Losiny Ostrov National Park. Russia
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U.S.-Russia Binational Presidential Commission’s
Environmental Working Group meeting

  
           
  Russia's Kremlin building.

National Park Service (NPS) Office of International Affairs International Cooperation Specialist, and Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) of State for Environmental Affairs, traveled to Moscow, Russia, April 2011.  The two traveled in order to take part in a series of U.S.-Russia binational Presidential Commission’s (BPC) Environmental Working Group (EWG) meetings.  These meetings are intended to give U.S. and Russian officials the opportunity to discuss cooperative programs between the two countries.  One such program, and one of the main priorities of the EWG, is to establish formal framework for a shared heritage area across the Bering Straits, Beringia.  The DAS represented the U.S. on the EWG, and provided the NPS’s perspective and insights on the U.S. efforts to establish Beringia.  In addition to attending the BPC EWG meetings, the two Americans also met with members of a State Department-sponsored International Visitor leadership Program, visited a forested national park on the Northeastern outskirts of Moscow, participated in earth day activities at a Moscow Eco-Preschool, and brainstormed with the chief of Russia’s Federal protected areas during their time in Russia.

   
           
           
 

International Conference of In Situ Reconstruction in Calafell, Catalonia, Spain

  
           
           
  Several sites in Spain, and Western Europe, are experiencing great difficulty associated with increasing numbers of tourists, and the resulting impacts to their resources.  Castell de Calafell historic monument is an example of such a site that is in crisis because of increased visitation.  These sites need to find a way to carry out accurate reconstructions, in such a way that the public is not misled.  To address and discuss this difficulty an International Conference on In Situ Reconstruction was held in Calafell, Catalonia, Spain.  A National Park Service (NPS) staff member from the Southeast Archeological Center was invited to this conference because of his expertise in the field.    The NPS staff member participated as an invited speaker on the interpretations of in situ reconstructions stemming from archaeological and historical evidence, and participated in debates about the pros and cons of reconstructions based on archeological research.  In both activities the NPS staff member was able to offer insights and experiences from United States National Parks.   Cruilles, Catalonia, Spain  
       
       
           
           
 

U.S. Rocky Mountain National Park Staff Visit Sister Park, Tatra National Park, in Poland and Slovakia

  
           
  Rocky Mountain National Park, in the United States, and Tatra National Park, in Poland and Slovakia, signed a sister park agreement in 2007.  The two parks are a good match for a sister park relationship because they share similar geographical features, similar ecosystems, and they host a similar amount of visitors.  In November of 2009 three National Park Service (NPS) staff members from Rocky Mountain National Park traveled to Tatra National Park to address mutual issues of concern, share management strategies, and develop their sister park relationship further.  The staff members from Rocky Mountain National Park who traveled to Tatra National Park included a biologist, an interpretive ranger, and the wilderness program manager.        
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  Tatra National Park, Poland and Slovakia