Attachment_G_FOBU_LongRangeInterpretivePlan_2006.pdf

National Park Service U.S. Department of the InteriorLong-Range Interpretive Plan

Fossil Butte National Monument

Fossil Butte National Monument Long-Range Interpretive Plan

Prepared by the Department of Interpretive Planning Harpers Ferry Center and Fossil Butte National Monument

June 2006

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior

Contents

Introduction and Background 1 Introduction 1 The Planning Process 1 Executive Summary 2 Site Background 4 Legislative Background 6 Other Planning Considerations 8

Foundation for Planning 11 Purpose and Significance 11 Interpretive Themes 12 Visitor Experience Goals 12

Existing Conditions 14 Visitor and Audience Profiles 14 Pre-Visit 16 Arrival Experience 17 Facilities 17 Interpretive Media 22 Media Assets 25 Personal Services 26 Partnerships 31 Issues and Influences 33

Recommendations 34 Pre-Visit 35 Arrival Experience 36 Facilities 37 Interpretive Media 41 Media Assets 44 Personal Services 45 Partnerships 48 In Summary 49

Appendices 51

Flower, NPS photo

Introduction Following congressional hearings Fossil Butte National Monument became a National Park Service area on October 23, 1972. While general management and facility planning were underway, modest interpretive efforts began in 1974. A trailer at the Historic Quarry trailhead open summers only housed the temporary visitor center. The current visitor center opened in June 1990.

During fiscal year 2002, the thirtieth anniversary year of the monument, Fossil Butte National Monument received Servicewide funding to initiate a Long-Range Interpretive Plan with the National Park Service's Interpretive Design Center. The identification of the need for this plan was a direct result of an April 2000 Oversight Review (Operations Evaluation) of Fossil Butte National Monument by the Intermountain Region.

The planning team acknowledged that the "current boundary does not include all resources necessary to fully tell the story of the Fossil Lake Basin." Team members agreed that the 1980 General Management Plan "is largely adequate to meet monument needs at this time", and that the monument should undertake comprehensive inter-pretive planning.

During the scoping of this Long-Range Interpretive Plan, the planner asked Monument Superintendent Dave McGinnis: "What specific goals should the plan address?" He replied:

We are at a crossroads as our program and park interpretive operation evolves. There is a critical link to be made between the fossil discovered/displayed, the ecosystem where it lived, and where it was found in relation-ship to the park. We are still evolving as to how we tell our story. At the same time we are learning more from scientists about the evolutionary history of the

Fossil Lake Basin. We have completed all elements and outgrown our 1984 Interpretive Prospectus. The timing of this interpretive planning process is ideal.

This Long-Range Interpretive Plan defines the monument's vision for the next ten years. Two interpretive planning workshops were held in July 2002 and July 2003 to develop recommendations for future interpretive services, facilities, and media. National monument staff, partners, stake-holders, scientists, and media specialists worked together to develop this plan. The goal is to promote the national monument's resource values through specially planned visitor experiences and excellence in interpretation. This Long-Range Interpretive Plan will address how to convey this complex story through media, personal services, and partnerships within the current boundaries of the monument. Recommendations will also address how to interpret the larger story in related areas beyond the monument boundary.

The Planning Process The ultimate goal of the interpretive planning process is a cost-effective, tightly-focused, high-quality interpretive program to effectively serve all audiences and achieve management goals.

The Long-Range Interpretive Plan recommends actions for the next ten years. It identifies

Visitor Center, NPS photo

Priscacara liops, NPS photo, Arvid Aase

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

monument themes, describes visitor experience goals, and recommends a wide array of interpretive services, media, programs, and outreach activities to communicate in the most efficient and effective way the monument's purpose, significance, themes, and values. In combination, the LRIP, a monument-produced Annual Interpretive Plan and the Interpretive Database will form the Comprehensive Interpretive Plan for Fossil Butte National Monument.

Barring legislative changes or major new research, the planning foundation expressed in this LRIP -purpose, significance, themes, and visitor experi-ence goals - will remain constant over the life of this plan. Specific recommendations about media and programs may need updating as staffing, funding, technology, or resource conditions change. Additional design documents will need to be prepared to implement some of the goals and recommendations in this plan.

Executive Summary The planning team acknowledges that the develop-ment of the Fossil Butte National Monument Long-Range Interpretive Plan coincides with the current stringent budget tightening required to meet immediate Servicewide goals. Conversely, the past is often prologue. Just as the understanding of the dynamics of this ancient ecosystem has changed, so too will opportunities to improve facilities, media, and programs during the next decade.

The intended audience for this Plan includes monument and Intermountain Regional Office staff, media specialists, stakeholders, and future contractors. The Plan is congruent with all other monument planning documents. The recommen-dations address and support the monument's purpose and significance (page 11), identified planning needs (pages 8-10), interpretive themes (page 12), and visitor experience goals (pages 12-13).

