Preface
Working in Partnership with Others
Interpretive Challenges and Opportunities
Resource Protection Challenges aned Opportunities
Existing Facilities for Visitor Use and
Park Operations
The Plan
Implementation Concepts
for
Nez Perce National Historical Park
and
Big Hole National Battlefield
| THE PLAN |
GOALS
The following goals are based on the information gathered from the public scoping meetings and written comments. These goals describe the vision or desired future for Nez Perce National Historical Park as it will be 20 years from now. They provide the management philosophy and basic guidance for the park.
Relationship of the Park to Contemporary Nez Perce Culture
The National Park Service and the Nez Perce people, working together and in partnership with others toward common goals, manage Nez Perce National Historical Park as a place to commemorate and celebrate the continuum of the Nez Perce culture.
Interpretation and Visitor Experience
The Nez Perce story is told from the Nez Perce perspective. It stresses the complex dynamics in the Nez Perce cultural continuum, as reflected in today's Nez Perce communities and by conflicts between traditional resource use and modern-day conditions (for example, fishing versus dams).
The interpretation of the events of 1877 seeks a balanced view, but the story is told primarily from the Nez Perce perspective. It is presented within the context of the entire continuum of Nez Perce culture, including prewar and postwar events and present-day implications. It includes insight into how the events fit within the spectrum of the Indian Wars and the nation's history.
The interpretation is sensitive to Nez Perce cultural needs. People-to-people experiences are on Nez Perce terms. Information that should not be shared is kept confidential. Visitation is controlled to avoid intrusion on cultural sensitivities and the degradation of resources.
Visitors come away from each site understanding how it fits into the overall history. They experience the integrity of the site through interpretive media where necessary and appropriate. Visitors receive enough information to be able to treat each site with respect.
Operations, Management, and Partnerships
The management and operation of the park maximize the benefits available through cooperative partnerships. Partners are fully integrated into park management functions, and they share resources. The management of the park and Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail are closely tied together.
A well-staffed, properly trained, well-equipped park management team is in place, supporting a decentralized, sustainable approach to the management of park resources and the visitor experience. The team achieves a well-coordinated management structure that fosters communication and cooperation with communities and the Nez Perce people. The park's scattered sites are united through interpretation, communications, and partnerships.
Land and Resource Protection
Key elements and sites that are important to the Nez Perce people and the nation's history are preserved for present and future generations. Resources associated with the continuation of Nez Perce traditional uses and Nez Perce culture are preserved. Additional significant sites are being studied for possible inclusion in the park. Resource programs are cooperative and synergistic. The Nez Perce people are increasingly involved in resource management. An extension program provides technical assistance in the protection of resources and land for parties outside the National Park Service.
| IMPLEMENTATION CONCEPTS |
Implementation concepts describe steps that will be taken parkwide to achieve the goals or desired future. Specific actions related to particular sites are included in the site-specific discussion in later pages.
Nez Perce National Historical Park will continue the existing general management philosophy and direction, but the rate of progress in reaching goals will be increased. The appropriate management techniques will be selected based on individual circumstances. Incremental steps will be taken to assure resource protection and provide visitor services.
Interpretation
Because visitors have difficulty recognizing that individual sites in Nez Perce National Historical Park are part of the larger park, many of the actions related to interpretation and visitor use are designed to unify the park sites and story.
- When visitors first encounter a Nez Perce
National Historical Park site, they will see the NPS arrowhead and the
park's twin feathers logo. They will be referred to other locations such
as visitor contact facilities and visitor centers where orientation to
the park and additional information will be available. Site specific
interpretive information would refer to the park as a whole so that
visitors could appreciate the entire story.
- The overriding goal of interpretation in the park
will be for visitors to understand the interrelationship of the Nez
Perce people and their homeland. This will include the entire
11,000-year continuum of cultural history as well as information about
the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail, the 1877 war, and
the continuing consequences of that event.
- Interpretive information would be upgraded and
corrected. It would be expanded to encompass the entire Nez Perce
cultural continuum rather than being limited to events of a specific
time and place.
- The current level of consultation with the
community will be maintained.
