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Thousand Islands National Park – A dynamic new name and exciting new possibilities

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MALLORYTOWN,ON, May 25, 2013 /CNW/ - Today, on behalf of the Honourable Peter Kent, Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, Mr. Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, publicly celebrated the re-naming of St. Lawrence Islands National Park to Thousand Islands National Park, and introduced the park's new visitor accommodation offer.

"The name Thousand Islands National Park resonates in our community and is more closely linked to the park's majestic setting," said Member of Parliament Brown. "Furthermore it will help support and promote the dynamic natural and cultural tourism industry of our world-renowned region. This year's addition of Parks Canada oTENTik tents on site will also promote a relaxing way to experience camping, making it easier for visitors to discover, form connections, and live a Thousand Islands experience."

Thousand Islands National Park is making it easier for visitors to enjoy a Thousand Islands experience by offering oTENTik accommodations at multiple locations within the park. A hybrid between a tent and a rustic cabin, Parks Canada oTENTiks are a unique way to experience camping. Each Parks Canada oTENTik tent is designed and made in Canada and provides a great way to introduce camping to families, as well as to help those who remember the camping experiences of their youth, but no longer own the equipment.

"The recently released Federal Tourism Strategy notes that Canada needs to continue to increase awareness of Canada as a premier tourism destination with natural and historic places to discover," said Minister Kent. "This is the first year that Parks Canada is able to take advantage of an internationally recognized brand to give Thousand Islands National Park a sense of place that speaks to a specific region of Canada."

Parks Canada works to ensure Canada's historic and natural heritage is protected and, through a network of 44 national parks, 167 national historic sites, and four national marine conservation areas, invites Canadians and people from around the world to engage in personal moments of inspiring discovery at our country's treasured natural and historic places.

For additional information, please see the accompanying backgrounder at http://www.parkscanada.gc.ca under Media Room.

BACKGROUNDER

Thousand Islands National Park

Established in 1904, Thousand Islands National Park was Canada's first national park east of the Rockies. The park began with a small piece of waterfront property, and over the years, the park has grown to include over 20 island properties spread out in the St. Lawrence River between Kingston and Brockville, as well as several mainland lots.

The Thousand Islands are considered "stepping stones" along a migration corridor linking Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario and Adirondack State Park in New York State. As a result, the park resides in a transition zone between boreal and deciduous forests that create a series of microhabitats which help to support one of the highest biodiversities in Canada including a high number of species at risk. The Thousand Islands also present a rich cultural landscape of human activity encompassing many generations of connection to this place, including prehistoric and contemporary Aboriginal use, military and trade routes, early island settlement and farming, and more recently, recreational development.

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Thousand Islands National Park - A dynamic new name and exciting new possibilities

Despite bridge collapse, San Juan Islands say 'come anyway'

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If youre heading for the ferry to the San Juan Islands, youll need to detour around the fallen bridge on Interstate 5. (Betty Udesen photo / The Seattle Times)

If you have a hotel booking in the San Juan Islands for this weekend, the word from the islands is: Please try to come anyway. But if you need to cancel, call and you might get a sympathetic ear.

For the tourism-dependent San Juans, the Interstate 5 bridge collapse could hardly have happened at a worst time the Memorial Day Weekend kickoff of the tourist season.

The I-5 bridge that fell into the Skagit River is just south of the most-used exit, the Burlington exit to Highway 20, for island-bound motorists coming from the Seattle area.

Island promoters Friday morning encouraged visitors to try the detour routes. But some lodging owners are waiving cancellation penalties for bookings for this holiday weekend.

I know theyve received hundreds of phone calls last night and this morning, said Deborah Hopkins Buchanan, executive director of the San Juan Islands Visitors Bureau. Theyre encouraging people to still come.

Laura Saccio, owner of Friday Harbors Bird Rock Hotel and Earthbox Inn and Spa, said she is waiving cancellation penalties for this weekend and rescheduling when possible, but were telling them were still open for business. Were trying to ease the economic impact on the county.

Jim Schuh, ranger at popular Moran State Park on Orcas Island, said Friday morning hed had some calls to reschedule campground reservations.

Were working really closely with Emergency Management folks on the islands to get a unified message out, said Barbara Marrett, communications manager for the visitor bureau. She noted that people can come without a car by taking the Victoria Clipper or taking shuttles to the Anacortes ferry terminal and coming as walk-on passengers. Shuttle van service is available now on San Juan Island and next month on Orcas Island.