Significant recommendations include:

1. Develop the primary visitor experience at the visitor center in recognition that 90% of the visitors do not venture further into the monument. Pursue a pragmatic and methodical improvement approach.

• Obtain cost-estimates to correct errors in exhibit artwork and panel texts.

• If not cost-effective to repair, seek funding to replace the current exhibit.

• During the exhibit planning/value analysis process, evaluate how best to expand the area devoted to interpreting this very complex story.

Alternatives include relocating staff offices, expanding outdoor exhibits to the visitor center porch, or a building addition. During this evalu-ation phase, explore partnership options to pursue mutual goals, facility requirements, and funding needs.

2. Fund an additional GS-9 year-round Interpretive Park Ranger (Education Specialist) position to address existing program deficits by:

• developing a more interactive website,

• expanding the curriculum-based education program beyond primary grades,

• fostering educational partnerships with other state, county, and federal land management agencies to promote monument interpretive goals.

Introduction and Background

Following coverage of the visitor center and regu-larly scheduled programs for the general public, the aforementioned program areas were consis-tently identified by the monument planning team as the highest priorities to implement during the next ten year period.

3. Replace the orientation video. Seek funds to develop a new 15 - 20 minute AV presentation that interprets the complexity of the Fossil Butte story. Visitors require a concise, moving and dramatic overview that ties the pieces of this complex story together.

4. Seek funds to develop a monumentwide Wayside Exhibit Proposal/Plan. This plan will guide wayside development at Fossil Butte toward a complete, high-quality, unified system of waysides, identify all desired wayside exhibits within the monument and beyond the monument boundaries, and prioritize develop-ment and installation based on funding.

5. Develop an accessible fossil quarry experience available to all visitors. The value of the existing NPS quarry is well documented. The quarry demonstrates the importance of scientific research and careful documentation, and provides visitors an active hands-on experience and promotes the preservation ethic.

6. Support the designation of the Backcountry Byway and obtain the requisite funds to plan and upgrade related facilities. This includes the scenic drive, parking and trails along Cundick Ridge, and requisite visitor interpretive elements.

This interagency initiative with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the local community, the NPS Intermountain Regional Trails Office, and the monument explores the possibility of establishing a designated scenic "Backcountry Byway" connecting Fossil Butte National Monument to the Sublette Cutoff of the Oregon Trail and the California Trail. If approved, the byway may facilitate future partnership opportu-nities for potential quarry sites on BLM or Wyoming state lands.

7. Pursue partnerships that promote the monument's educational and resource preserva-tion objectives to reach students and educators, residents and visitors, businesses, and local, state, and federal agencies that live, work, recreate, and/or administer lands within the boundaries of the ancient ecosystem.

8. In light of new scientific research, work with Intermountain Region's legislative staff to explore the process of redefining monument boundaries and/or encouraging the BLM and State of Wyoming to change land status to increase protection of fossil resources from damage by commercial endeavors in order to protect the most significant fossil features of ancient Fossil Lake. (See Legislative Background Section, pages 6-8.)

Achievement of these recommendations (and others listed in detail within the LRIP's "Recommendations" section) is based on receipt of funding and the monument's coordinated efforts with partners.

Site Background

Location Fossil Butte National Monument is located near Kemmerer, Wyoming, north of Interstate 80 on U.S. Highway 30. Many visitors stop at the national monument en route to Dinosaur National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, or Grand Teton National Park.

The monument is a day-use area; overnight accommodations are available in Kemmerer and Diamondville. Camping is allowed on adjoining BLM public lands. National monument facilities include the visitor center, two self-guided interpre-tive hiking trails, a picnic area, and a 7.5-mile scenic drive.

Geology/Paleontology Fossil Butte National Monument presents a window into life in southwestern Wyoming fifty million years ago during the Eocene Epoch.

Today's high-desert environment of the monument is a stark contrast to the sub-tropical lake environment of the past.

Fossil Lake, Lake Gosiute, and Lake Uinta formed a sub-tropical lake ecosystem commonly referred to today as the "Green River Lake System." The lakes were located in what are now the states of Wyoming, Utah, and Colorado. The original Fossil Lake was 40-50 miles long (north/south) and 20 miles wide (east/west). During its approximately two million-year life, its length and width varied considerably.

Today, the national monument protects small portions of the original Fossil Lake and the larger Green River Lake ecosystem. The monument consists of 13 square miles (8,198-acres) of the 900-square-mile (595,200 acre) ancient Fossil Lake.

One of the monument's geological formations is formed from the ancient lake sediments. Scientists refer to these lake sediments, now rocks, as the Green River Formation. These rocks preserve a tremendous variety of fossils. In addition to the Green River Formation, the Wasatch Formation, composed of river and stream sediments, is exposed in the monument. The Wasatch Formation contains fossilized teeth and bone frag-ments of many Eocene bird, reptile, fish, plant, and mammal species, including early primates and horses. These fossils indicate what animals lived near Fossil Lake, adding the shoreline environ-ment to Fossil Lake's story.

