Attachment_01_-_A04_SOW_(140P6025Q0046).pdf

S C O P E O F W O R K

HISTORY OF RANCHING IN AMERICA: SANSON RANCH ORAL HISTORY

PROJECT

WIND CAVE NATIONAL PARK

SOUTH DAKOTA

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR – NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

PMIS PROJECT NUMBER # 245629

I. Introduction

The National Park Service (NPS), through the Midwest Regional Office (MWRO), requires the performance of an Oral History Project for Wind Cave National Park (Wind Cave). The project will help complete basic historical documentation of the non-cave related resources. The living memory information generated from the Oral History Project is essential for present and future interpretation and resource management.

The Oral History Project shall conform to professional standards regarding methodology of oral history interviewing and transcription as established by the Oral History Association (OHA).

OHA sets professional standards for oral history practitioners in the United States and may be found at http://www.oralhistory.org/about/principles-and-practices (October 2009, Principles for Oral History and Best Practices for Oral History). The Oral History Project for Wind Cave will involve five individuals to be interviewed in person and three individuals to be interviewed via telephone and/or virtual video. Interviews will be digitally recorded, release forms signed, and transcriptions prepared.

The Oral History Project shall be completed within twelve months from the date of contract award.

II. DESCRIPTION OF THE RESOURCES

The park was originally established on January 9, 1903, to protect Wind Cave. In 1935, the purpose of the park was expanded to include the adjacent game preserve that had been managed by the USDA since 1912 as a range for bison and North American game animals.

Wind Cave National Park is in Custer County on the southeastern flank of the Black Hills, in southwestern South Dakota. The park is located 11 miles north of the town of Hot Springs. The park is bounded by Custer State Park to the north, Black Hills National Forest to the west, and private property to the east and south. The park consists of 33,971 acres of mixed-grass prairie, ponderosa pine forest, and shrublands. The park's mixed-grass prairie is one of the few remaining and is home to native wildlife such as bison, elk, pronghorn, mule and whitetail deer, coyotes, black-footed ferrets, and prairie dogs. Pre-Cambrian through Tertiary rocks are exposed in the park. Wind Cave is found in the Mississippian-aged Madison Limestone, locally called the Pahasapa Limestone. The cave is located below a 1.1 by 1.3-mile rectangle and directly under 600 acres in the south-central portion of the park. A total of 42 other caves are scattered throughout the park. More than 160 miles of passages have been explored and mapped making Wind Cave one of the longest caves in the world.

The Sanson Ranch, now a part of Wind Cave National Park, stands as a tangible reminder of the history of ranching in the Black Hills. Established in 1882, the ranch witnessed the fluctuating fortunes of the cattle industry, endured harsh weather conditions, and relied on community support to overcome various challenges. The Sanson’s dedication to their land and their adaptive approach to ranching allowed them to operate the ranch for over a century.

The Sanson family primarily focused on raising cattle on their ranch in the Southern Black Hills.

This was a common practice in the area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The region had favorable conditions for livestock, including less severe winters than other areas. When the railroad arrived in Buffalo Gap in 1885, it became easier to transport cattle to markets that were farther away. This helped the ranching industry in the area to grow. However, eventually overgrazing and bad weather caused the prairie grasses to become depleted, which, in turn, caused the cattle ranching boom to collapse. The Sansons realized that it was important to manage the land sustainably. They would also move their cattle to different grazing areas as needed to prevent overgrazing.

The Sanson Ranch endured significant challenges, including devastating prairie fires. A 1910 fire destroyed the family's home, forcing them to live at the old site until rebuilding a new five-bedroom house in 1918-1919. Constructed with a flagstone foundation and costing about $3,000, it became a symbol of their resilience, celebrated with a community gathering. The ranch's surviving buildings, such as the barn and a chicken coop dating to 1918, reflect the ingenuity required for early 20th-century ranching in South Dakota.

