "Kids N Parks" Outdoor Classroom transportation grants, which can be used to bring school children to an outdoor education program at a park, nature preserve or private ranch. The "Kids ‘N Parks" program is funded by taxpayers' voluntary contributions on the annual New Mexico Personal Income Tax form. This year, donations will permit State Parks to provide transportation grants to 26 schools in 18 communities across the state.
Special events have long highlighted visitors’ experiences at state parks and 2008 offers some highly diverse opportunities, from historical commemorative events such as Camp Furlong Days to Heron Lake State Park’s Osprey Festival. This year, Ute Lake State Park hosts Stars on the Water, an outdoor stage concert featuring patriotic country crooner Steve Cochran and high-energy, honky-tonk rockers Confederate Railroad. Call 888-NMPARKS or visit New Mexico State Parks for detailed information and a calendar of events at each park.
The year 2008 also marks the 75th anniversary of the federal New Deal program, which included the Civilian Conservation Corps that provided jobs for thousands of unemployed young men working on conservation projects nationwide. The CCC in New Mexico helped build some of the first state parks – including Hyde Memorial/Santa Fe River and Bottomless Lakes – and at other sites that later became state parks, such as Conchas Lake and Elephant Butte.
Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park will open this year with a new visitor center featuring green building practices. State Parks also plans to open Cerrillos Hills/Galisteo Basin State Park in 2008. The New Mexico State Parks Foundation has established a 75th Anniversary fund to raise money for park programs and projects.
