A06_KB_Preliminary_Interp_Exhibits_Plan_F_0001.pdf

Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex Preliminary Interpretive Exhibits Plan

Introduction

The Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges are a complex of six National Wildlife Refuges in the Klamath Basin: Tule Lake, Upper Klamath, Lower Klamath, Klamath Marsh, Bear Valley, and Clear Lake, whose combined mission is to protect what remains of what was once the largest wetlands area west of the Mississippi River. These surviving wetlands remain a highly managed yet critical part of the Pacific Flyway

The Complex Visitor Center is located at Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and is the primary point of contact for visitors and the primary place where the refuge’s messages are communicated. Visitor centers play a key role across the entire refuge system. They should strive to provide a sense of awe for the resource and respect for the agency.

The Klamath Basin Refuges provide a wide variety of outdoor experiences that connect the public to their public lands through The Big Six recreation uses. However, providing these recreational opportunities alone will not generate the advocacy necessary to preserve the wetland habitat that remains in the Basin. For visitors, we must answer the question “why should I care?” If there is no answer to that question, then the information will not resonate for the visitor.

Nowhere is this more important than on Klamath Basin Refuges as viable wetland habitat is vanishing before our eyes. This watershed is a microcosm of the American West. Water, native Americans, settlers, endangered species, agriculture, and private and federal agencies have all played a part in the shaping the West and will play a part in shaping its future.

Refuge Significance

Historically, the Klamath Basin was dominated by approximately 185,000 acres of shallow lakes and freshwater marshes. These extensive wetlands attracted peak fall concentrations of over 6 million waterfowl and supported abundant populations of other water birds including American white pelican, double crested cormorant, and several heron species.

In 1905, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation initiated the Klamath Reclamation Project to convert the lakes and marshes of the Lower Klamath and Tule Lake areas to agricultural lands. As these wetlands receded, the reclaimed lands were opened to agricultural development and settlement. Today, less than 25 percent of the historic wetlands remain.

Over 490 wildlife species can be observed in the basin including 353 species of birds. When water is on the landscape Fall and Spring bring the drama of one to three million ducks, geese and swans using refuge wetlands as a vital stopover in their annual migrations. Winter bald eagle numbers peak in mid-February with basin populations ranking as the largest recorded in the contiguous United States. Thousands of wetland nesting birds also raise their young on the six Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges.

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to conduct a coordinated approach to establishing the goals, themes, and storylines, as well as the layout of the new visitor center’s exhibit space. It will also allow us to identify the interpretive themes and storylines that will be used to map the visitor experience, and it will play a critical role in moving our process from the agreed upon vision and purpose to the further tangible design and fabrication by potential design partners.

Audience

Klamath Basin Refuges attract visitors from within the surrounding counties as well as national and international travelers. Local visitors include those of Siskiyou California, and Klamath County Oregon, with the major population center being Klamath County with its 69,000 residents, including 10,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students. For residents our refuges are a destination for adventurous individuals and families, many of whom will return throughout the year. In recent years visitation to Tule Lake and Lower Klamath Refuges from visitors traveling a distance of greater than 50 miles has averaged more than 170,000 visitors per year. From contacts in the visitor center, we know that many of these visitors also return from year to year to recreate as well. (See Visitation Table1.)

Visitors can be divided into four demographics: they are individual explorers traveling alone or in small numbers; organized tourists following an itinerary fixed in advance; families traveling together on vacation (primarily during in the summer months); and school groups, which are mostly from Siskiyou and Klamath Counties. Further, visitors to our refuges are recreating in all six of our wildlife-dependent uses: wildlife photography, wildlife observation, hunting, fishing, environmental education, and interpretation. Currently we see approximately 9,000 visitors to our visitor center per year or 5% of our average yearly visitation. Providing thoughtful and consistent exhibits in the new visitor center will increase the number of visitors to the center and further leverage the connection and long-term stewardship fostered by these recreational uses.

Visitor Center Goals

The authenticity of their experience will be influenced by the caliber of exhibits and messages provided them in the visitor center. While each visitor may pursue a different type of authenticity, the goals of the visitor center remains the same.

Goals:

• Make all visitors feel safe and welcome

• Provide excellent customer service and a positive first impression

• Allow visitors of all abilities and backgrounds to feel comfortable while exploring and learning about the refuge

• Ensure that the messages and exhibits are tied to the established themes and objectives

• Generate advocacy for the refuges purpose and mission of the USFWS

• Maintain continuity between exhibits and adjacent wetlands and use of adjacent trails

• Crystallize the refuges’ identity, messaging, and ensure those are clear and inspiring to visitors.

• Promote positive relationships with the public and make visitors want to return

• Serve nontraditional or underserved audiences in the community

• Further contribute to local economic diversification through tourism

Existing Exhibits

While the themes and sub themes of the existing visitor center remain relevant and consistent and effectively illustrate the biological practices and purpose of the refuges, the exhibits are one dimensional and passive in their approach to educating visitors. They lack the hands-on/minds-on component that encourages and dramatically enhances learning. In addition, the information provided is narrowly focused with little context. Information about how the refuges were shaped by the practices of human communities both pre and post European settlement will be an import component to include in the new center.