Globally Significant Paleontological Resources The fossil record preserved within the Eocene Green River Formation of Fossil Basin is world-renowned. Over 100 years of continuous collecting has revealed a wide diversity of fossil fish, reptiles, birds, mammals, insects, and plants. Discoveries of new fossil species from the ancient lake sediments continue to expand understanding of the paleoe-cosystem.

Most notably, the extraordinary quality of fossil preservation is nearly unparalleled in the fossil record. The quiet-water conditions, fine-grained lake sediments, and absence of scavengers combine to preserve articulated skeletons (all bones are in place rather than scattered). The delicate bones of rarely-preserved fish, birds, and bats yield valuable scientific data.

Fossil Butte National Monument and area map, NPS

Fossils from Fossil Basin are located in museums around the world. Active commercial fossil collect-ing in areas around the national monument yields tens-of-thousands to hundreds-of-thousands of fossil fish each year. These fossil fish represent the most common articulated fossil vertebrates for sale anywhere in the world.

A small portion of Fossil Lake is protected and managed by the National Park Service. Fossil Butte National Monument promotes the protection of this world-class paleontological heritage.

Additionally, the national monument was estab-lished and is managed in order to:

1) educate the public at large in the geological and paleontological sciences;

2) ensure sustainable development (geotourism);

and

3) protect endangered geological (paleontological) heritage sites for future generations.

These goals directly coincide with the goals of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Program. As com-mercial fossil activities rapidly deplete the non-renewable remains of the ancient lake around Fossil Butte National Monument, the National Park Service recognizes the potential for nomina-tion of the national monument as a Geological Heritage Site under the World Heritage Site Program. Although lesser sites have such recogni-tion in other parts of the world, no site in the United States has ever been nominated solely in recognition of paleontological resources.

Legislation The national monument, established on October

23, 1972 was carved primarily from existing Bureau of Land Management lands. Boundaries were based on historic grazing allotments and use and then-known mid-lake fossil outcrops where exten-sive quarry activity had taken place. The authoriz-ing legislation defined the purpose of the national monument:

…to preserve for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations outstanding paleonto-logical sites and related geological phenomena, and to provide for the display and interpretation of scien-tific specimens.

The intent of the enabling legislation was to preserve the area most likely to contain the most significant fossil record of ancient Fossil Lake. At that time, little was known about Fossil Lake's paleogeographic boundaries and significant geo-logical features and phenomena such as deltas and shore environments. Thirty years ago, prevailing science placed Fossil Butte at the center of the pre-historic lake. Excerpts from congressional testi-mony that led to the creation of Fossil Butte National Monument demonstrate the known science of the day and subsequent congressional intent:

Although the Fossil Butte area is only a small part of a vast area in which the fine-bedded layers of the

Green River formation make up much of the land-scape, it is particularly well situated since, in addition to the rich fossil deposits located here, there are also outstanding examples of lake, shoreline and tributary river flood plain deposits. The bill's recom-mended area of 8, 200 acres would provide adequate area to protect and display the features of primary significance as well as those which tie the geologic

Introduction and Background

Eocene horse, Hyracotherium NPS photo of James E. Tynsky specimin by Arvid Aase story together.

Wyoming Governor Stan Hathaway, February 28, 1972

Mr. Chairman, it is difficult in words to describe the beauty of this area and the geological formations which have evolved from a metamorphosis of the earth's surface over a period of 50 million years. No other site in America has a more abundant supply of fossil fish deposits. As only one example of the fos-silized marine life, Eocene fish fossils at Fossil Butte are believed to be the best and most significant in the

United States and probably the world. It is truly a paleontologist's paradise and has attracted the atten-tion of the academic community and laymen alike for many years.

Gale, McGee, U.S. Senator from Wyoming

During the past twenty-five years, significant lim-nological studies and fossil finds have occurred beyond monument boundaries, changing the understanding of this ancient ecosystem. Two esteemed scientists who collaborate with monument staff have dedicated their life's work to understanding the geology and paleontology of the Green River Formation. These scientists are Dr.

Paul Buchhiem, a sedimentologist with Loma Linda University, and Dr. Lance Grande, a paleon-tologist with the Chicago Field Museum of Natural History. Their continuing research challenges past scientific theories and indicates that Fossil Ridge, two miles outside of the national monument boundary to the south, is actually the ancient lake's center. This area has proven very rich in fossil resources and is the source of many significant research finds. Fossil Ridge is easily seen from the monument's visitor center. Near-shore deposits to the east of Fossil Butte National Monument have also yielded unique fossils and new geologic speci-mens. Today, Fossil Ridge and the eastern margin of the lake are a mix of private, state, and BLM lands.

In essence, Fossil Butte National Monument does not protect the most critical paleontological resources of ancient Fossil Lake as congressional sponsors, scientists, and members of the commu-nity originally intended. One of the primary reasons the monument was established is unreal-ized. Partnerships and an examination of the monument boundary are all potential solutions to consider. Monument legislation provides for the acquisition of " lands and interests in lands by donation, purchase, or exchange…except that lands of interests therein owned by the State of Wyoming or a political subdivision thereof…at no time shall the boundaries encompass more than eight thousand two hundred acres".

