This project investigates federal, state and local agencies and organizations that are key sources of information about Peninsular bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis cremnobates) to determine the extent of the agencies' environmental education and awareness programs related to the sheep. The agencies and organizations investigated include: Bureau of Land Management, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, Living Desert Wildlife and Botanical Park, Bighorn Institute, Natural Science Collaborative of the Desert Region and California Desert Managers Group. Recommendations about future educational and interpretive programs are included.

The purpose of this study is to aid interpreters in evaluation sources (research material) for use in interpretive presentations and programs in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. This was done by illustrating the need for source evaluation and then developing the guidelines for selecting, evaluating, and most effectively using various sources in the development of interpretive programs in the National Parks Services (NPS).

The Workers' Row House is a three-unit row house, circa 1850, that the Greater Corktown Development Corporation acquired for use as a community museum in 2002. This document provides a starting point and a framework for the rehabilitation and programmatic work that will occur. This plan strives to answer the following questions: (1) What is the site about? (2) Who is the interpretation for? (3) How will the museum go about communicating what the site is about while meeting the needs of the audiences? Using Detroit city directories beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Detroit Sanborn fire insurance maps, and both primary and secondary sources, the past tenants of this house and their historic contexts were compiled to reveal this site's story. Themes and a storyline were developed, and interpretive objectives were extracted. The plan recommends a guided tour through two restored units, and self-guided, interactive exhibits in the third unit. It is understood that any interpretive plan evolves as the research continues. / Department of Architecture

This study looks firstly at the historical background to conservation, particularly in the South African National Parks Board, and relates this to developments in interpretation in the National Parks. These are evaluated against international norms as they appear in the current literature. The aim is to establish a platform upon which future developments in interpretation may be built, avoiding the mistakes of the past, while capitalising on the strong points. Current views of what interpretation is, and what it should be, are reviewed. Knowing who the audience is, in terms of cultural background, education, needs and interests, as well as sound planning, clear objectives and ongoing evaluation of interpretive programmes, emerge as essential prerequisites for effective interpretation. Through reviewing the development and current status of interpretation in the National Parks, the study finds that although the view has been expressed by management, both past and present, that interpretation in the national parks is of great importance, the past and current status of interpretation does not reflect that view. Generally, interpretation appears to be regarded as a non-essential service. This report argues that environmental interpretation should be given a higher status in the National Parks Board and that it should form an important part of the conservation strategy and management plan for the national parks. The researcher contends that a greater investment in interpretation could lead to a decrease in the need for further, increased investment in law enforcement in the parks. The researcher is also of the opinion that interpretation aimed at all levels of personnel of the National Parks Board is at least as important as interpretation aimed at visitors.

xiii, 124 p. : ill. (some col.), maps. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / While the field of historic preservation has successfully preserved numerous significant buildings and sites throughout the United States, the field would benefit from stronger interpretation of these resources. Because many of the preserved buildings and sites function as public destinations, interpretation has the opportunity to provoke new learning experiences. In this project I examined the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill as a case study for interpretive methods of industrial historic architecture. Through reviewing current interpretive methods, describing a broad historical context, conducting interviews with Salem residents who took part in the work at the mill between the 1930s and the 1960s, and researching specific mill workers' housing in Salem, I found that the inclusion of human stories can benefit the interpretation of the architecture. By offering a specific human narrative against the background of a wider history, an exhibit can challenge the visitor to see the building in a new way. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Leland M. Roth, Chair; Dr. Alice Parman; Keni Sturgeon, curator Mission Mill Museum

The effectiveness of a guide training program was evaluated as a means of providing interpretive services to commercial boaters at the New River Gorge National River. Commercial river guides attended a National Park Service sponsored training program which provided accurate information and education concerning natural and cultural history of the New River, the national significance of the New River Gorge National River, the history and purpose of the National Park Service, and information and services available at the visitor centers. The emphasis of the training session was to increase the river guides’ knowledge base and to encourage their interpretive presentation of this information to their customers. Customers of a commercial outfitter were administered a questionnaire before and after the guide training program. Significant differences in the amount of interpretation guides presented on the river, the amount of knowledge customers acquired during the trip, and the customers' overall trip rating were noted by empirical testing. Increases in the means of all three outcome variables occurred following guide training. Customers’ intentions to visit a New River Gorge Visitor Center did not significantly change following guide training. The validity and reliability of the instrument is discussed as well as potential biases and constraints of the study. Implications for management and further research are also discussed. / M.S.

Each day the joint managers of Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park receive packages of returned rocks and sand that have been removed from the landscape by visitors as a souvenir of the place. The returned objects are sent from people all over the world as the stories of this phenomenon travel well beyond the Park boundaries. Known within the Park as the ‘sorry rocks’, these returned objects and their accompanying letters of apology reflect the different ways in which people engage with the landscape and interpret their surrounds. In this research, the sorry rocks have been used as a medium for examining the complex relationships that exist between visitors, heritage management and interpretation particularly in cross-cultural settings that recognise Indigenous cultural heritage. THIS THESIS CAN BE VIEWED AT UWS LIBRARY FOR RESEARCH OR PRIVATE STUDY PURPOSES ONLY BY PRIOR ARRANGEMENT. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Fourteen historic sites in the Eastern United States were evaluated for ways archaeological evidence was used in the development of living history, public education, and other interpretive programs. A wide range of sites, such as outdoor living history museum villages, active urban public archaeology programs, sites associated with well-known archaeologists, and sites where the author had personal experience, were studied.Techniques used to interpret archaeological resources to the public were identified to ascertain which were found to be the most effective in spreading the word about preservation and conservation. Technological advances have expanded interpretive possibilities and allowed innovations not thought possible ten years ago. These advances will continue, and archaeologists will need to stay abreast of innovative techniques in public interpretation in spite of excitement or trepidation. This study may serve as guidelines for museums wishing to establish innovative, but low-budget, interpretive programs. / Department of Anthropology

Doctorat en philosophie et lettres / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The landscape of James A. Garfield’s Mentor, Ohio home (now preserved at James A. Garfield National Historic Site) contains multiple layers of historical meanings and values. The landscape as portrayed in political biographies, political cartoons, and other ephemera during Garfield’s 1880 presidential campaign reveals the existence of the dual cultural values of agrarian tradition and agricultural progress in the late nineteenth century. Although Garfield did not depend on farming exclusively for his livelihood, he, like many agriculturalists of this era participated in a process of mediation between these dual values. The function of the landscape of Garfield’s farm between 1876 and 1880 is a reflection of this process of mediation. After President Garfield’s assassination in 1881, his wife and children returned to their Mentor home. Between 1885 and c. 1905, Garfield’s widow Lucretia made numerous changes to the agricultural landscape, facilitating the evolution of the home from farm to country estate. Despite the rich history of this landscape, its cultural complexity and evolution over time makes it difficult to interpret for public audiences. Additionally, the landscape is currently interpreted exclusively through indoor museum exhibits and outdoor wayside panels, two formats with severe limitations. I propose the integration of deep mapping into interpretation at James A. Garfield National historic site in order to more effectively represent the multi-layered qualities of its historic landscape.