Latest news with #CarrieBesnetteHauser
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Portland ranks among top 10 cities for best parks in the US
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – The Trust for Public Land released is 2025 ParkScore Index on Tuesday, ranking Portland among the top 10 cities in the nation with the best parks. The Trust for Public Land — a nonprofit that aims to create parks and protect public land — ranked park systems in the 100 most populous cities in the United States, noting the index is 'considered the gold standard for park evaluation.' For a third year in a row, Portland ranked among the top 10 cities on the list — claiming ninth for 2025. This also matches Portland's score for 2024. Portland City Council moves $2 million in City budget from police to parks 'Portland's ParkScore ranking was boosted by especially high scores for park access and park investment. Eighty-nine percent of Portland residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park, well above the national ParkScore average of 76 percent,' Trust for Public Land said. The organization continued, 'Portland also remains among the national park investment leaders, spending $274 per person on its park system, more than double the national ParkScore average of $133. The city also outperformed on ParkScore's park acreage and park amenities rating factors.' The ParkScore ranking named Washington DC first on the list for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Irvine, California; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Cincinnati, Ohio and St, Paul, Minnesota. Esquire names 2 new Oregon hotels among the best in the world Rounding out the top 10 list: San Francisco, California; Arlington, Virginia; Seattle, Washington; Portland, Oregon and Denver, Colorado. 'Parks bring people together and deliver enormous physical and mental health benefits for visitors,' Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of Trust for Public Land, said. 'At a time when so much in our nation seems fractured or polarized, parks may be the last ideology-free zones, where everyone can come together, form meaningful relationships, and enjoy a few hours of peace and relaxation,' Hauser added. 'At Trust for Public Land, we will continue to work with park departments and leaders at all levels of government to realize the full community-building potential for parks.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Axios
21-05-2025
- General
- Axios
D.C. ranks #1 in the country for public parks
D.C. boasts the country's best big city park system, a new ranking finds — our fifth year in a row at #1. Why it matters: The District tops a list of 100 most populous U.S. cities when it comes to park acreage, access, amenities, investment and equity — the five main categories used in the 2025 ParkScore index. Arlington, Virginia clocked in at #7. What they found: D.C. scored 85.5 points, thanks in part to high access and investment rankings, according to the Trust for Public Land (TPL), a pro-park nonprofit. 90% of D.C. and Arlington residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park. D.C. spends roughly $393 per resident on parks, while Arlington invests $301 — double the national city average of $133. Between the lines: Irvine, California, came in second, while Minneapolis ranked third. Arlington dropped from #5 to #7 — mostly due to upward moves from other cities, not changes to the local park system itself, according to a TPL spokesperson. Zoom in: D.C. stands out in a few ways, TPL's team tells Axios. Around 90% of our acreage is managed by the National Park Service (NPS), which means a higher level of investment compared to other metros. "It almost has an asterisk to it, just because of the nature of where it is and amenities that exist," Carrie Besnette Hauser, TPL president, tells Axios. Also, 21% of D.C. land is reserved for parkland that's spread evenly across town — "unique among big cities, where parks tend to be concentrated in wealthier areas," Will Klein, TPL parks research director, tells Axios.