Themes

Because of the educational nature of the new facility, the influence of the interpretive message is hugely important. The themes developed from the goals stated above will help tie together the information that we present to our visitors. They are the “why should I care”, or” so what” answers. Further, they define the core content of educational messages that we offer to visitors and will include those most inherent to the purpose of the Refuges. These themes will be the building blocks on which refuge interpretive services and educational programs are based. They are expressed below and are divided into themes and storylines.

Purposed Central Themes

• Water is the life blood of the Klamath and Tule Lake Basins. Human populations, wildlife and the geomorphology of the Klamath Basin have all been inextricably shaped by water.

• Wetlands are a vital component of healthy watersheds and all living things in a watershed, including wildlife and people, are united by and dependent on its water.

Subtheme 1.

Native Americans have lived in the Tule Lake Basin for thousands of years, and they managed to do so largely within the ecological means of the region.

Storyline:

• Pre-Columbian resource use by paleo and Modoc peoples

Exhibit Idea:

Petroglyph/Archeology exhibit, in consultation and coordination with local tribes

Subtheme 2.

Wildlife habitats, abundance and distribution have been significantly altered in the Klamath Basin over the past 100 years.

Storyline:

• The 1905 Klamath Reclamation Project

• Why are there farmlands on a refuge Kuchel Act of 1964

Exhibit Idea:

Large Interactive exhibit which illustrates how the extent and distribution of marshes and wetlands have been altered during the reclamation period.

Subtheme 3.

Klamath refuges remain a critical resource for 80 percent of the migratory waterfowl traveling the Pacific Flyway, and managers do their best to balance the needs of wildlife, wetland preservation, and people.

Storylines:

• Working for wildlife

• Where natural habitats and hydrology have been altered, biologists use a variety of tools and techniques to optimize habitat for native wildlife

• The mission of the US Fish and Wildlife Service and system

• The purpose of the Klamath Basin Refuge Complex refuge complex

• Birds in abundance & the Pacific flyway

• Water Management:

• Water control structures

• Nesting islands & maintaining water levels during the nesting period

• Maintaining shallow marshes

• Maintaining deeply flooded marshes and submerged aquatic vegetation

• Walking Wetlands and benefits of croplands being converted to wetlands

• Prescribed fire:

• Burning grain stubble followed by irrigation

• Prescribed burning, forest habitat for nesting and wintering bald eagles

• Prescribed burning, reducing the potential for future wildfires in Bear Valley

Refuge

• Biological practices

• Monitoring populations, tracking the movements of waterfowl and other wildlife

• Wildlife health, and disease management

• The big six & wildlife dependant recreation

Exhibit Ideas:

• Water Management, walking wetland climb on water control structure

• Fan boat

• Bird banding station

• Prescribed fire effects media

• Crawl-through wetlands diorama

Preliminary Floor Plan

Visitation Table 1.

Correlation Visitors Correlation Visitors Correlation Visitors Correlation Visitors

Event Venues 1,776,432 48% Event Venues 2,169,159 50% Event Venues 2,096,614 52% Event Venues 1,492,151 34%

Lodging 1,825,868 45% Lodging 1,913,152 46% Lodging 2,129,724 49% Lodging 1,405,490 31%

Region 2,721,989 37% Region 3,097,098 39% Region 3,443,969 41% Region 2,544,950 27%

Parks 381,846 28% Parks 420,674 29% Parks 487,111 32% Parks 512,580 24%

Waterways 970,762 26% Waterways 1,085,624 27% Waterways 1,125,237 29% Downtown 360,439 19%

Downtown 270,255 24% Downtown 314,457 27% Downtown 323,630 28% Waterways 645,763 17%

Trail Heads 149,769 13% Trail Heads 190,763 14% Trail Heads 318,498 20% Trail Heads 441,045 15%

Golf 448,488 13% Golf 439,917 13% Golf 452,929 13% Golf 470,704 9%

Arts & Culture 119,078 10% Arts & Culture 132,631 11% Arts & Culture 116,915 11% Arts & Culture 73,134 6%

Crater Lake 714,650 5% Crater Lake 770,613 6% Crater Lake 780,878 6% Crater Lake 509,066 3%

Lava Beds 817,633 4% Lava Beds 618,842 3% Wildlife Refuge 197,544 4% Lava Beds 351,743 2%

Wildlife Refuge 174,031 3% Wildlife Refuge 182,483 3% North County 204,037 4% Wildlife Refuge 128,695 2%

North County 147,096 3% North County 179,583 3% Lava Beds 300,498 3% North County 120,271 2%

South County 39,931 2% South County 26,537 2% South County 22,183 2% Fort Klamath 9,819 1%

Fort Klamath 11,296 1% Fort Klamath 14,745 1% Fort Klamath 21,063 2% South County 8,742 1%

Willamette Ski Resort 17,879 0% Willamette Ski Resort 29,845 1% Willamette Ski Resort 44,255 1% Willamette Ski Resort 38,592 0%

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