Heading for the Hills |
Weekend visitors flock
to Ohio's Hocking Hills State Park causing overload
concerns. |
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Naturalist
Pat Quackenbush and Friend |
LOGAN, OH: On fall
weekends, thousands of Ohioans drive to places where
their smartphones and devices are not designed to work.
They take a network of two-lane roads to beautiful
locales that feature fine fall foliage nestled in steep
terrain, which sets the scene – but also blocks cell
signals. |
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Ash Cave in
Hocking Hills State Park |
One such venue is
Hocking Hills State Park near Logan, Ohio. A premier
destination, the Park has multiple public-use areas
offering camping, fishing, hiking, cottages, dining, a
visitor center and even a swimming pool. A new visitor
center is currently under construction – something
patrons need to know. The state’s Department of Natural
Resources will now reach out to people approaching the
Park via information radio technology in an attempt to
keep them apprised of parking and traffic issues, before
they get gridlocked…and frustrated. |
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A
Ranger-Led Hike in the Hocking Hills |
On key autumn
weekends, the Park’s well known Old Man’s Cave area has
been filling up early causing long lines on area roads.
Until now, there has not been a means of reaching
inbound visitors to let them know that the parking lots
are full, allowing them to divert to one of the other
recreation areas nearby until congestion at Old Man’s
Cave eases. In fall 2017 the Park utilized a temporary
EventCAST System to meet the need and intends to
make the service permanent in the near future. |
|
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Snow Geese
at Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area |
Layover Logistics |
Flying Fowl a Frequent
Favorite |
KLEINFELTERSVILLE,
PA: Now is the time of the year to seek out rural
Pennsylvania if you want to experience more geese and
swans than you can shake your figurative stick at. Since
the groundhog has signaled that spring is on the
horizon, the waterfowl have started migrating north, and
Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area is one of their
favorite “rest areas.” Where is Middle Creek? In the
middle of nowhere. And that is just how the visiting
birds and birdwatchers like it. |
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"We have 135,000
snow geese here right now and with that, hundreds to
thousands of visitors daily," states Lauren
Fenstermacher, Middle Creek’s Visitor Center Manager.
"This is a large migration of snow geese and tundra
swans. And when the waterfowl increases, so does
visitation.” The 6,000-acre wildlife area logged more
snow geese this winter than any in recorded history – in
excess of 200,000. That doesn’t include the tundra swans
and Canada geese that show up. Then there are the
250,000 human guests the Center logs annually. That’s a
lot of activity. |
Click
thumbnail below for larger image. |
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Middle
Creek Wildlife Management Area is convenient to many in
Eastern Pennsylvania. |
"Our rules and regulations can be confusing if you are not a 'frequent flyer' here," advises Fenstermacher, "and they are all here to see the wildlife." That is why the Pennsylvania Game Commission installed a state-of-the-art Information Radio Station (ISIP) at the wildlife management area in the off-season to help ease the communication burden.
The informative "audio tour" broadcast on AM 1620 is heard up and down their entire wildlife viewing road so that when visitors leave the Center, they can listen continuously as they tour. This allows the Center staff to focus on answering visitors’ questions rather than repeating the same general information for them so often. The 11 minute audio tour broadcast now does that – 24 hours a day – 365 days a year. |
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Middle
Creek wants guests to stay clear of sensitive
propagation areas where, well, propagation takes place. |
The broadcast’s three goals: The first is basic education on how to experience Middle Creek – information visitors need such as directions, visitor center functions and hours, seasonal road closures and important things not to do while visiting the sensitive environmental area. These functional facts are repeated three times during the production due to their importance. Interwoven as feature segments are wildlife info and viewing tips for the current season along with special segments describing the history and development of the facility.
Four different announcers are employed to add variety and maintain interest; and the station's TR.6000 HQ 5.0 Transmitter is employed to deliver broadcast quality wide-band audio. Listen to the broadcast. |
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Tundra
Swans |
Lauren
Fenstermacher adds "This service just went on the air
this weekend, and we already have gotten many positive
and enthusiastic responses. This is going to completely
change how people visit Middle Creek." She tells The
Source that a number of other wildlife areas in the
state are keeping an eagle eye on Middle Creek's radio
project. |
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Quick Ones |
Grand Canyon Info
Station Shuts Down the Shut-Down Rumors |
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TUSAYAN, AZ: Visitors approaching Grand Canyon National Park recently were advised of the Park’s status during the recent "government shut-down." The park utilized their information radio station on 1610 AM and a changeable message sign to advise approaching motorists about changes would result from the temporary "closure." As it turned out, only certain services were unavailable and the Park itself was not closed – a fact that many in the public were uncertain of.
The special radio station is made possible by Information Station Specialists' EventCast Service and is relied upon during high visitation months to encourage guests to park their cars in the Town of Tusayan and take the bus into the Park. The broadcast gives motorists details about where to park and when the busses run – to make operations more efficient and to minimize pollution from automobile exhaust. |
Bison Antenna Y'all! |
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Typical
American Plains Bison at Home on the Range |
MANKATO, MN: Minnesota’s Minneopa State Park is now operating an Information Radio Station on 1610 AM to educate and inform park visitors who can drive their vehicles through a new bison viewing area. The first eleven animals were recently introduced into the Park and are rare in that they are genetically very close to the original American Plains bison. The herd is expected to grow to 30-40 animals. Minneopa’s location, only 90 minutes southwest of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, will allow many to experience bison in a native habitat, on a day-trip.
According
to Minnesota DNR Regional Naturalist Alex Watson, "An
information radio station was the safest option to
deliver information to users who spend time along the
road searching for wildlife. This station helps answer
visitor questions and saves time for our staff. |
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Information Radio Stations is a generic term
synonymous with Travelers Information Stations (TIS), Highway
Advisory Radio Stations (HAR) / Highway Information Systems &
Low Power Radio Stations (LPR). Operation of the stations is
governed by FCC Part 90.242 Rules. A FCC license is required.
Information Radio Stations may be fixed or portable.
Subcomponents may include transmitter, antenna and ground
system, digital voice player, wattmeter, cabinet with
conventional or Corbin locks, lightning arrestors for RF, power
and telephone lines, coaxial cable. Most stations employ black
maximized antennas to discourage ice accumulation and security
measures to prevent unauthorized program access. Options include
synchronization, battery backup, solar power, remote programming
by local, network or telco, multi-station audio distribution via
RF or LAN / WAN or wireless network. |