This Thursday and Friday, the National Park Service will hold listening sessions in Los Angeles and San Francisco to take public comments about its grand program for preserving World War II-era Japanese Internment sites.

I know it’s not technically hiking news, but I had the opportunity to visit Manzanar National Historic Site this year on the way home from some hiking and camping in Yosemite and the Sierras, and was thoroughly impressed. The visitors’ center was one of the most modern and well thought-out exhibits I’ve ever seen in a Park Service property, and the lessons from that time period were artfully communicated.

Plus, there’s TONS of amazing hiking nearby, so it’s an easy add-on to great outdoor experiences in the Sierras.

If you’d like to put in some public comments on how the NPS is doing with these sites, head to the following locations:

LOS ANGELES – Thursday, December 3, 6-8 PM
Japanese American Cultural and Community Center
244 S. San Pedro St., Suite 505
Phone: 925-943-1531 ex. 122

SAN FRANCISCO – Friday, December 4, 6-8 PM
Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California
1840 Sutter St., Suite 201
Phone: 925-943-1531 ex. 122

Manzanar image courtesy of Floyd B. Bariscale.

Tags: history, japanese internment camps, manzanar national historic site, National Park Service, world war 2, world war ii