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AIA hosts ‘Road to Assateague,’ Sat.

(April 16, 2015) Assateague Island Alliance (AIA), the Friends Group of Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS), will host “The Road to Assateague Part 2:  Becoming a National Seashore” on Saturday, April 18 in the Environmental Education Center.
Coffee and refreshments will be served at 9:30 a.m. prior to the program which begins at 10 a.m.
Following devastating effects of the Ash Wednesday Storm of 1962, development plans ceased and an opportunity was created for the National Park Service to acquire land. Great change would take place in the years that followed resulting in mandates to keep ASIS free from commercial development, rendering the island reborn.
Presenter Joseph Fehrer, currently the Coastal and Lower Shore project manager for The Nature Conservancy, will share his personal account of living on the island during Assateague’s historical shift from life as the seaside resort “Ocean Beach” to becoming a National Seashore. Fehrer will also discuss a brief history of the establishment of ASIS, his family’s involvement in both property acquisition for the National Park Service and also the selling and then saving of the island.
This program is presented by the Friends Group in conjunction with the yearlong 50th anniversary celebration of Assateague Island National Seashore which was created in 1965.
Due to the popularity of this series, this event will be held in a larger venue at the Assateague Island Environmental Education Center (old visitor center) located at 7206 National Seashore Lane, Berlin, Md. 21811. Overflow parking will be available next door at the new Assateague Island Visitor Center.
The Assateague Island Alliance (AIA), a 501(c)3 organization, is a Friends Group to benefit Assateague Island National Seashore. AIA financially supports educational, interpretive, scientific and recreational programs. All funds raised by AIA are for the direct benefit of Assateague Island National Seashore. Donations are tax-deductible.  
For more information, call 443-614-3547 or email outreachAIA@gmail.com.