The Difference between Good Enough and Great: Bringing Interpretive Best Practices to Life

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 79-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc J. Stern ◽  
Robert B. Powell ◽  
Kevin D. McLean ◽  
Emily Martin ◽  
Jennifer M. Thomsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Works Of Art ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Interpretive Programs ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The U.S

The purpose of this paper is to illuminate in both a quantitative and qualitative sense the practices that distinguish great interpretive programs from those that may merely be adequate to satisfy the visitor's basic desires to learn, be entertained, or spend time with a ranger. Great programs, like great works of art, have the potential to impact audiences in a deeper sense by providing memorable experiences that may influence multiple aspects of visitors’ lives. This paper draws on experiences from three months of fieldwork, observing 376 interpretive programs across 24 units of the U.S. National Park Service, to illustrate examples of program elements that distinguished what we considered to be the best programs we observed.

Speculating on the Role of Context in the Outcomes of Interpretive Programs

2013 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-78 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert B. Powell ◽  
Marc J. Stern
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Urban Centers ◽  
Resource Quality ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Interpretive Programs ◽  
Outdoor Programs ◽  
Program Characteristics ◽  
The U.S

Based on data from 272 live interpretive programs conducted across 24 units of the U.S. National Park Service, we investigate the influence of context upon interpretive programs and visitor outcomes. We first examined whether outcomes vary based upon the size of the audience and its age makeup; program characteristics such as duration, topic, and type; and characteristics of the setting including proximity to urban centers, program location (indoor vs. outdoor), and resource quality. We then examine whether different program or interpreter characteristics operate differently in different contexts by examining their relationships to visitor outcomes in four context pairings: programs with mostly children vs. mostly adults in the audience; culturally focused vs. environmentally focused programs; programs conducted in remote vs. urban parks; and indoor vs. outdoor programs. The findings suggest that a small number of program and interpreter characteristics may operate differently within different contexts. Based on these results, we propose hypotheses regarding which program characteristics appear to be more or less beneficial (or harmful) to generating desired visitor outcomes in different contexts.

scholarly journals Describing the Mountainsnails (Oreohelix Sp.) of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 ◽  
pp. 94-97
Author(s):  
Lusha Tronstad ◽  
Gary Beauvais ◽  
Jeanne Serb ◽  
Kevin Roe
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Endangered Species Act ◽  
The State ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Important Group ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Very High ◽  
The U.S

Invertebrates are receiving an increasing amount of conservation attention across North America. Currently, about 40% of the animals listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) are invertebrates (www.NatureServe.org). The National Park Service and other agencies require better information on invertebrate faunas in order to effectively conserve this important group of animals. One way to prioritize invertebrate groups for study is to assess the number of rare taxa within a given genus. In this context, Oreohelix (mountainsnails) are a top priority because the genus is assumed to support a very high percentage of rare and endemic taxa. Additionally, Oreohelix species in Wyoming and surrounding states have been petitioned for ESA listing in the recent past. The diversity of Oreohelix forms in Wyoming is not well-understood, and the current taxonomy may not reflect the true pattern of diversity within the state. Therefore, we are studying both the morphology and genetic structure of Oreohelix in Grand Teton National Park to begin to understand the diversity of mountainsnails in the state. We collected Oreohelix from 4 locations in Grand Teton National Park. Based on shell and internal characteristics, all individuals were identified as O. subrudis. We are currently preparing specimens for DNA sequencing.

scholarly journals Preservation and DNA Fingerprinting of the Historic Tidal Basin Cherries

1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-192
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Pooler
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Rapd Markers ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
The United States ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
Tidal Basin ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Flowering Cherry ◽  
The U.S

Abstract The historic Japanese flowering cherry trees planted around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC, were given to the United States in 1912 as a gift from Japan, yet only a small portion of the original trees remain. In cooperation with the National Park Service, the U.S. National Arboretum clonally propagated a portion of these trees. DNA from these and other P. x yedoensis plants obtained from domestic commercial nurseries were compared using RAPD markers. Twenty-one 10-nucleotide primers yielded 80 repeatable bands that were used to assess genetic distances among the accessions. The genetic distances ranged from 0.65 to 1.0, with thirteen accessions identical at all loci tested. The most genetically dissimilar trees were P. x yedoensis accessions that were collected as seed in Japan. Accessions obtained from commercial nurseries including ‘Afterglow’, ‘Akebono’, and Yoshino were also dissimilar to the Tidal Basin trees. This study indicated that most of the older trees planted around the Tidal Basin are genetically very similar, but that variability in P. x yedoensis exists, especially in accessions collected as seed from Japan.

scholarly journals Maybe So, Maybe Not: Canis lepophagus at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho, USA

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kari A. Prassack ◽  
Laura C. Walkup
Keyword(s):  
North American ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
Geological Survey ◽  
National Monument ◽  
South Central ◽  
Park Service ◽  
Land Mammal ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Central Idaho

AbstractA canid dentary is described from the Pliocene Glenns Ferry Formation at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, south-central Idaho, USA. The specimen possesses traits in alliance with and measurements falling within or exceeding those of Canis lepophagus. The dentary, along with a tarsal IV (cuboid) and an exploded canine come from the base of the fossiliferous Sahara complex within the monument. Improved geochronologic control provided by new tephrochronologic mapping by the U.S. Geological Survey-National Park Service Hagerman Paleontology, Environments, and Tephrochronology Project supports an interpolated age of approximately 3.9 Ma, placing it in the early Blancan North American Land Mammal Age. It is conservatively referred to herein as Canis aff. C. lepophagus with the caveat that it is an early and robust example of that species. A smaller canid, initially assigned to Canis lepophagus and then to Canis ferox, is also known from Hagerman. Most specimens of Canis ferox, including the holotype, were recently reassigned to Eucyon ferox, but specimens from the Hagerman and Rexroad faunas were left as Canis sp. and possibly attributed to C. lepophagus. We agree that these smaller canids belong in Canis and not Eucyon but reject placing them within C. lepophagus; we refer to them here as Hagerman-Rexroad Canis. This study confirms the presence of two approximately coyote-sized canids at Hagerman and adds to the growing list of carnivorans now known from these fossil beds.

scholarly journals Purposing aesthetics in historic preservation: advocating, signifying, and interpreting aesthetics

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (24) ◽  
pp. 66
Author(s):  
Salim Elwazani
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Historic Preservation ◽  
National Park ◽  
National Park Service ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
International Council ◽  
Park Service ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
The U.S

<p>Aesthetics is a pillar consideration in historic preservation. Yet, purposing aesthetics for historic preservation ends seems to lag behind the opportunities. Utterly subjective, aesthetics poses challenges for the preservation community worldwide to moderate, accommodate, and purpose aesthetics in heritage programs. The challenges revolve around the assessment of aesthetical purposing in three domains. These domains include the community disposition towards accommodating aesthetics (advocacy), the criteria and strategies for assessing the aesthetic value of historic resources (signification), and, the standards for treating historic resources in preservation projects (interpretation). This study, therefore, assesses the trends for purposing aesthetics in historic preservation thought and practice through three platforms: advocating aesthetics, signifying aesthetics, and interpreting aesthetics. The study completed literature content analysis on aesthetics in general and aesthetics in historic preservation in particular. Further, because of the perspective of the study, the works of international and country preservation programs provided information relevant to advocacy, signification, and interpretation of aesthetics that have been refined by classification, comparison, and exemplification methods. Among others, these works include those of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the U.S. National Historic Preservation Program in the National Park Service. The study culminated with general and platform-specific conclusions. First, as the three proposed platforms (advocacy, signification, and interpretation) maintain structural and serial relationships, they constitute a relevant and feasible framework for assessing aesthetical purposing. Second, as the aesthetical purposing assessment followed a broad, international perspective, the conclusions of the study are commensurate with the selective scope of information used from international and country preservation programs. Third, the contribution to aesthetical purposing at each of the three platforms can be measure only in general, and at times, subjective terms.</p><p><strong>Highlights:</strong></p><ul><li><p>Proposing aesthetical advocacy, aesthetical signification, and aesthetical interpretation as a platform framework to assess the purposing of aesthetics was feasible.</p></li><li><p>As aesthetical purposing was approached from a broad, international perspective, the conclusions of the study commensurate with the selective scope of information used.</p></li><li><p>The contribution to aesthetical purposing at each of the three platforms is hard to measure; however, the indications point to uneven contribution.</p></li></ul>

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