The April 2000 Oversight Review (Operations Evaluation) of Fossil Butte National Monument by the Intermountain Region acknowledged that the "current boundary does not include all resources necessary to fully tell the story of the Fossil Lake Basin." Team members agreed that the 1980 General Management Plan "is largely adequate to meet monument needs at this time", and that the monument should "request a Comprehensive Interpretive Plan". This Long-Range Interpretive Plan will address how to convey this complex story through media and personal services within the current boundaries of the monument.

Recommendations will also address how to inter-pret the larger story in related areas beyond the monument boundary.

Livestock grazing, authorized for a limited period by the enabling legislation, terminated in 1989.

The monument has an active resource manage-ment program to restore the lands disturbed by past grazing practices and other agricultural activity. The enabling legislation also authorizes that "stock driveways shall continue in perpetuity at such places where this use will not conflict with the administration of the national monument."

Use of the stock driveways by local ranchers provides monument visitors with opportunities to observe traditional western scenes of cattle and sheep drives.

Other Planning Considerations

Key Monument Planning Documents This plan proceeds under the auspices of the 1980 General Management Plan, the 1996 Statement for Management and the 2005 Strategic Plan. The April 2000 Intermountain Region Operations Evaluation/Oversight Review Report concluded that the monument need not pursue a new General Management Plan. Interpretation and visitor services planning issues identified in the April 2000 document are considered in this Long- Range Interpretive Plan. The planning team also considered and addressed shared interpretive issues identified in the draft-2001 Museum Management Plan and Scope of Collection Plan, and the 1994 Resource Management Plan.

The Monument Visitor Center The monument has outgrown the visitor center/administrative office facility. This building houses visitor center operations, exhibit area, fossil preparation laboratory, a multipurpose room/audiovisual area for programs and activities, public restrooms, library, administrative and cura-torial support offices, and the cooperating associa-tion sales area and storage. The Oversight Review Report noted that the monument has a serious shortage of office, work and curatorial space, which negatively impacts monument operations.

The monument continues to prioritize space for the visitor experience over all other staffing requirements and works diligently to overcome these difficulties.

Monument staff drafted a design for a visitor center addition to increase space for public use and offices. The proposed "pod" design was reviewed and is supported by the original building architect, Andy Beck. The Long-Range Interpretive Plan will explore how to improve the visitor experience within the existing facility, and outline potential improvements if construction funding for an addition is obtained.

The Research Quarry The Fossil Butte research quarry operates under National Park Service Management Policies (4.8.2 protection of geological features, and 4.8.1 paleon-tological resources and their contents). The purpose of the quarry is to collect baseline data for future research projects. Data allow a more accurate assessment of fossil density, population diversity and make-up, and three-dimensional analysis. Quarried items, accessioned and cata-logued as part of the monument's curatorial col-lection, are maintained in perpetuity. Excavation of the rock takes place only while visitors are present, thus slowing the removal of non-renewable fossil resources and extending the life of this popular interpretive program.

The quarry is open during the heaviest visitation, on weekends Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Trained staff and volunteers under the supervision of a paleontologist remove fossil specimens. If interested, visitors may participate. The specimens are then taken to the visitor center's fossil prepara-tion lab where visitors can observe the painstak-ingly slow process of preparing fossil field specimens for further study and exhibition. This hands-on experience is extremely valuable when interpreting the scientific value of fossils and the importance of protecting them.

However, the anticipated quality of specimens at the research quarry has not been realized. In addition the quarry is not accessible to all visitors.

The monument staff would like to provide a visitor experience with a more accessible quarry.

Although static displays are nice, visitors want to see and experience an active quarry. The 1995 Quarry Study Report explored the potential of alternate quarry sites that would serve both inter-pretive and research functions. A site within the monument boundary on Cundick Ridge was iden-tified as well as several alternate sites on Bureau of Land Management (BLM) or Wyoming State lands. All sites have varied accessibility and more extensive planning is required.

Philosophical Issues of Interpreting Fossils The monument is located in an area where digging for fossils is a large commercial activity. There are 10 or more legal quarries just outside the monument boundary. In addition, the Wyoming Travel and Tourism Department promotes "Fishing for Fossils" to attract visitors. Differing state and federal regulations regarding fossil col-lecting often confuse visitors. "Fossil fishing" is allowed in some private and state locations, but is illegal in Fossil Butte National Monument and on surrounding BLM lands.

Partnerships An interagency planning initiative with the BLM, local community, NPS Intermountain Regional Trails Office, and the monument explored estab-lishing a designated scenic "Backcountry Byway" connecting Fossil Butte National Monument to the Sublette Cutoff of the Oregon Trail and the California Trail. If approved, the byway may facili-tate future partnership opportunities by providing for accessible quarry sites on BLM or State of Wyoming lands.

