<div dir="auto"><div>Funny, the only place I have run in to an actual ranger is at Walden. I was setting up in a grassy area near the main building and a ranger came along. I told him what I was doing and asked if it was okay to set up in the grassy area. He said "Oh yeah. The radio stuff is cool. Most of you set set up elsewhere, but you're fine there."</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">So Walden not always bad. It probably helped that it was December and the place was a ghost town!</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Chris </div><div dir="auto">W2BPL</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br></div><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature">Sent from my phone.</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Oct 10, 2025, 6:09\u202fPM Adam Smith <<a href="mailto:asmith@netspace.org">asmith@netspace.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div dir="auto">Thanks for sharing Chris! I don't think it changes a lot about most activations, but it is good to be clear and once again I am impressed by the responsiveness and diligence of the POTA volunteers. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">I will say informally that I have had good experiences from the bulk of rangers/staff at (for example) Great Brook and Minute Man. A particular national park ranger at MM has indicated that there is awareness of (and even support for) POTA in their professional community. On another hand, several folks have told me that they had less positive experiences at Walden Pond - which is perhaps understandable given the physical layout and the traffic levels there. Caveat Activator?</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">While I am at it, since I mentioned MinuteMan park - I have heard from a couple folks that due to the government shutdown the parking areas along the Battle Road are closed (and other park amenities). I don't know about the North Bridge visitor center parking. There may be places where you can access the park area, but be prepared to be turned away etc if you try in the current circumstance. :(</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">73,</div><div dir="auto">Adam / AA1N</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="auto">"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch." -Garrison Keillor</div><br><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Oct 10, 2025, 09:52 Christopher Lennon <<a href="mailto:kwaj.speedo@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">kwaj.speedo@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Hey Adam,</div><div><br></div><div>Wanting to get the "I assume" out of my statement, and curious about how a park becomes a POTA park I contacted Pete Knapp KN8PPY. He is the Map Representative for Massachusetts. Nice guy and he got right back to me and answered the question. I have pasted his full response below. Key is that my assumption was wrong. The POTA organization does not contact any state or federal officials. They verify that the parks meet certain criteria and then put it on the list. </div><div><br></div><div>I am a little surprised, I always thought that at some level the local officials knew about POTA. For heavily activated parks I am sure they do, but it might be a surprise at the more lightly traveled parks.</div><div><br></div><div>If you are interested in adding a state or federal park to the list then in MA Pete is the person you would contact.</div><div><br></div><div>Chris</div><div>W2BPL</div><div><br></div><div>Pete's reply follows....</div><div>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^</div><div>
Hi Chris,<div><br></div><div>Thanks for reaching out, it is a very common question, however according to the Rules <a href="https://docs.pota.app/docs/rules.html" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">https://docs.pota.app/docs/rules.html</a> only State and Federal entities are eligible for POTA.</div><div><h3 id="m_-2225840566703930486m_-2379948714645572006m_4504172251758848095m_5221457345761944308gmail-qualification-of-parks-trails-and-rivers-for-addition-to-parks-on-the-air" style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:0.25em;font-weight:500;line-height:1.25;color:rgb(39,38,43);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:18px">Qualification of Parks, Trails, and Rivers for Addition to Parks on the Air</h3><ol style="box-sizing:border-box;margin-top:0.5em;padding-left:1.5em;list-style-type:none;color:rgb(48,45,54);font-family:system-ui,-apple-system,BlinkMacSystemFont,"Segoe UI",Roboto,"Helvetica Neue",Arial,sans-serif;font-size:16px"><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0.25em 0px">All
new parks must be owned and operated by a State/Provincial or
Federal/National agency. We do not include parks that have part/shared
ownership, sponsorship, or are operated by private organizations or
local governments</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0.25em 0px">To
be considered for inclusion, the park must meet the above requirements
and offer an informational website detailing current boundary maps.</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0.25em 0px">POTA
does not create sub-parks within existing parks if both parks are owned
and operated by the same State/Provincial or Federal/National agency.</li><li style="box-sizing:border-box;margin:0.25em 0px">To request a park addition or edit, please refer to Park Additions and Edits</li></ol></div><div>If
you happen to identify a potential park that meets these criteria, you
reach out to the State Mapping Representative with as much information
as you can so we can evaluate it and potentially add it to the
database. An easy qualifier is whether the park has a .gov website or
not. We don't interact with state or federal officials as they don't
grant approval to POTA as a non-profit volunteer organization.</div><div><br></div><div>Keep having fun with POTA, and we'll see you down the log!</div><div><br></div><div>73, Pete</div><div>KN8ppY</div>
<br></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Thu, Oct 9, 2025 at 10:08\u202fPM Adam Smith <<a href="mailto:asmith@netspace.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">asmith@netspace.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">Hi Chris - re: your statement, "I assume that this means that they interact with state and federal officials to get a certain level of permission for parks in that state" - I'm also not a POTA organizer, but I have never seen anything that suggests the POTA program has an official interaction with any National or State governing authority. They clearly state in the rules that access to the parks must be available to the public, that the activator is responsible for validating the park boundaries and governance, and that you should comply with published policies and any direction from rangers/staff. <div><br></div><div>So my understanding is that POTA Activators are just park users, like anyone else. The program hasn't arranged any permission on our behalf. Like many activities, it's on the honor system when we submit our activations - but when you do so you're asked to verify each time that you've followed the program rules.