Lassen Park Foundation
The Lassen Park Foundation
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History
In 1984 a small group of regular "Lassen" visitors gathered with then Park Superintendent Bill Stephenson to discuss the possibility of starting a foundation to support projects for the Park. Through ingenuity and many volunteer hours the group incorporated as the Lassen Park Foundation and began to meet several times a year. Foremost in their thoughts was a true visitor center for Lassen Volcanic, one of the only parks in the lower 48 states without a visitor center.
Creation of “Lassen Crossroads”
Initial hopes that a visitor center could be built with the use of solely private funds only were not realized, and the Foundation realized that Federal funds would be a necessary addition. They found that a moratorium on building new visitor centers was in effect, and it was not until 1994 that an appropriation carried by a local congressman allotted $384,000 to Lassen Volcanic for this project. Meanwhile, the costs of the Foundation’s initial plans had risen, and rethinking of the project, both in cost and functions, was necessary.
This redesign culminated in a joint project partnership with the US Forest Service, the National Park Service and the Lassen Park Foundation to construct "Lassen Crossroads", a visitor orientation facility at the northern entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Dedicated in 2000, this center is an unstafffed, seasonal center which acquaints visitors with what there is to see and do in the area and offers the possibilities of many trips in the larger area of both the Park and the Forest lands.
A Visitor Center for the Southwest Entrance to the Park
In 2000, Superintendent Marilyn H. Parris began an initiative to bring a year-round visitor center to the southwest entrance to Lassen Volcanic National Park, and worked hard to make the project come to fruition. In the summer of 2005, Parris transferred to another national park and her successor, Mary Martin, arrived in October. The project has experienced some difficulties in the bidding process, so that its original completion date has had to be extended to 2007-08.
Today’s Lassen Park Foundation
Although the route has been circuitous, there is still determination and resolve by both the Park Service and the Foundation to see the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center reach completion. The new Superintendent, Mary Martin, has confirmed the National Park Service’s intentions- that this will happen and that the project is on a fast track! The Foundation has a major part in fundraising this endeavor. Along the way, the Lassen Park Foundation has expanded to include many projects for trail restoration, scientific studies, interpretive exhibits and signage, and camping trips for disadvantaged youth. Today’s Foundation has a Board of Directors of thirty individuals from varied backgrounds and areas of experience. Their dedication to the Foundation is what makes it great.
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