Over the years, monument staff has developed many partnerships to support monument goals.

The LRIP will explore how to improve interpreta-tion and visitor services through existing and future partnerships.

Other Significant Resource Issues Public, state, and private lands surround the national monument. Associated land use practices by these neighbors provides opportunities to address topics such as wildlife, grazing, exotic plants, open space and viewshed, mining, com-mercial fossil collecting, and oil and gas develop-ment. Currently, a critical mitigation need is a private industry proposal to construct 100-plus wind generators on Fossil Ridge. The 26 foot diameter concrete pads will penetrate 30 feet into the ground, threatening the "best of the best fossil resources". The 300 foot high towers and blades will pockmark the monument's viewshed.

Fossil Butte National Monument is recovering from years of livestock grazing, presenting oppor-tunities to interpret the recovering ecosystem. The findings of the Oversight Review (Operations Evaluation) documented "significant incidents of elk, grouse, antelope, and deer poaching, antler collecting, and other wildlife and resource viola-tions." Planning discussions will address this resource issue and seek recommendations for interpretation and visitor services.

Introduction and Background

The only known frog from Fossil Lake, NPS photo of James E. Tynsky specimin by Arvid Aase

Purpose and Significance The National Park Service mission is to preserve, unimpaired, natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoy-ment, education and inspiration of this and future generations. The park service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recre-ation throughout this country and the world.

Planning focuses first on why a park was estab-lished and what conditions should exist before delving into details about specific actions. Park purpose statements are based on park legislation and legislative history, other special designations, and National Park Service policies. Purpose state-ments provide the foundation for park manage-ment and use.

Park significance statements capture the essence of the park's importance to the nation's natural and cultural heritage. Significance statements do not inventory resources; rather they describe the park's distinctiveness and help to place it within regional, national, and international contexts.

They are the basis for the development of the primary interpretive themes and program.

Purpose Fossil Butte National Monument preserves for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations paleontological sites and geological phenomena; provides for research, display, and interpretation of scientific specimens; and con-serves unimpaired for future generations the resources, scenery, and the wildlife of a portion of Fossil Basin.

Significance Fossil Butte National Monument contains part of the widespread Green River Formation that is the world's best preserved, most thoroughly studied, and accessible Eocene subtropical lake system.

One of the world's best-preserved and most diverse assemblages (associate groups) of fossilized animals and plants are contained within Fossil Lake deposits.

Scientific and commercial collecting of fossils has occurred in Fossil Basin for over 125 years. Fossil Butte National Monument represents fossil preser-vation and research in the midst of active commer-cial fossil collecting.

The monument provides diverse educational opportunities for the public to experience fossils in situ (in place), under preparation, and on display, while providing the most current scientific inter-pretation of their geological, paleontological, and historical significance.

The national monument is the only significant portion of public land in southwestern Wyoming with a recovering sagebrush steppe ecosystem, which excludes hunting and grazing.

The sweeping vistas capture the vast expanse of historic and prehistoric landscapes.

FOUNDATION FOR PLANNING

Interpretive Themes Primary interpretive themes are those ideas or concepts that every visitor should understand.

These themes are the key ideas through which the public explores the monument's nationally signifi-cant resource meanings and values. They provide the foundation for interpretive programs and media. They do not include everything inter-preted, but rather the ideas critical to a visitor's understanding of the monument's significance. All interpretive efforts should relate to one or more of the themes, and each theme should be addressed in the overall interpretive program. The themes that follow are numbered for easy reference rather than priority order.

1. Fossil Butte National Monument provides an opportunity to study the abundant, diverse, and exquisitely preserved fossil specimens of Fossil Basin and the well-preserved rock record of the basin itself, enabling us to understand the sur-prising array of plants and animals that inhabited this system of lake environments during the early Cenozoic Era (Age of Mammals).

Sub-themes:

Carefully excavated and painstakingly prepared, fossils reveal evidence of ancient life. The wonder and mystery of evolution and extinction in the early Cenozoic Era drive the scientific research at Fossil Butte National Monument.

For scientists and amateurs alike, Fossil Butte National Monument serves as a center for scholarly study to explore the ancient sub-tropical Green River lake system.

2. Fossils have garnered the interest of commercial and scientific collectors since their discovery over 125 years ago in Fossil Basin. Fossil Butte National Monument provides a forum to discuss the benefits and shortfalls of fossil collecting and articulates the need to ensure the preservation of fossils for future generations.

3. Climate change is evident when comparing the fossil evidence of a subtropical environment to the semiarid sagebrush steppe ecosystem of Fossil Butte National Monument today.

Studying these fossils reveals how climate and life are intrinsically linked and continually changing, helping us better understand changes through time.

4. Fossil Butte National Monument's cultural history reveals a dynamic interaction between people and the land, illustrating the ongoing struggle to balance diverse resource uses and their consequences.

5. Fossil Butte National Monument provides an increasingly rare opportunity to experience solitude, unencumbered vistas, and night skies.

