Friends of Big Bend National Park

Happy 75th Anniversary Big Bend 
from Friends of Big Bend National Park!

Come Celebrate National Public Lands Day with us!

Once again the Friends are celebrating National Public Lands Day at Big Bend National Park with a volunteer project.  This year’s project is the beautification of Persimmon Gap, and there are volunteering opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.  After lunch there will be a discussion and demonstration by the park’s fire management crew and the evening will end with a discussion about Big Bend dinosaurs at the group campground in the Basin.   Click here to see the full schedule for the weekend or click here to register online!
Special thanks to our sponsors of this event:  Bill Miller BBQ, Culligan Southwest and Forever ResortsThe 13th Annual Ride for Trails will take place October 15-17 in Study Butte.  You can register by downloading the form here, or you can click here to register online with your credit card.

Ride for Trails Registration NOW OPEN!!

Big Bend Ultra Run Registration NOW OPEN!!
Interested in running an Ultra race in Big Bend National Park?  Join us next January – click here to download the registration form or click here to register online.  You can find out race and course details at www.bigbend50.com.  Less than 100 spaces are left, and they are going fast so register soon!  Need to know more?  Join us at Whole Earth Provision Westgate in Austin on Thursday, September 9th at 6PM to hear from Race Director Carroll Voss about training, the course and how you can take part!  You can also join us in Dallas on Sunday, September 12 at 2PM  at the new Whole Earth Provision Store on Preston Road for race details and park information – hope to see you there!!

Funding Milestone:  $100,000 matching grant received!
In August the Friends received a $100,000 matching grant from the National Park Service for the Visitor Orientation Film project.  This money matches the over $100,000 already raised by the Friends, bringing the total of the funds raised for the project to over $200,000.  We look forward to seeing the final results once park staff complete the film!

Want to see your license plate dollars at work? 
Park staff has begun initial improvements at the Fossil Bone Exhibit site.  This month crews installed picnic tables under the new shade ramada near the Fossil Bone Exhibit parking lot off 365.  By the end of the year there will also be a vault toilet, creating a nice respite for travelers inbound to the park.   Through license plate dollars the Friends have paid for revised signage to improve the interpretation of the area, as well as a site plan to completely overhaul the area and create a new and lasting exhibit appropriate to Big Bend’s major fossil finds.

GoodSearch
Are you on the internet every day?  If so, you can help Friends of Big Bend National Park while you are doing internet searches or internet shopping.

Friends of Big Bend National Park earns a penny every time you searched the Internet from the GoodSearch website.  GoodSearch.com is a Yahoo-powered search engine that donates half its advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to the charities its users designate.  Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo and help Big Bend National Park while you do it!  Just go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Friends of Big Bend as the charity you want to support!