Latest news with #HistoricSite
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
National Park Service cuts hit home as staffing shortages largely close Fort Barrancas
Once a popular destination as much for locals as tourists, visitation to historic Fort Barrancas at Naval Air Station Pensacola has been reduced to being open just one day a month. Until 2017, Fort Barrancas was open seven days a week. Gulf Islands National Seashore - which is part of the National Park Service − cut back its schedule to five days a week starting that year, eliminating Tuesday and Wednesday visitation, due to a shortage of staff. Staffing has plummeted this year, however, and without explanation Gulf Islands National Seashore − part of the National Park Service − announced earlier this year that Fort Barrancas would only be open for its summer season on May 24, June 28, July 26 and Aug. 23. One of those four dates - July 26 - remained closed to visitors, with officials citing "unforeseen circumstances." In response to a request for explanation, officials would only says that "the reduced operating hours are a result of a shortage of temporary seasonal staff. This is the first year the park has operated this schedule at this location. Gulf Islands National Seashore plans to continue opening and staffing the site one day a month for the foreseeable future." While a GINS spokesperson told the News Journal the "fourth Saturday of the month" schedule will continue all year starting in September, its website lists no other dates for the remainder of the year after Aug. 23. Fort Barrancas Area includes 60 acres and features three historic structures − Spanish Water Battery, Fort Barrancas and Advanced Redoubt. There are also two short hiking trails, waysides and a visitor center. The exterior to Advanced Redoubt is available to the public year-round. Kizmetz Tatum, 48, is among the regular visitors searching for explanation. "I have been there a lot over the years, but my teenage son has never been to Fort Barrancas," said Tatum, a Pensacola native. "We went one Saturday in March and when we get there it's closed." She did some research and found that Fort Barrancas would be open just four days for the summer. So Tatum and her 15-year-old son Alex Apperson drove to NAS Pensacola on July 26. After some confusion they eventually were granted access through the western gate and drove to Fort Barrancas, which is located near the National Naval Aviation Museum. But when they eventually got to the fort entrance, it was closed. "It's been like a months-long hassle," Tatum said. "And he still hasn't been able to visit." In February, at least 1,000 National Park Service rangers and workers were fired by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. The National Parks Conservation Association, an independent organization that advocates for the protection and protection of National Parks, issued a statement in July stating that staffing cuts since President Trump's inauguration earlier this year have resulted in a 24% reduction in permanent National Park Service staff. In the July 3 press release, Theresa Pierno, president and CEO of the National Parks Conservation Association, said "This new date confirms what NPCA has been warning the Administration and Congress about. National parks cannot properly function at the staffing levels this administration has reduced them to. And it's only getting worse." There are also Gulf Islands National Seashore areas on the Mississippi Coast, including Cat Island, Horn Island, Ship Island and more, many of which are only accessible by boat. While Fort Barrancas might not be the crown jewel of Gulf Islands National Seashore, it is one of the area's best-preserved forts. The hilltop fort was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1840 and 1844 over the ruins of other forts. Fort Barrancas is connected to the adjoining Spanish Watery Battery − the white structure just below the kite-shaped brick fort. Even before the start of the American Civil War, Fort Barrancas was seeing action. More than three months before the South Carolina militia attacked U.S. Army troops at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, in April 1861, U.S. Army soldiers at Fort Barrancas fired at a Florida militia group, which they were able to repel. Still, U.S. forces were feeling the pressure and soon relocated to Fort Pickens, leaving Fort Barrancas in the hands of the militia. Just days later, Florida seceded from the Union and soon the newly-born Confederacy would bring troops to Fort Barrancas. Fort Pickens, built by the U.S. Army on the western tip of Santa Rosa Island and which is also part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, remains open daily. Other Florida features of Gulf Islands National Seashore are the Naval Live Oaks Area in Gulf Breeze, Rosamond Johnson Beach on Perdido Key, as well as beach access areas in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. "It's sad, because I actually like Fort Barrancas more than Fort Pickens," Tatum said. "It's in better shape and a lot nicer." This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Fort Barrancas open once month following National Park Service cuts Solve the daily Crossword
CTV News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
Road closures throughout weekend in East Village as Country Thunder rolls into The Confluence
Traffic will be disrupted this weekend in the East Village due to the Country Thunder Music Festival. While the festival kicks off Friday at The Confluence, the road closures kick off Saturday at 11 a.m. and remain in effect until Tuesday at 1 a.m.: Sixth Street S.E. from Sixth to Ninth Avenue S.E.; Seventh and Eighth Avenue S.E. from Fifth to Sixth Street S.E.; and The left-hand lane on Ninth Ave S.E. in front of the Confluence Historic Site & Parkland will be closed. Festival organizers issued a media release Friday advising Country Thunder patrons to ride public transit to the festival site this weekend. 'We are walking distance from the city hall train station and several bus stops,' they posted. Riding public transit, they said, is easy and convenient. You get to ride with other country music fans and get pumped up, and you're less likely to be delayed due to construction and road closures. Additionally, there's no onsite parking for festivalgoers. 'Parking in Inglewood and downtown is extremely limited, ' they said, 'and we do not offer parking at the venue.' In addition to the Country Thunder parking restrictions, Chinatown is hosting a street festival Saturday, causing a number of street closures. Portions of Third Avenue and First Street S.E. will be closed Saturday for the TD Chinatown Street Festival. For more about Country Thunder, go here.
NHK
20-06-2025
- General
- NHK
Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima to be designated 'Special Historic Site'
The Japanese government will designate the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima, western Japan, as a Special Historic Site that has especially high value for preservation. It would be the first such designation for a structure built since the Meiji Period, which started in the latter 19th century. A panel at Japan's Cultural Affairs Agency recommended the designation on Friday. The brick building was erected in 1915 and served as the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotional Hall. It partially survived the 1945 atomic bombing of the city. Also called Genbaku Dome, the structure is already designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. The building was only about 160 meters from ground zero, but the shell of the dome miraculously survived the bombing while inner parts of the building burned down. The panel said it regards the structure as having extremely high value as a symbol of disaster from the first-ever atomic bombing in history, which is preserved in the same state as immediately after the explosion. The most recent monument designated a Special Historic Site to date is Goryokaku, a western-style fort in Hokkaido, which was completed in the late Edo Period in the 19th Century.
CBC
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
First permanent exhibit to open at The Confluence in 20 years focuses on Blackfoot culture
Ki'pait'apiiyssinnooni (Our Way of Life) is now open at The Confluence Historic Site & Parkland, formerly known as Fort Calgary. The new 900-square-foot exhibit features historic and contemporary displays of Blackfoot culture.
