Issues of diversity are receiving significant attention within the National Park Service recently, due in large part to a growing awareness that its future as a relevant and viable agency is dependent upon improving its response to and management of diversity. A diversity assessment of Fort Vancouver National Historic Site was undertaken to assist the site in its diversification efforts involving three interrelated areas: historical interpretation, visitor services, and workforce management. Data from research and semi-formal interviews with staff and volunteers were analyzed to identify appropriate, site-specific strategies for expanding dynamic interpretation of diverse groups within the historical context, improving the quality of visitation for diverse audiences, and more fully utilizing personnel and community organizations to strengthen the two topics outlined above. Historical interpretation is the main focus of the analysis, not only because it forms the fundamental duty of the historic site, but also because diversifying an interpretive program carries the most potential for forming emotional and intellectual connections with diverse visitors, thus increasing participation, financial security, and continued relevance. / Graduation date: 2000

Thesis (M.A.)--Oregon State University, 2007. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 78-82). Also available via the World Wide Web.

This paper hopes to analyze the intersection between diversity and numbers of visitors and landscape preservation in the National Park Service. Current scholarship addresses either diversity in the Park System or carrying capacity and human population pressures. However, both are critical issues facing the National Park Service in the 21st century, and looking at the issues in isolation means missing a key interaction and potentially working to solve one problem that in turn amplifies another. Here, diversity of park-goers and preservation priorities will be addressed together, each as part of the other. Pinnacles National Park, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and Muir Woods National Monument each face human population pressures, yet each park has unique issues that illuminate the larger struggles within in NPS to ensure its mission to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations is still being met 100 years after conception.

The process of local preservation, urban renewal, and national park building at Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence, Rhode Island, reveals important facets of the urban park idea. In 1958, the Providence Preservation Society and the Providence City Plan Commission jointly released the College Hill Study, which called for renewal of the College Hill neighborhood through preservation of the architecturally significant homes, selective demolition, and the creation of a new National Park Unit dedicated to Providence’s founder, Roger Williams. The new park, established in 1965, went through a lengthy planning process before opening in 1984. The planning process revealed concerns about determining historical authenticity, supporting the revitalized historic district of College Hill, and preventing the park from becoming a haven for undesirable people and activities. Since its opening, the park has grown into a mature green space which is an important part of the civic and cultural life of Providence. The success of this park in fulfilling the goals of its planners and continuing to provide a valued green space for residents demonstrates an achievement that has important implications for ongoing urban park building by the National Park Service.

<p>This dissertation used a qualitative and interpretive lens to explore visitor and staff perceptions of the mission and purpose of Glacier National Park and the National Park Service as well as the interpreted environmental state of this park. Through the use of online survey data and participant observations, this study provides a deeper understanding of how individuals inside of Glacier National Park view the potential for this park to succeed or fail with its mission as well as how environmental concerns are communicated to those within the park during the summer of 2019. Strategic environmental communication strategies are provided at the conclusion of this study in order to aid Glacier and the National Park Service in more efficiently educating their publics about their core goals and environmental management efforts.</p>

America's National Historic Preservation Act promotes the conservation of irreplaceable sites such as Nicodemus, Kansas, an African American town founded by former slaves in 1877. The collaboration of the National Park Service (NPS) and civic partners is essential to meet the goal of preserving historic properties in Nicodemus and other minority communities. Although the NPS designated 5 Nicodemus buildings as a National Historic Site (NHS) in 1996, the few remaining residents struggle to preserve the site and attract visitors. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore the effects of NPS policies related to African American historic and cultural preservation. Research questions focused on the consequences of the NHS designation in Nicodemus and options for NPS policy improvement. This study was inspired by Innes and Booher's theory of complex adaptive systems and consensus building. Data were collected through interviews with 11 residents, educators, and representatives of the NPS. These data were inductively coded and then subjected to thematic analysis. Key findings indicate concerns about limited resources, NPS open competition hiring policies that do not promote the long-term employment of Nicodemus descendant-residents in spite of their ability to recount oral histories, a need for cross-cultural training in the NPS, and the inadequate promotion of the Nicodemus NHS. This study may lead to positive social change by emphasizing the need for the NPS to collaborate with the descendants and long-term residents of rural communities to preserve the historical legacy of African Americans and emphasize the strength of our nation's diversity.

To account for the effects of climate change, management plans in the northeast need to incorporate climate adaptation. Conserving climate change refugia is one adaptation strategy. Climate change refugia are areas buffered by climate change that enable the persistence of valued physical, ecological, and cultural resources; preserving these areas could be a potential adaptation strategy. Using a translational ecology approach where researchers and managers from the National Park Service, US Geological Survey, the University of Massachusetts, and elsewhere worked together, we focused on identifying refugia for tree, herbaceous plant, mammal, and bird species in order to prioritize them for conservation action. Results predict shifts in distribution of habitats and species due to climate change, identifying areas to prioritize for invasive species treatment and other management actions. This study highlights priorities for future monitoring and data analysis, providing a model that can be replicated in other regions and motivate future research.