Visitor Experience Goals Visitor experience goals describe the physical, intellectual, and emotional experiences that should be available for visitors of Fossil Butte National Monument. These experiences will be available to visitors of all abilities, including those with visual, auditory, mobility, or cognitive impairments.

Foundation for Planning

Sabalites (palm leaf) indicates a subtropical climate, NPS photo by Jeff Vanuga

The desired outcome of monument operations is to manage visitor-resource interactions to maintain resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations while ensuring that opportunities exist for the widest variety of visitors to forge meaning-ful connections with those resources. The follow-ing visitor experience goals will guide the development of the monument's interpretive program.

Visitors to Fossil Butte National Monument will have opportunities to:

• contemplate, relax, and enjoy monument resources without pressure.

• have a safe visit.

• have their comfort needs met.

• learn about monument themes in ways appropri-ate to their ages and abilities.

• find their way around the monument without assistance.

• interact with the monument staff informally and formally.

• become involved with the preservation of the monument.

• discover the scientific and educational values associated with fossils and other national monument resources.

• see and experience the present day Fossil Butte ecosystem.

• visit and interact with the scientific collection of fossils in a research quarry regardless of physical ability.

• view fossils being scientifically prepared.

• experience solitude and unencumbered views of landscapes and night skies.

Through exploration of monument-specific topics visitors will understand:

• the processes resulting in the well-preserved fossil specimens.

• the scientific methods and techniques utilized in new discoveries and research.

• how rocks tell the story of climate change, lacus-trine (lake) deposition processes, and other lake processes such as chemical and physical changes.

• the importance of the Eocene epoch and evolu-tion, adaptations, and the extinction of life.

• the relationship between the landforms and features viewed at Fossil Butte National Monument today to ancient Fossil Basin (50 million years ago); learn how complex and dynamic forces such as uplift and erosion created the present landscape.

•the environmental changes that occurred over time in the Fossil Butte area.

• land management practices and land health issues of the national monument and surround-ing area.

• how humans have adapted to and impacted the physical setting of Fossil Butte National Monument through exploration of these monument-specific topics: scientific and com-mercial collecting of fossils; the establishment and disappearance of the Town of Fossil; grazing and stock driveways; emigrant activities; energy development (coal, gas and oil extraction; wind generators); and rail and highway transportation.

• the National Park System mission, and support the protection of fossils and other resources within National Park Service areas and associ-ated national historic trails.

Foundation for Planning

Dr. Paul Buchheim prepares a fossil fish “in situ”, NPS photo

Visitor and Audience Profiles The ten-year average visitation is approximately 20,000 annually. Currently the natural features, trails, programs, and services of Fossil Butte National Monument are under-utilized by visitors.

During the average visit of one hour or less, few venture beyond the visitor center to hike the trails or visit the research quarry that operates on weekends Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Monument visitation lacks ethnic diversity. Local residents rarely visit.

Between June 28 and August 25, 2001, Karen S.

Hockett and Joseph W. Roggenbuck from Virginia Tech, Department of Forestry, in Blacksburg, Virginia studied characteristics of monument visitors and the influence of interpretation on their fossil knowledge and ethics. The following narra-tive summarizes staff observations supported by this study.

Families come from all over the United States to visit Fossil Butte National Monument, usually attracted by their interest in fossils. Most visit for less than two hours and generally stay in the visitor center. Some groups just use the visitor center restrooms and stamp their "Passport to Your National Parks". Most obtain their information primarily from highway signs and maps. Although families are interested in the fossil story; many do not hike the trails in the summer; the heat and the distance from the visitor center being the primary factors. Many families come with pets, which presents a variety of problems in the summer heat.

Some families stop first at the Fossil Country Museum in nearby Kemmerer, Wyoming. Fossil Butte works in partnership with the museum by providing an exhibit on the monument and its resources. The Fossil Country Museum staff observed that most museum visitors are unaware

EXISTING CONDITIONS

A family on the visitor center porch, NPS photo of the national monument until viewing the exhibit in the museum or speaking with a museum volun-teer.

Incidental Visitors often see the highway signs and stop at the monument. Frequently this group is en route to or from Yellowstone National Park or Dinosaur National Monument. This group gen-erally stays less than two hours and expresses dis-appointment when there is no fossil preparation demonstration.

International Visitors generally plan their trip and stay longer than two hours. They enjoy the exhibits in the visitor center, hiking, and partici-pating in ranger-conducted programs. However, organized international tour groups generally stay less than one hour. This group spends a lot of time and money in the bookstore. The primary lan-guages of international visitors are German and Japanese; currently the official monument brochure is translated into only Spanish, German, and Russian.

Local Residents comprise a small portion of the monument visitation. Most drive through to access Bureau of Land Management lands for hunting and other outdoor recreation. Local visitors come primarily as family groups with out-of-town guests, or as part of a scout or church group. Some use the monument for recreational activities such as wildlife viewing, hiking, family reunions, and cross-country skiing. Monument staff is acutely aware of the need to reach out to this audience and has experimented with a variety of programming opportunities. These programs have had marginal success and seem to draw the same select audience each time.