Buchanan said her bureau is suggesting Seattle-area drivers use the Fir Island route from Exit 221 at Conway to detour via Fir Island Road and Best Road to Highway 20. See the route on this map from the Washington Department of Transportation.

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Despite bridge collapse, San Juan Islands say 'come anyway'

Google Street View Adds Panorama Of Galapagos Islands

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May 24, 2013

April Flowers for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

The Galapagos Islands played a pivotal role in the development of Charles Darwins theory of natural selection because they are some of the most biologically unique ecosystems in the world, drawing the attention of explorers and scientists alike. Local conservation groups, scientists and the Ecuadorean Government are working to protect the Galapagos from the threats posed by invasive species, climate change, and other human impacts.

Now, a partnership between the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF), the Galapagos National Parks Directorate (GNPD) and Google Street is bringing panoramic images of the Galapagos Islands to Street View. TheNextWeb reports that the images arent available yet, but Google has given a glimpse of what we can expect when they are unveiled on Google Maps later this year with an image release of the Googlers, as their explorers are called, trekking the islands with backpack versions of the famous car-mounted 360-degree cameras.

Our 10-day adventure in the Galapagos was full of hiking, boating and diving around the islands (in hot and humid conditions) to capture 360-degree images of the unique wildlife and geological features of the islands with the Trekker, explainsRaleigh Seamster, project lead for Google Maps.

We captured imagery from 10 locations that were hand-selected by CDF and GNPD. We walked past giant tortoises and blue-footed boobies, navigated through steep trails and lava fields, and picked our way down the crater of an active volcano called Sierra Negra.

The official Google Blog reports that the backpack cameras, or Trekkers, are 42 pounds of computerwith large, soccer ball-like cameras mounted on a tower. The soccer ball has 15 cameras inside to capture panoramic views of some of the most inaccessible places on the islands.

But Google didnt stop on land. They partnered with Catlin Seaview Survey to collect underwater panoramic images as well, focusing on areas being studied by CDF and GNPD. The images captured will be used by Catlin to create a visual and scientific baseline record of the marine environment surrounding the islands.

ABC News reports that Google is working with scientists to explore the footage of both land and sea, to identify the broad biodiversity of the island. The pictures will be updated regularly through the years to allow the scientists to study the effects of invasive species, tourism and climate change.

We hope that children in classrooms around the world will be trying to discover what they can see in the images, even tiny creatures like insects, said Daniel Orellana, a scientist with the Charles Darwin Foundation.

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Google Street View Adds Panorama Of Galapagos Islands

Google Street View captures Galapagos Islands

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Few have explored the remote volcanic islands of the Galapagos archipelago, an otherworldly landscape inhabited by the world's largest tortoises and other fantastical creatures that inspired Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Soon it will take only the click of a mouse or finger swipe on a tablet to explore some of the Galapagos Islands' most remote areas, surrounding waters and unique creatures.

Google sent hikers to the Galapagos with Street View gear called "trekkers," 19-kilogram computer backpacks with large, soccer ball-like cameras mounted on a tower.

Each orb has 15 cameras inside it that have captured panoramic views of some of the most inaccessible places on the Galapagos. Crews from The Catlin Seaview Survey worked with Google to capture 360-degree views of selected underwater areas too.

"We spent 10 days there hiking over trails and even down the crater of an active volcano," Raleigh Seamster, the project's leader for Google Maps said. "And these are islands, so half of the life there is under the water surface. So (we brought) Street View underwater to swim with sea lions, sharks and other marine animals."

Google is processing the footage and is trying to stitch it together. It hopes to post it to Street View later this year.

The cameras captured the nesting sites of blue-footed boobies, the red-throated "magnificent frigatebirds," swimming hammerhead sharks and, of course, the island's giant tortoises.

Scientists working with Google are exploring the footage for other species and hope to update the pictures regularly throughout the years as they study the effects of invasive species, tourism and climate change on the island's ecosystems.

"We hope that children in classrooms around the world will be trying to discover what they can see in the images, even tiny creatures like insects," said Daniel Orellana, a scientist with the Charles Darwin Foundation.

"We can use this as an education experience for children, and there is a huge opportunity for rare discoveries."

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Google Street View captures Galapagos Islands

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