August Sanson first established his homestead on a 160-acre plot of land. When August married Johanna Grashorn in 1888, her nearby homestead became part of the ranch. The Sansons also bought more land and likely inherited land from family members who passed away. By the time the ranch ceased operations in 1987, it spanned over 3,700 acres and was recognized as the oldest continuously operated ranch in Custer County. The National Park Service acquired the Sanson Ranch in 2011 as part of Wind Cave National Park. This addition expanded the park's boundaries and preserved the historical significance of one of the oldest continuously operated ranches in Custer County.

Scholarship on the history of Sanson Ranch in Wind Cave National Park:

Engineering-Environmental Management, inc. Environmental Boundary Assessment, Boundary Expansion Study. Prepared for the National Park Service. Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota, June 2002.

History of the Sanson Ranch, Buffalo Gap, South Dakota. Transcribed by Sandy Lindquist from Carl Sanson's 1983 handwritten notes and audio tapes, June 1987.

National Park Service. "Sanson Homestead." Last modified December 5, 2023. Wind Cave National Park. https://www.nps.gov/wica/learn/historyculture/sanson-homestead.htm.http://npshistory.com/publications/wica/75-years.pdf

Sundstrom, Linea, Ned Hanenberger, James Donohue, Grant Smith, Michael McFaul, Karen Lynn Traugh, Bruce Potter, and Jane Watts. The Blaine Site: A Multiple Component Camp in the Red Valley of the Black Hills, Custer County, South Dakota. Research Report No. 2. Pierre, SD:

South Dakota State Historical Society, Archaeological Research Center, 2008.

https://history.sd.gov/docs/rr02.pdf.

“Rancher sees land return to buffalo range” Rapid City Journal

“August Sanson Family” from Our Yesterdays.

“The Sanson Buffalo Jump” by Rocky L. Jensen

Carl H. Sanson obituary, Rapid City Journal, July 9, 1991.

G. Adolph Sanson Obituary

Ruby Sanson Obituary

“The Sanson Buffalo Jump, Custer County, South Dakota,”Larry D. Agenbroad, August 1989.

Draft manuscript on file, South Dakota Archaeological Research Center, Rapid City.

Research Project –Conduct Oral History Project to Preserve Stories about the Sanson Ranch for Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

Wind Cave National Park encompasses a rich array of resources, including the homestead history of its prairie and pine forest landscapes. In 2011, the park acquired the Sanson Ranch, a historic homestead and one of the earliest homesteads in Custer County. The ranch's period of significance, spanning 1882 to 1987, ensures that many individuals connected to its history are still alive and can offer invaluable insights into the site's past. Eight Interviewees have been identified for this project.

This project aims to document and preserve these stories to deepen the understanding of Wind Cave National Park's history and the contributions of those who shaped it. Since these perspectives are time-sensitive, capturing them now is critical.

Participants will receive copies of their interview to review and correct and the completed transcript will be sent to each interviewee. Original transcripts, tapes, and CDs will be cataloged into the museum collections with working copies in the park library. They will also be available on the park’s expanded web page for use by scholars and other interested parties.

The Oral History Project is an urgent necessity for current management as it will examine events while they are still in the recent past and while the individuals who participated in these events are able to provide primary source material from living memory. A historian(s) with demonstrated past performance in conducting oral history interviews will be contracted to perform the interviews and transcriptions.

The completed Oral History Project will include the following elements:

A. Oral history interviews with those with first-hand knowledge of the Sanson Ranch and its history. The Sanson Ranch is a high priority for the park and the oral histories surrounding the structures are as well. Preserving the living history of this resource is key to the park’s purpose and mission. This project will drastically assist the park in supporting the preservation of the ranch and will provide park managers, researchers, and interpreters the ability to access information that may be useful to having a better understanding of park resources and the history of homesteading in the area. Interpreters will be able to use this information to educate the public on the history of ranching in the United States. This project is time-sensitive due to the limiting factors of human memory and lifespan. The subjects of these interviews, many of whom are along in years, may not be around or lucid enough to provide a cogent recollection of their experiences much longer. If their stories are not documented now, they may never be. Five formal oral history interviews will be conducted in person and three will be conducted by telephone and/or virtual video according to professional standards. The list of interviewees is as follows (full names and contact information will be provided following contract award):