School Groups usually pre-plan their visit. They may learn of the site via the Internet and call for a program reservation. During FY 2003, 816 students from 23 schools participated in formal education programs by reservation. This audience ranges from kindergarten through 12th grade. They visit mostly during May and September and are prima-rily interested in the fossil story as it relates to their science curriculum. School groups want a hands-on experience in the research quarry, but because a quarry visit requires small groups and close supervision, current staffing levels only "ade-quately" meet this group's expectations. During FY 2003, 10% of school groups participated in the quarry activity.

There is a growing trend in home-schooled visitors. These students generally arrive unan-nounced and frequently travel long distances. It is not unusual for this student group to arrive unpre-pared for an outdoor experience - without appro-priate clothing or water. Their experience is primarily speaking with the ranger at the informa-tion desk, viewing the visitor center exhibits, and participating in the self-directed Junior Ranger program. Current staffing levels limit any flexibility in program opportunities with this unannounced audience.

Regional Visitors come to Fossil Butte as a planned destination, generally after reading a tourism promotional article published in a regional newspaper or magazine. This audience tends to stay longer than most groups; in addition to exploring the visitor center, they hike the trails and visit the quarry. This group comes with little subject-matter preparation and represents a full range of educational backgrounds and interests.

Existing Conditions

Subject Matter Specialists and College Field Study Groups interests range from paleontology and geology, to natural history. These groups expect an in-depth experience, a well-educated staff, and one-on-one contact with a ranger or staff paleontologist. The monument makes every effort to serve groups that provide advance notice of arrival. These groups are interested in technical publications and spend time and money in the bookstore.

Senior Citizen visitation is increasing. Most come in April/May and September/October. Group composition ranges from couples, to chartered tour groups, to Elderhostels. Many are unable to hike and expect a capsulated-summary experience in the visitor center.

Mobility or Sensory-Impaired Individuals come in family groups. Unless a staff member observes a special need, or the visitor or group member requests assistance, these visitors interact with monument resources, programs and facilities unobserved and are mainstreamed into the general programs and activities offered. The monument staff feels this group is not well served in regard to the weekend quarry program and interpretive hikes.

Tour Groups generally arrive unannounced with a limited amount of time. They mainly seek a visitor center experience - viewing exhibits, using the restrooms, browsing the bookstore, and attending a short orientation program by a ranger.

Frequently the monument is unable to provide this personal service due to staffing levels.

Virtual Visits exceed physical ones by more than two to one with an annual average visitation of 40,479. There is tremendous interpretive potential here.

Characteristics Common to All Groups: Many visitors come unprepared, without water bottles or food and with unsuitable footwear for hiking.

Visitors have a high degree of education - 70% surveyed had college degrees. Many leave disap-pointed that they did not see the fossil prepara-tion/demonstration activity.

Pre-visit

Media Outreach The monument informs the public of upcoming events and special programs through public service announcements sent to area newspapers and radio stations.

Personal Services Information requests are received via mail, phone, and Internet. Follow-up correspondence may include the monument brochure, site-bulletins, and/or reference to the monument's web page.

Detailed requests involving paleontological ques-tions are answered by the paleontologist.

Monument Web Site Fossil Butte National Monument's extended web page provides access to information about the monument, fossils, scientists, activities, education, photos of many fossils, and links to several other sites.

Arrival It is easy to find the monument. Well-placed official highway signs are located along Interstate 80 and U.S. Highways 189 and 30 and through the town of Kemmerer. Nine miles west of Kemmerer visitors exit onto County Road 300. This road brings visitors past the Historic Fossil Quarry Trail and the south side of Fossil Butte. Visitors then turn north for one mile onto the Chicken Creek entrance road past one wayside exhibit pull-off before arriving at the visitor center parking lot. A prominent sign along the entrance road indicates that fossil collection is prohibited.

Access to the monument is via a gated roadway closed only during severe winter storms. Although the monument is open from sunrise to sunset the posted hours at the county road turnoff are specific to the visitor center.

Analysis:

• The staff is not trained to update and upgrade the website to provide improved pre-visit planning.

• The sign on U.S. Highway 30 at the county road turnoff gives the overall impression that outdoor monument features - roads, trails, picnic areas are open only when the visitor center is open.

The planning team thought the entrance gate closed when facilities closed.

• The paved parking lot accommodates five tour busses or large recreational vehicles and twenty smaller vehicles. During the summer, it is often filled beyond capacity and visitors park along the entrance road.

• No visitor wayfinding occurs outside the visitor center or at the Historic Quarry Trail facility, which precedes the visitor center.

Facilities

Visitor Center

I still don't have the big picture. I'm concerned because if I don't, I imagine many others don't when they leave here -- particularly since their average length of stay is one-hour. So far I've spent 6-hours experiencing your park. I hiked the Historic Fossil

Quarry Trail last night. Then spent close to two hours yesterday afternoon looking at the exhibits, attending a porch program, and seeing the park video. This should tell us something.

