I received a group email message from one of the supervisory rangers at Governors Island yesterday asking about volunteers’ summer availability and the like. The season begins in just four short weeks, on Memorial Day Weekend. One of the big changes at Governors Island this year is that the island will be open seven days a week. This is a change from the Saturday/Sunday operation of the past few years. Also, the city has re-opened thirty acres of the portion of the island managed locally. Governors Island is 172 acres, with 22 of that managed by the NPS. Last summer was fairly quiet because so much of the southern portion of the island was under repair due both to Superstorm Sandy and the longterm plans of the Trust for Governors Island. The re-opened thirty acres is new park land.

I myself will be splitting my time between Governors Island and the TRB, alternating back and forth each weekend. My first day is going to be June 1. There are many interpretive opportunities I will be pursuing with a great deal of overlap between the two sites. It really is going to be a great summer.