- The park will continue to consult with the Nez
Perce people regarding interpretation.
- Recognizing that contemporary Nez Perce lifeways
are important resources, the park will try not to intrude on those
lifeways. Cultural information will be used with sensitivity to Nez
Perce cultural conventions. If visitors ask questions about sensitive
areas, explanations will be given that certain information can not be
shared publicly.
- The names of all sites, including those of the
newly authorized sites, will be adjusted to clarify what they are and to
include Nez Perce names.
- Sign guidelines will be developed to indicate the
presence of the National Park Service. The NPS arrowhead and the park
logo will be used on signs, which will be placed so as not to obscure
the view. Signs will meet current standards, be of consistent and
pleasing design, and reduce confusion about where the resource is
located.
- Modest new development will be needed at some
sites for adequate visitor experience and interpretation: White Bird
Battlefield, Traditional Campsites at the confluence of the Wallowa and
Lostine Rivers, Old Chief Joseph Gravesite, Bear Paw, Canyon Creek, and
Nespelem. These actions may be accomplished in partnership with other
agencies and organizations.
- The visitor centers at Spalding and Big Hole will be rehabilitated. Several overlooks and pullouts will be constructed, a few pullouts might be relocated, and additional minor visitor facilities will be developed at several sites. Some historic structures would be adaptively used.
Partnerships
More cooperative agreements and other partnership mechanisms will be developed with agencies, organizations, and individuals, and will be tended in a focused fashion. The management and operation of Nez Perce National Historical Park will continue to rely heavily on such arrangements to protect and interpret resources. Enhancing these cooperative partnerships will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of resource protection and increase the availability of quality visitors' experiences. The involvement of greater numbers of partners will improve public support for the park mission, mandates, and operational needs.
- The park will work with partners to develop,
update, correct, or expand memorandums of understanding, cooperative
agreements, and other agreements to reflect current resource conditions
and visitor needs.
- To take advantage of local resources, the staff
of Nez Perce National Historical Park will continue working with local
groups to increase local appreciation of the park sites and to encourage
local people's feelings of ownership of the park and its resources.
- Park activities will be coordinated with related
observances such as the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial.
- The park will continue to work with local
governments on planning or development issues that could affect park
resources.
- Nez Perce National Historical Park will continue
to encourage and facilitate the participation of the Nez Perce people in
decision-making regarding park planning, management, and operation. The
park will enhance consultation with the tribes on the history and
interpretation of the park and other matters.
- The National Park Service will con tinue or
increase annual meetings required by existing agreements with managers
and owners of non NPS sites.
- The National Park Service will work to clarify
public misunderstanding about the responsibility and authority for the
Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail, which is administered by
Region 1 of the Forest Service, and the Lolo Trail, which is in the
Clearwater and Lolo National Forests. Since a number of the sites of Nez
Perce National Historical Park are situated along these trails, the park
has an active interest in their management and preservation.
- The Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic
Trail and the park will be managed as a unified resource.
- The National Park Service and the Forest Service
will work together to improve consistency between the park purpose and
standards and the planning and management of the trails.
- To ensure security at all sites of Nez Perce National Historical Park, the National Park Service will furnish adequate site protection and security through cooperative agreements, contracts with local law enforcement agencies, and other mechanisms.
Boundaries and Land Protection
As a part of the current planning effort, boundaries for all 38 sites were identified based on criteria consistent with NPS management policy:
- to include significant or key natural and
cultural resources that are central to protecting and fostering public
understanding of Nez Perce history and culture
- to provide for visitor services and
interpretation
- to protect park resources critical to fulfilling
the park's purposes, and
- to address operational and management issues.
Establishing boundaries does not necessarily constitute a proposal to purchase the land within those boundaries. A variety of land protection methods are available within the authorized boundaries of the park units. In addition to fee simple acquisition, scenic, conservation and access easements might be acquired, or local zoning and cooperative planning and management can be employed.