Workshop Participant

Lobby/Foyer A literature rack in the main entrance foyer provides maps, emigrant trail brochures and other area information.

Three temporary exhibits near the entrance doors display a fossilized bird, "the Road to Fossilization", and information about the Junior/Senior Ranger program. The visitor register is adjacent to the Junior/Senior Ranger display.

The visitor center is divided into five areas that open into each other:

• visitor center information desk

• fossil preparation lab

• Intermountain Natural History Association

(INHA) bookstore

• exhibits

• multipurpose/audiovisual

Entrance sign, NPS photo

Analysis:

The open design of the visitor center permits a tremendous amount of competing sound. This is due to the close proximity of the fossil preparation lab to the information desk, and the carry-over sound of the audiovisual program in the multi-purpose room. Even when only a few visitors are present, sound conflicts challenge their ability to focus on the complex ideas presented. For example, conversations at the information desk are difficult when the nearby fossil preparation video is playing. These same conversations can also be overheard in the exhibit room. Although the videos have closed captioning, and the sound can be turned off, the staff has observed that visitors do not like the captioning and will not stay to view the video program.

Visitor Center Information Desk The information desk incorporates a variety of functions. Staff provides basic information and orientation, conduct bookstore sales, interpret the fossil preparation lab, and supervise a small work area where children complete Junior Ranger program activities, and make fossil rubbings, and visitors date stamp their "Passport to the National Parks". The desk is also home to the Electronic Ranger, an interactive computer program. (see description in interpretive media section, page 33.)

On one side of the information desk is the fossil preparation lab. On the other side of the desk is a small sales area operated by Intermountain Natural History Association.

Analysis:

Due to its size, the sales area is limited mainly to books. The outlet's annual sales are profitable.

Size prohibits sale of three-dimensional theme related items.

Fossil Preparation Lab Adjacent to the information desk on the left is a glass enclosed fossil preparation lab used by the paleontologist or trained staff and volunteers to prepare fossil specimens. Visitors view live demon-strations through sliding glass windows that open into the lobby. A video camera attached to the microscope projects a magnified image of the fossil to a monitor above the window. When the lab is not in use, visitors may view a push-button acti-vated three-minute film on fossil excavation and preparation.

Analysis:

• The visitor center design emphasizes fossil preparation as an important activity. However most of the time this area is not staffed and visitors are clearly disappointed they can not witness this activity first-hand.

• The power equipment used to prepare speci-mens is noisy. Use of the lab equipment over-whelms conversations at the information desk and intrudes into the multipurpose and exhibit areas.

Multi-Purpose Room/ Audiovisual Area Beyond the information desk and sales area is the multi-purpose/audiovisual room. Most of the time this space serves as an auditorium for viewing a 13-minute film "Lance and Paul Go Fishing" produced by the Harpers Ferry Center. This room seats 30 and is also used for indoor programs and activities for school groups. The chairs can be removed if necessary.

Analysis: This section evaluates the physical space. Evaluation of the film follows in the inter-pretive media section.

• The size of the multi-purpose area is inadequate for school groups. In addition, tour groups larger than 30 cannot be accommodated simulta-neously, an issue when tour groups are on tight schedules.

• Sounds from all other visitor center areas impair hearing the audio portion of the video. In turn, sound from any activity held in this room infil-trates into the exhibit and information desk areas.

Exhibit Area The 600 square foot exhibit area displays original and replica fossil specimens of different flora and fauna (primarily fish) excavated in the Fossil Lake region, with detailed information about each. A time-line places the ancient Eocene Fossil Lake in context with the evolution of the earth and its various animal groups - reptile, mammal, amphib-ian, insect, etc. Opposite the time-line, a large color mural portrays an artist's rendition of how this section of southwestern Wyoming appeared fifty million years ago and the creatures that inhab-ited Fossil Lake. The exhibit area also includes an exhibit on how fossils are formed.

Analysis:

• The focus of current exhibits is primarily on the fossil specimens as museum objects. Although the mural provides some visual context about the environment in which a particular species lived, there is not enough emphasis or connection between the fossil specimen displayed and the ancient ecosystem to enhance visitor under-standing of this very complex resource.

• The exhibit space does not allow for compre-hensive interpretation of the monument's story.

There are fossil specimens that could be exhib-ited and themes that could be interpreted, but there is no space to do so.

• Many museum exhibits are outdated. Results of significant research, undertaken since the visitor center opened, needs incorporating into new exhibits. At present, the staff must explain inac-curacies and recent developments.

• Visitors are disappointed when they discover they are seeing fossil replicas rather than real fossils from the monument.

•The lights in the exhibit area are hot and create building temperature problems in the summer.

Nine tilting (height adjustable to accommodate children and visitors in wheelchairs) exhibit cases have a defective and dangerous lighting system.

Staff Offices The building has three…