{"id":44703,"date":"2025-05-23T09:24:16","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:24:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=44703"},"modified":"2025-05-23T10:33:28","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T14:33:28","slug":"gwynns-falls-state-park-advisory-committee-invites-public-comment-for-focus-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2025\/05\/23\/gwynns-falls-state-park-advisory-committee-invites-public-comment-for-focus-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Gwynns Falls State Park Advisory Committee Invites Public Comment in Focus Groups"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"People

Community volunteers help plant trees for stream restoration in Gwynn Falls Park in 2014. Maryland DNR file photo.<\/p><\/div>\n

The public is invited to join two focus group meetings to help assess the opportunities, challenges, and pathways forward to the future establishment of <\/span>Gwynns Falls State Park<\/span><\/a> as the premier example of a \u201cpartnership park\u201d between the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore.<\/span><\/p>\n

Input on seven topics will be collected ranging from improvements to park staffing and facilities, visitor experience, recreational opportunities, historic site preservation, and protection of natural resources. Those interested are encouraged to participate in person on May 27 from 3-6 p.m. at the Cahill Recreation Center, 4001 Clifton Avenue, Baltimore, or virtually through Webex on May 29 from 3- 6 p.m. A complete listing of the focus group topics and the link for the virtual session can be found on the Department of Natural Resources\u2019 <\/span>Gwynns Falls State Park Advisory Commission webpage<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an exciting point in the process,\u201d said Ranger Angela Crenshaw, Director of the Maryland Park Service. \u201cWe\u2019re working closely with our partners and hearing directly from the public about what they envision for Gwynns Falls State Park. By offering both in-person and virtual focus groups, we\u2019re making it easier for more people to get involved. And if you can\u2019t make a meeting, we encourage you to complete the survey on our website so your voice is still part of the conversation.<\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2024, <\/span>legislation<\/span><\/a> was passed requiring the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Baltimore City to form the Gwynns Falls State Park Advisory Commission. The commission will engage a diverse advisory committee of community members and stakeholders, alongside public focus group meetings, to assess local priorities and provide input on the park’s scope and management.<\/span><\/p>\n

Insights from the advisory committee and focus groups will guide DNR in compiling a report, due by December 1, 2025, to identify properties suitable for inclusion in the state park and outline funding needs for the partnership park.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The public is invited to join two focus group meetings to help assess the opportunities, challenges, and pathways forward to the future establishment of Gwynns Falls State Park as the premier example of a \u201cpartnership park\u201d between the State of Maryland and the City of Baltimore. Input on seven topics will be collected ranging from  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957],"tags":[4797,2969,4057,4981,5355],"class_list":["post-44703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","tag-angela-crenshaw","tag-baltimore-city","tag-gwynns-falls","tag-maryland-state-parks","tag-public-comment"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44703"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44708,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44703\/revisions\/44708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}