- For Nez Perce National Historical Park, a fee or
partial interest will be acquired only when there is a willing seller
and a willing buyer, with legislated exceptions. Such acquisition will
be reserved for instances in which other land approaches are not
adequate or if capital improvements by the National Park Service warrant
full protection and authority to manage use.
- Specific strategies for protecting the resources
will be defined in the land protection plan, which will be developed
upon approval of this General Management Plan and updated
periodically.
- Should landowners outside the boundaries approved as a part of this plan decide they want to develop a cooperative agreement or other types of interest with Nez Perce National Historical Park to protect and interpret resources located on their property, a mutually acceptable agreement will be drafted specifying the boundaries of the resource and what measures will be taken to protect and interpret it. Procedures for a minor boundary adjustment will be followed, which include notification of local and state officials and the Congressional delegation, and publication in the Federal Register. When the process is complete, the agreement will be finalized .
Surveys, Studies, and Plans for Resource Protection
Surveys and studies will be conducted as necessary to identify and protect cultural and natural resources and to amplify and correct the interpretive story. These studies would be based on clearly thought-out plans and priorities.
- Needed studies include documetary history, oral
history, archeology, collections analysis, and architectural and
landscape documentation.
- Studies also will be conducted to identify
possible additions to the park. Sites in Oklahoma and Kansas are
important to the story of the period of exile in those states. Sites in
Canada are related to the story of the Nez Perce who escaped the Bear
Paw battle. Additional legislation will be required if park sites are to
be added in states not indicated in the current legislation.
- Plans will be developed for managing resources to
meet legislated and partnership requirements such as the Native American
Graves Protection and Repatriation Act and traditional uses.
- After an appropriate approach to vegetation control and planting is determined, plans will be developed for managing vegetation, eliminating exotic and noxious plants, and reintroducing native species.
Park Operations and Management
The National Park Service will retain the current decentralized park management structure that the park staff established in January 1994. Depending on specific needs, any or all of the following operational elements can be applied:
- enhancing cooperative agreements and
contracts
- developing competitively bid contracts for
certain services and operations that are not inherently governmental
- establishing "friends" groups
- working with other organizations that have goals
and objectives consistent with those of the park, and
- various other partnership tools
Existing facilities will be rehabilitated or expanded, and modest site development will be added at some locations to meet operational requirements.
IMPLEMENTATION PRIORITIES
The plan will be implemented incrementally over the next 15 to 20 years. Because this is a long-term plan, individual actions proposed have been divided into three priority categories to show the ideal order in which the actions will be funded and implemented. However, because of the unique partnership nature of this extended park, it must be noted that priorities can and will shift to take maximum advantage of partnership opportunities whenever possible.
First Priority. The newly authorized sites will be included in the park, and current and correct interpretive information will be made available. This will include developing land protection strategies in a land protection plan and completing the comprehensive interpretive plan and a wayside exhibit plan. It also will include developing and installing interpretive exhibits at existing and authorized park sites. The cost of these items, in 1997 dollars, is estimated to be $1,510,579.
Second Priority. Visitor contact facilities will be developed at Traditional Campsite near Wallowa, Oregon, Bear Paw Battlefield, and Blaine County Museum in Chinook, Montana, and in the Nespelem, Washington area. Improved visitor contact facilities at White Bird Battlefield and Heart of the Monster in Idaho, and Canyon Creek in Montana will be provided. The National Park Service will assist the city information center in Laurel, Montana. These items, in 1997 dollars, are estimated to cost $10,664,827. During implementation, the need, scale, and siting for any development will be carefully evaluated and will be subject to public review.
Third Priority. The current visitor facilities at Spalding, Idaho, and Big Hole National Battlefield in Montana will be rehabilitated or expanded. Costs, in 1997 dollars, are estimated to be $5,609,414 for Spalding and $2,603,674 for Big Hole.
Staffing. Implementation of this plan will require a total of 42.5 additional full-time equivalent positions for staffing, as follows:
| Park Support Unit | 10.0 |
| Spalding Unit | 3.0 |
| Upper Clearwater/White Bird Unit | 7.0 |
| Oregon/Washington Unit | 12.5 |
| Big Hole Battlefield/Montana Unit | 10.0 |