</div><div><br></div><div>That said, as you mentioned, there are a wide variety of POTA locations in our area (certainly more so than SOTA, for example). The rules may be arbitrary, but they're what creates the "game". Go have fun and I hope to meet you (or work you) in a park soon!</div><div><br></div><div>73,</div><div>Adam / AA1N</div><div><br></div><div>PS - there is a very active POTA Discord server which has a lot of knowledgeable activators as well as some of the volunteers involved in the program, if you want to go to the horse's mouth for validation. I have also had very fast and helpful responses to a "support ticket" email when I made a mistake regarding a submitted log.</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Oct 8, 2025 at 12:11\u202fPM Christopher Lennon via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div>Not being one of the PoTA organizers I can not definitively answer your question. I do have a suspicion. There are people in the PoTA organization that are state coordinators. I assume that this means that they interact with state and federal officials to get a certain level of permission for parks in that state. There is something to this because not all state or federal parks in a state are on the PoTA list. As an activator it is somewhat comforting because a park being on the list implies some of level of permission. Being just state and federal parks vastly limits the number of officials these coordinators need to interact with. So, I suspect that is simply a matter of work load for VOLUNTEER coordinators.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">In Mass it is hardly a problem. There are lots of available parks. Check the map.</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Chris </div><div dir="auto">W2BPL</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sent from my phone.</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Oct 8, 2025, 11:36\u202fAM Juan Jiménez <<a href="mailto:k1cpr@bd5.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">k1cpr@bd5.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr"><div>Why are local parks not allowed for activations? Seems like a severely shortsighted rule, considering all the great parks that are owned and run by local authorities and are always looking for more ways to engage with residents.</div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><br><div>73,<div>K1CPR</div><div>Juan</div></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Oct 8, 2025 at 11:20\u202fAM Christopher Lennon <<a href="mailto:kwaj.speedo@gmail.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">kwaj.speedo@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto"><div>Sadly, local parks are not PoTA parks. You can go there and operate, but you don't get credit for an activation in the PoTA universe. PoTA parks in the US are either state or federal. Not all state and federal parks are on the PoTA list. </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto"><a href="https://pota.app/#/map" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">https://pota.app/#/map</a></div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Will take you to the map of PoTA sites </div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div dir="auto">Chris </div><div dir="auto">W2BPL</div><div dir="auto"><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sent from my phone.</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Oct 8, 2025, 10:26\u202fAM Leandra MacLennan via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="auto">
Unfortunately only state and national parks are eligible to be \u201cPOTA\u201d parks. The official POTA parks are shown on the map on the POTA website.
<div><br>
</div>
<div>A gathering at Simonds could be a good dry run for an activation of a POTA park on another day.</div>
<div><br id="m_-2225840566703930486m_-2379948714645572006m_4504172251758848095m_8311870973296139711m_-5985350153045786192m_4320166199086889748m_3389275709559899630m_1764489659586290849m_-5149047366648159859lineBreakAtBeginningOfSignature">
<div dir="ltr">-Leandra AF1R </div>
<div dir="ltr"><br>
<blockquote type="cite">On Oct 8, 2025, at 9:57\u202fAM, Juan Jiménez via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
</blockquote>
</div>
<blockquote type="cite">
<div dir="ltr">\ufeff
<div dir="ltr">
<div>I just asked Brendan Egan at Burlington.org, head of Parks and Recreation, to see if they would allow us to activate Simonds Park.</div>
<div>
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr"><br>
<div>73,
<div>K1CPR</div>
<div>Juan</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<br>
</div>
<br>
<div class="gmail_quote">
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Oct 6, 2025 at 10:31\u202fPM ham operator via bars <<a href="mailto:bars@w1hh.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">bars@w1hh.org</a>> wrote:<br>
</div>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="auto">hello Bars</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">time to start group POTAS</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">for all pota info <a href="http://www.parksontheair.com" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">
www.parksontheair.com</a></div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">lets make a few plans:</div>
<div dir="auto">where is the closest parks to the meeting location:</div>
<div dir="auto">US-4742. - warren manning state forest</div>
<div dir="auto">US-2435 - great brook farm state park</div>
<div dir="auto">US-4735. - carisle state forest</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">is anyone available to do potas on a weekday</div>
<div dir="auto">is 10 am good on weekday or weekend</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">the link above will help you understand what you need to bring to the pota site</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">i am going to go check out warren manning</div>
<div dir="auto">and i will schedule a time and day</div>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div><br>
</div>
<span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br>
<div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr">
<div dir="ltr"> 73 Niece
<div>Please listen for my 10m CW beacon 28.2235</div>
<div></div>
<div>
<div><br>
</div>
<div>20m 14.045 SLOW CW NET </div>
<div>SUNDAY NIGHT AT 4PM EST or 20:00 utc</div>
</div>
<div>we use <a href="http://netlogger.org" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">netlogger.org</a> <br>
</div>
<div><br>
when hear YL on FREQ: they take precedence! Take YL QSO first</div>
<div><br>
check out: <a href="http://KA1ULN.BLOGSPOT.COM" rel="noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer noreferrer" target="_blank">KA1ULN.BLOGSPOT.COM</a><br>
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</blockquote></div><div><br clear="all"></div><div><br></div><span class="gmail_signature_prefix">-- </span><br><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature">"Be well, do good work, and keep in touch." -Garrison Keillor</div>
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