Axios
29-04-2025
- Axios
Arizona's Saguaro National Park grows by 48 acres
Nearly 50 acres in the foothills of the Tucson Mountains have been added to Saguaro National Park, bringing its total footprint to over 92,000 acres. Why it matters: The national park outside Tucson is visited by about a million people annually and is a sanctuary for a wide array of desert plants and animals, including, of course, the state's iconic Saguaro Cactus. State of play: Trust for Public Land acquired the 48 acres near the Tucson Mountains to increase the scope of the park, one of five expansions in the past decade. How it works: Trust for Public Land purchased the acreage using the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, financed by a portion of U.S. offshore oil and natural gas revenues. Pima County and the Southern Arizona Hiking Club also supported the expansion. The bottom line:"Saguaro is a truly unique getaway—not only a vast desert backyard for Tucsonans and Southern Arizonans, but also a destination for visitors from across the country and around the world who come to experience the natural wonders of the American Southwest," Trust for Public Land CEO and president Carrie Besnette Hauser said in a statement.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Most Americans Want More Public Land, Not Less, Poll Shows
Americans are unified around our public lands, and the majority want more and better-funded public lands — not less, according to a new polling report from the Trust for Public Land. Published Wednesday, the report surveyed more than 4,000 U.S. residents from different backgrounds and political persuasions. It shows broad, bipartisan opposition to recent moves by the Trump Administration to expedite the sale of federal lands and to reduce funding and layoff staff at the federal agencies that manage those lands. As TPL points out in its report, the broad support for public-land protections in the U.S. is only growing as the demand for accessible public lands and outdoor recreation increases. Along with record-breaking visitation numbers at America's National Parks in 2024, the number of visitors on BLM and Forest Service lands has shot up in recent years. Participation in outdoor recreation is also steadily climbing, according to the latest figures from the Outdoor Industry Association. 'We are living in a golden age of outdoor recreation,' TPL's CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser says in the report. 'People want greater protection of existing lands, and they are eager for more opportunities to explore and connect to new landscapes.' Around 71 percent of the survey's respondents said they oppose the sale of existing public lands 'to the highest bidder,' and 74 percent said they oppose the closure of any public lands, including facilities like campgrounds and visitor centers. Roughly 62 and 63 percent of respondents said they oppose reductions in funding and layoffs at public-land management agencies, respectively. Those numbers align pretty well with a previous survey, released in January and conducted by Colorado College, which found that 65 percent of Westerners oppose the transfer of federal lands to states, and 89 percent of them want to keep National Monument designations in place. This polling data was timely, as it followed a series of layoffs at federal agencies like the National Park Service and U.S. Forest Service, and continued attempts by legislators to divest of federal public lands and transfer their ownership to the states. Read Next: How Seriously Should We Take the Sale of Federal Lands? Very Seriously, Experts Say Since the survey by Colorado College only focused on eight Western states, TPL says the more recent national polling report helps widen that lens. Working with the data analytics firm YouGov, TPL's web-based poll reached 4,501 people from across the U.S. The sample of respondents was weighted to be representative of U.S. Census data. It was then divided into subgroups based on the respondents' presidential votes. This allowed TPL to show the breakdown in responses from Trump voters and Harris voters, along with a breakdown by all U.S. residents regardless of their voting record. As one example, respondents were asked whether they support or oppose the closure of national public lands — including visitor centers, campsites, trails, and recreation areas — in an effort to reduce federal spending. Seventy-four percent of all U.S. residents said they opposed these closures. This included 64 percent of Trump voters and 89 percent of Harris voters. During a time of intense partisanship, those numbers speak volumes about the importance of public lands to everyday Americans. 'Few, if any, issues draw such support and agreement across generations, political parties, geographies, and demographics,' TPL points out in its report. 'Selling or transferring public lands contradicts hard data and public opinion.' That's because America's public lands provide abundant hunting, fishing, and recreation opportunities, and they are are one of our greatest economic engines, especially in rural areas. These shared landscapes are the backbone of a $1.2 trillion outdoor recreation industry, according to TPL's research. The group points out that in Colorado alone, the outdoor recreation economy brought in roughly $17.2 billion in 2023 and supported around 132,000 jobs, accounting for 4.3 percent of all statewide employees. Read Next: As Trump Attempts to Reform Federal Government, Hunters and Anglers Face 'Unintended Consequences' 'What's often overlooked is that public lands aren't just places we protect — they're engines we can activate' TPL's National Board of Directors chair Lucas St. Clair says in the report. 'They support our physical and mental health. They power local economies through outdoor recreation. And they remind us that shared spaces can still unite a divided nation. In a time when public lands are increasingly under threat, we need to protect and expand them, not shrink them.'