No description available.

This dissertation examines how federal land management agencies implement group work processes to meet land management objectives focused on natural resource-dependent outdoor recreation management. This dissertation is composed of two separate studies, one focused on the U.S Forest Service interdisciplinary teams implementing environmental analyses in support of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to comply with the 2005 Travel Management Rule and one focused on U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service management of partnerships to support recreational trails. These studies help answer the question "what factors lead to more or less successful group work in federal land management?" The first study is primarily informed by qualitative analysis and the second study is informed by quantitative and qualitative analyses. Chapter two reports the results and analyses of semi-structured interviews with 49 U.S. Forest Service employees on ten NEPA interdisciplinary teams. Chapter two examines interdisciplinary teams at the US Forest Service that had recently completed environmental analyses for recreational travel management plans in support of the 2005 Travel Management Rule. This study develops typologies of teamwork processes and how teams may change how collaborative they are over time and examines how external context and leadership approaches may influence process outcomes. Chapters three and four report the results of an online survey completed by 89 government and non-government points of contact for trail partnerships. Chapter three explores the factors that influence success in partnerships to support trail work at the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. Chapter three analyzes the survey responses of 89 federal land managers and non-government persons involved in 69 partnerships to work on trails on U.S. Forest Service and National Park Service lands. This analysis uses linear regression to develop a model of the factors that are important to the success of these trail partnerships. The chapter reveals that trust, interdependence, and capacity are the most important factors to the success of trail partnerships. Chapter four compares the survey responses for 28 partnerships where both the government and non-government point of contact provided complete survey responses. Through comparison of these responses, chapter four explores the concept of agreement in partnerships and how agreement on key factors related to partnership success may relate to ratings of overall partnership success. The final chapter synthesizes the findings of the two studies to examine group work across contexts. Group work that is more collaborative and has higher levels of group interdependence lead to more positive outcomes across both contexts. I conclude by proposing a framework that could incorporate the principles of liberal education and transdisciplinary learning into individual and group training to help federal land managers internalize the findings of this research into their work. / Doctor of Philosophy / This dissertation delves into how federal agencies manage group collaboration to achieve their goals in natural resource-based outdoor recreation. The study consists of two main parts: one focuses on U.S. Forest Service teams working on environmental analyses under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to adhere to the 2005 Travel Management Rule, while the other examines how both the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service manage partnerships to enhance recreational trails. The research seeks to answer the question: what makes group work in federal land management more or less successful? The first part relies on qualitative analysis, examining interdisciplinary teams at the U.S. Forest Service that had recently completed environmental analyses for recreational travel plans. This part identifies teamwork processes, explores how teams evolve in their collaboration, and considers the impact of external factors and leadership styles on their performance. The second part combines both quantitative and qualitative methods, focusing on the factors influencing successful partnerships for trail management within the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service. The study reveals that trust, interdependence, and capacity are key factors contributing to the success of these partnerships. By comparing survey responses from both government and non-governmental partners, the research also explores the relationship between agency-partner agreement on key success indicators and perceptions of overall partnership success. Overall, the findings highlight that collaborative group work with a high level of interdependence leads to better outcomes across different contexts. The dissertation concludes by suggesting a framework that incorporates transdisciplinary learning principles into training programs for federal land managers, helping them apply these research insights in their work.

Master of Science / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Ted Cable / National parks reach out to millions of people each year by offering a number of recreational and educational experiences. People are exposed to new ideas and experiences in a national park that they may not get anywhere else. At Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site in Topeka, Kansas, the National Park Service (NPS) compels visitors to step into the shoes of African American students in a segregated elementary school through the use of interpretive exhibits. This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the interpretive exhibits at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site. Most visitors sampled (91%) were visiting for the first time, indicating that the site does not have many repeat visitors. Race and the American Creed, the 30 minute film that plays in the auditorium, was found the most impactful exhibit by 34.3% of visitors surveyed. Expressions and Reflections, the temporary exhibit in the Kindergarten room, was the second most impactful exhibit, at 21.6% of visitors surveyed. The least impactful exhibit was the film Pass It On, at 0.9% of visitors surveyed. As a whole, visitors were most impacted by dynamic exhibits with a clear theme, while static exhibits and those that did not have a clear theme were not as impactful. This research will help guide Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site staff as they contemplate future changes in the interpretive exhibits.