Parking Review

Looks like the city of Memphis is looking closely at its parkland.

The City Council heard from Parks Services Director Cindy Buchanan today about an upcoming city parks master plan.

"The purpose for this project is to provide recreational activities in the best fiscal manner," she said. "We will not bring any major construction projects to the council for various facilities until the master plan is complete."

Buchanan said they would be looking at all facets of the city's parks, including whether there was property the city could "divest ourselves of."

A group of citizens will be helping the city with the master plan.

"They are members of the public, and we expect them to bring with them their desires, passions, and concerns," Buchanan said. "They will discuss things and hopefully come to a consensus for park services. Once that happens, we'll create a document and bring it to the City Council."

The master plan is expected to be complete within 6 months.

The City Council's parks and environment committee also discussed ADA upgrades for the Liberty Bowl stadium.

Pot Parks

Maybe something to look out for the next time you go camping.

USAToday is reporting that about 80 percent of marijuana grown outdoors is being cultivated on state or federal land. The culprits appear to be Mexican drug cartels.

From the story:

"Tighter border controls make it harder to smuggle marijuana into the USA, so more Mexican drug networks are growing crops here, [National Drug Control Policy director John] Walters says.

'We are finding more marijuana gardens in the park year after year,' says Jim Milestone, superintendent of Whiskeytown National Recreation Area in Northern California.

'We're dealing with some bad characters,' Milestone says. 'We are arresting people … who have criminal records in Mexico, and almost all of them are here illegally with false papers.'"

Old Growth

I went on a nice hike Saturday morning through the old-growth forest with the folks of Citizens to Preserve Overton Park.



They do hikes the second Saturday of each month and I would highly recommend going, especially if you feel a little out of your depth going on something called the "old forest trail" by yourself. I would also recommend wearing light-weight pants if you are anything like me (and by that I mean incredibly clumsy) and some sort of bug repellent.

Naomi Van Tol led our hike and was nice enough to point out poison ivy and stinging nettle, which I'm told feels like a wasp sting if it touches you.

Anyway, here are a few photos:



A grape vine. Who would have thought?

A tree that people like to take pictures of their children in. Naomi warned against this — something about wild raccoons or poisonous snakes — but I guess that depends on what outcome you're looking for when you tell your kid to stand inside. Either way, I'm sure it makes for unforgetable photos. (joking ...)

The area where the Zoo's Teton Trek will be:






























And inside the fence at the Teton Trek: