scholarly journals Vegetation Analysis and Management for Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Wyoming

Author(s):  
Charles Olmsted ◽  
Javier Perez

The research underway has three principal objectives. The first of these is to expand the knowledge of the existing vegetation of the site. The site has almost quadrupled in size (to 836 acres) and only portions of the original site have been investigated (Davis, 1959; Johnson, 1978). The second objective is to develop an understanding of the historic vegetation of the area. National Park Service (NPS) plans for the interpretation of the site call for an historic time frame of the 1870's but the diverse uses of the property over the past century have created vegetation distributions that are not congruent with that time period. The third objective is to develop a vegetation management plan for the site that will convert the existing vegetation into an approximation of the historical vegetation and provide guidelines for maintaining that appearance.

2007 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHN H. SPRINKLE

The ““fifty-year rule”” is one of the most commonly accepted principles within American historic preservation: properties that have achieved significance within the past fifty years are generally not considered eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic places. An often misunderstood chronological threshold, the fifty-year standard was established by National Park Service historians in 1948. Until the advent of the ““new preservation”” with the National Historic Preservation Act in 1966, the standard of exceptional importance had only been applied to presidential and atomic heritage sites. Operating as a filter to ward off potentially controversial decisions about the nature of historic site significance, understanding the origins of the fifty-year rule reveals how Americans have constructed the chronological boundaries of a useable past through historic preservation during the twentieth century.


2011 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Mann Bruch ◽  
Hans-Werner Braun ◽  
Susan Teel

For several years, National Park Service scientists, historians, and educators have been working with National Science Foundation-funded High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) researchers on developing, implementing, and evaluating Live Interactive Virtual Explorations (LIVE) at several sites. The LIVE activities utilize computers with headsets and microphones to link National Park Service sites with an array of audiences. The two case studies in this paper examine the effectiveness of LIVE activities that allow Washington, DC, inner-city youth to explore two hard-to-reach National Park Service sites: Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in North Dakota and the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.


2003 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 73-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
FRANK HAYS

Manzanar National Historic Site was established to protect and interpret the resources associated with the internment of Japanese Americans at one often War Relocation Centers during World War II. One of the many challenges facing the National Park Service (NPS) at Manzanar is determining how to tell the story of the internment. Opinions about the role of the NPS in managing and interpreting the site range from suggestions that the NPS needs to serve as the social conscience of the nation to cautions that the NPS not become a ““groveling sycophant”” to the Japanese American community. To address this issue, the park sought diverse forums to engage the public in the management of the site. This paper details how public engagement has affected a number of management decisions.


Heritage ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-334
Author(s):  
Zachary Miller ◽  
William Rice ◽  
B. Taff ◽  
Peter Newman

National park sites draw tourism all across the United States. Although large natural parks see much attention, most national park units are actually designed to protect and interpret unique cultural and historic resources. As an example of this, the National Park Service administers numerous presidential historic sites. However, we know very little about the people who visit them. Understanding visitor motivations to presidential historic sites can help to provide for better visitor experiences of presidential resources. This research uses intercept surveys at the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site in Plains, Georgia, to gain an understanding of visitor motivations. From the results, seven motivation types are identified. The information in this article can be used to better understand public values related to presidential resources, and to help the managers of these resources to improve on-site experiences by addressing visitor motivations.


2016 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 11-14
Author(s):  
Brandi Bethke

This article presents the results of an ethnographic survey of land utilization in the Niobrara National Scenic River (NIOB) and Missouri National Recreational River (MNRR) districts completed for the National Park Service as part of their ongoing Ethnographic Program. It focuses particularly on the Ponca, Omaha, Yankton, and Santee Sioux tribes, each of whom have in the past and continue to maintain unique cultural ties to the riverways. The broad cultural landscape approach used in this study facilitates an exploration of connections between resources (both cultural and natural), significant places, archaeological sites, and landmarks within the districts. Here, I present a discussion of methods for conducting a cultural landscape survey through collaborative research between the National Park Service, university researchers, and Native American stakeholders in order to better understand diverse conceptions of the land and its resources.


Author(s):  
University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center

This section contains a summary of research activities within the National Park Service areas cooperating with the U.W.-N.P.S. Research Center in 1986, including Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Custer Battlefield National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Teton National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Zion National Park.


Author(s):  
University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center

This section contains a summary of Research Activities within the National Park Service Areas cooperating with the U.W.-N.P.S. Research Center in 1984, inclucing Badlands National Monument, Devils Tower National Monument, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Fossil Butte National Monument, Glacier National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Wind Cave National Park and Yellowstone National Park.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew DeSaix

Birds are prominent features of National Park Service lands and are effective indicators for monitoring ecosystem health. Assessing the temporal change of avian species abundance depends on long-term monitoring of bird communities and trends, however long-term monitoring programs are generally uncommon. In this report, we summarize 22 years (1997-2018) of point count data across five sites on West Virginia National Park Service lands (three in New River Gorge National River, one in Gauley River National Recreation Area, and one in Bluestone National Scenic River) and compare these results to our analysis of Breeding Bird Survey data for the same time period across all of West Virginia. The objectives of this analysis are two-fold: 1) describe the biotic integrity of the National Park Service lands in West Virginia and 2) Quantify trends in guilds and species abundance. During the 20-year period of this survey, 85 breeding resident species were detected. The West Virginia National Park Service lands are home to stable populations of Wood Thrush and Yellow-billed Cuckoo, both species of continental concern by Partners in Flight. Seven species have declined precipitously on NPS lands during this time period. Three of these species are also experiencing declines across the rest of West Virginia (Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Carolina Chickadee, Kentucky Warbler), but the other 4 species are stable across West Virginia (Acadian Flycatcher, Black-throated Green Warbler, Northern Parula, Swainson’s Warbler). Four species that are declining across West Virginia (Great Crested Flycatcher, Indigo Bunting, Red-eyed Vireo, and Worm-eating Warbler) are stable on southern West Virginia NPS lands. Additionally, the upper-canopy foraging guild of species has decreased significantly on NPS lands in southern West Virginia. An analysis of community biotic integrity revealed that the southern West Virginia NPS lands have been stable at a rating of high biotic integrity every year for the duration of this survey. Future research should delve into the underlying factors that may be driving the trends in abundance at different scales.


Author(s):  
Melissa M. Laube ◽  
Robert W. Stout

Continuing traffic growth on roadways in the Grand Canyon National Park is a significant problem, detracting from the park as a natural, scenic environment and generating unacceptable levels of noise, air pollution, and congestion. A 1995 General Management Plan for the park identified transportation as the most significant issue affecting preservation of the park’s unique natural resources. In FY 1999, the U.S. Congress directed FTA and FHWA to undertake a review of the transportation alternatives considered by the National Park Service for the Grand Canyon. These alternatives included light rail, standard bus, articulated bus, and articulated bus on busway. The review concluded that transit is an appropriate solution to the transportation problems in the popular South Rim area of the Grand Canyon because of the concentration of visitors at a small number of destinations requiring motor-vehicle access and the viability of walking and bicycling as modes of transportation within the park that can complement transit service. Light-rail service, which is the preferred alternative identified by the National Park Service, has the advantage compared with bus service that it can accommodate high levels of peak-hour, peak-season demand. Although the lowest-cost alternative considered is articulated bus operated on a busway, the costs of several light-rail and bus alternatives are not substantially higher. The use of transit services by park visitors will result in substantial environmental benefits, reducing vehicular emissions and noise dramatically through a major reduction in the use of private vehicles.


Author(s):  
University of Wyoming National Park Service Research Center

This section contains a summary of research activities within the National Park Service areas cooperating with the U.S.-N.P.S Research Center, 1987, including Big Hole National Battlefield, Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Capitol Reef National Park, Custer Battlefield National Monument, Dinosaur National Park, Fort Laramie National Historic Site, Glacier National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Grand Teton National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument, Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Wind Cave National Park, Yellowstone National Park and Zion National Park.


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