Big Hole National Battlefield Administrative History

Chapter Six:
Natural and Cultural Resources Management

The Statement for Management for Big Hole National Battlefield, updated in 1989, confirmed Superintendent Schulmeyer's efforts to integrate natural and cultural resources management into a seamless whole. The document listed three management objectives for natural and cultural resources management:

• To maintain the historic lands and the natural resources in such a way that they approximate the scene in 1877 when the battle occurred.

• To make the historical (cultural) resources available and accessible to visitors and also protect the cultural resources from adverse impact and possible loss of data.

• To promote archeological, historical, and biological research to provide accurate data for management and interpretation of the resources of Big Hole National Battlefield and related areas. [58]

Since the principal features of the battlefield – the meandering river, the willows, the twin trees, the point of timber – were all natural objects, it followed that the distinction between natural and cultural resources would have less bearing than usual. Unit managers recognized that it was Big Hole's impressive story coupled with the somber beauty of the battlefield and its environs that drew visitors.