Interviewees for Oral History Project

Candidates to interview in person:

J.S., Hot Springs, SD D.W., Hot Springs, SD R.S., Buffalo Gap, SD D.S., Buffalo Gap, SD K.S., Buffalo Gap, SD*(priority interviewee)

Telephone or Virtual Video interviews

L.L., Albuquerque, NM S.L., Estes Park, CO B.H., Bishop, CA

In each case on the above listing of interview candidates, consent/release forms are to be signed by the interviewees and transcriptions of the interviews will be prepared.

Additional candidates may be added to an Alternate Interviewees list should one or more of the interviewees not be available for interview.

Oral history interviews will be digitally recorded, transcripts produced, a digital photograph of each in-person interviewee taken, and assignment of interview rights forms signed. All interviewees will be given an opportunity to review and edit his/her interview transcript over a one-month period. Following correction of the draft transcript, interviewees will be sent a final version of their interview transcript (electronic transmittal is preferred).

Payment will be made upon receipt and acceptance by NPS of final interview transcripts and signed interview release forms up to 80% of contract award total. This can be on a transcript-by-transcript basis or lumped together in groups up to once per month, or in total at the end of the Oral History Project. Within 12 months of contract award, the awardee will provide transcriptions of all oral history interviews for NPS inspection and approval and payment of the final 20%.

B. Submission of final interview transcripts shall be printed on archival-stable paper along with original signed interview release forms. Release forms are to be printed on Wind Cave letterhead.

III. Additional Contract Requirements

A. General provisions

1. Prospective contractors should note that the research design submitted by the contractor becomes a binding element of the contract and is expected to be carried out. The work performed and reported must meet the minimum requirements.

2. Within 30 days of award of contract, the contractor shall attend a post-award scoping meeting at Wind Cave National Park, Hot Springs, South Dakota, to discuss technical aspects of the contract, provide full names and contact information for interview candidates, and to confirm the planning schedule for the submission of the deliverables.

3. The production of the Oral History Project shall be completed within 12 months of contract award.

B. Report standards/format and submission schedule

The final oral history interview transcripts will be in the latest version of Microsoft Word and include the information required in the specifications listed in Section II, above. It must be typed on 8-1/2 by 11-inch white archival paper. All pages must be numbered. Copies of any photographs (screened for reproduction clarity), maps, drawings, and text must be clean, clear, and legible. The format must comply with the latest edition of the Chicago Manual of Style. In addition, all transcripts must contain the following:

1. Title/Cover page listing the name of the Principal Investigator. If the report is also authored by Project Historians, the title page must identify the author(s) and bear the inscription, "Prepared under the supervision of (name), Principal Investigator."

2. Following review and correction by interviewees as well as signing the interview release form, transcripts printed on archival paper, photographs of each in-person interviewee, and the signed release forms shall be submitted to NPS.

C. Disposition of data

Before expiration of the twelve-month contract period of performance, the contractor will furnish final interview transcripts printed on archival paper, digital recordings of the interviews, and a compact computer or DVD disk(s) containing the final products in latest version of Microsoft Word. All notes, records, maps, drawings, photographs, negatives, slides, digital images, tapes, digital recordings transcripts, and other data acquired during the course of this study will be professionally organized for archival purposes and submitted to the Contracting Officer’s Representative (COR), to be deposited in the archives of the Wind Cave National Park. The COR will be appointed at the time of contract/purchase order award.

D. Progress reports

Quarterly progress reports during the performance of the Oral History Projects are required. The initial due date will be 40 days after contract award. All quarterly reports will be submitted to the COR.

IV. Payment

Partial payments may be made up to 80% of the contract award amount. Payments must be based on deliverables accepted by the government (see FAR 52.212-4(a), Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items, Inspection/Acceptance & FAR 52.211-1, Time of Delivery).

Payment requests must be in accordance with the clause titled, Electronic Invoicing and Payment Requirements - Invoice Processing Platform (IPP).