The National Park Service and National Geographic have teamed up this year to host a National Parks BioBlitz throughout the country in celebration of the National Park Service Centennial. Gulf Islands National Seashore, in partnership with Okaloosa Science and the University of West Florida, will host a BioBlitz species identification and Biodiversity Festival on May 21, 2016, at the park's Naval Live Oaks Area in Gulf Breeze, Florida.
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| Gulf Islands National Seashore is home to many different plants and animals.
Craig McDonnell
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In 2016, the National Park Service (NPS) will celebrate its 100th anniversary, and radio amateurs will be able to help mark the occasion with the ARRL National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) event.
As a result, there will be a special event station using callsign N4P at the NPS Biodiversity Festival at Naval Live Oaks on May 21st. We will be doing National Parks On The Air but with a twist. We will involve the participants in a real time science experiment by collecting data on radio wave skip while operating on 20 meters. The participants, many being youth, will help us make contacts. They will also plot the contacts on a grid square map. The distance will be read from the map and logged. Over the day, we hope to see a pattern of the skip distance and the skip zone. N4P will be SS08 Gulf Islands National Seashore for NPOTA. However, we would like chaser's four digit grid square in addition to their state for plotting the contacts. Please be patient and slow the pace so we can get those kids on the air. Listen for us around 14.265. Greg Lane N4KGL and Bob Plank KK4DIV will operate N4P and assist the "scientists" who participate in the experiment.