Making a difference today, for tomorrow. (National Society for Park Resources).

NSPR members have been working diligently with the Friends of the Kaw to produce an atlas of the Kansas River. A special grant of $13,000 from the Topeka Community Foundation and an award of $7,000 from the Ethel and Raymond F. Rice Foundation launched an ambitious geographically based public education campaign that will eventually cover the entire Kansas River Basin. The project will allow Friends of the Kaw (a nonprofit volunteer group) to compile information to produce an interactive Web site organized by watershed units or hydrologic unit codes, and a classification system developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to map water resources nationally. The initial phase of the project will focus on the watersheds in Shawnee and surrounding Kansas counties. The project will also produce and install a billboard to direct viewers to the Web site. The Rice Foundation funds are specifically dedicated to the atlas and Web site.

"Our contribution to the Friends of the Kaw is the first environmental grant awarded by the Topeka Community Foundation through our competitive grants program," observes Kristine Meyer, director of community investment. "The foundation is pleased to expand into this area of grantmaking to lead public health education efforts to protect the Kansas River." The mission of the Topeka Community Foundation is to improve the quality of life in the region by connecting donors to their priorities as well as to the needs of the community, by increasing charitable giving, and by providing leadership on critical community issues.

The Norcross Wildlife Foundation, based in Massachusetts, provided the third grant of $3,000. These funds will purchase biological water quality sampling and analysis equipment, boating supplies and photographic equipment. The president of the foundation notes that "Norcross is the hardware store for environmental and wildlife conservation organizations." Friends of the Kaw is in the process of determining how to best use this grant to achieve the goal ofd0cumenting the conditions, as the environment improves, of the Kansas (Kaw) River.--NSPR Past President Jerry Hover, CPRP, State Parks Director, Pratt, Kan.