Abstract
Monitoring Components:

• Prehistoric and Historic Archeological Resources
• Ethnobiological Inventory
• Post-Analysis LTEM Data Management Impacts on Existing Collections Management Information Systems

Abstract

The rugged landscape of the North Cascades has been occupied and modified by human populations for thousands of years. Prehistoric peoples, whose descendants still occupy nearby lands, were followed in the 19th century by Euro-American explorers, miners, adventurers, and settlers, and, finally, in the 20th century, by government bureaucracies. All left evidence of their presence in the form of a variety of cultural resources ranging from prehistoric quarries and lithic scatters to modern hydroelectric complexes.

Archeological surveys have revealed widespread evidence of Native American use of the lands in today's North Cascades National Park Service Complex (NOCA) over the last 8,400 calibrated radiocarbon years. Presently, there are 253 prehistoric archeological sites inventoried in the Complex, yet less than 5% of the park area has been surveyed. The park's archeological overview and assessment predicts that many hundreds of prehistoric sites exist within the park boundaries.

Archeological surveys have been conducted by NPS staff for two separate hydroelectric projects requiring relicensing by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). These include Seattle City Light's application for relicense of the Skagit Project and the Chelan County PUD's Lake Chelan Project. Archeological surveys are conducted prior to NPS ground-disturbing activities in compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Archeological surveys designed to record important archeological sites in NOCA are funded by a special initiative entitled the Systemwide Archeological Inventory Program (formerly called the National Archeological Survey Initiative). We wish to link these inventories to our Long Term Ecological Monitoring Program wherever practical.

Over 40 of the prehistoric sites have been test excavated and evaluated for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. About 25 of these appear to be eligible for inclusion; three have been formally determined eligible while eligibility forms are being prepared on another 16 sites.

The historic period within NOCA began at the time of the first documented non-Indian explorations through the northern Cascade Range in the early 1800s. Historic archeological sites and artifacts representing the themes of early exploration, settlement, commercial development, recreation and tourism, and government management are known to exist in NOCA, but few of these have been inventoried or described. A historic structures inventory has been prepared, but this study did not examine on-the-ground or below-the-ground cultural resources.

Several cultural resource studies have been completed (archeology, collections management, cultural landscapes, histories, and inventories of historical structures) and create a good foundation to support future ethnographic studies. For years, the NPS has lumped archeology and ethnography together as both a discipline and a cultural resource subject. As a result of integrating a well-informed archeological perspective with ethnographic data, outstanding baseline achievements have been made (e.g. Mierendorf 1986, Smith 1988, and Boxberger 1996). The ethnographic data gleaned from existing documents has made important connections between the Complex archeology and native people, and has identified contemporary populations whose ancestors lived in the Complex, both in the United States and Canada.

In response to the National Historic Preservation Act and other legislation (including NEPA, AIRFA and NAGPRA), increasing demands from park-associated groups such as American Indians who live in or have lived in park units, and evolving NPS management policies, the NPS began a "Park Ethnography Program" as part of the Anthropology Division. The previous lumping of archeology and ethnography in the NPS reflected a concern with both the past and material culture, and partially reflected the traditional division of anthropology in American universities into four fields (archeology, cultural or social anthropology, physical anthropology and linguistics). Unlike archeology, ethnography (or descriptive anthropology) and ethnology (or comparative anthropology) are but methods or approaches within one of anthropology's four fields, cultural or social anthropology.

The park complex has a rich postcontact history that is manifested its cultural resources. A variety of historic themes includes exploration, settlement, commercial development, recreation, and the early administration of the area by the United States Forest Service. Understanding these themes and others which have yet to be studied is critical for identifying, documenting, registering, and managing significant cultural resources under the park's jurisdiction, a responsibility the park has under Section 110 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended). Several historical studies are of an interdisciplinary nature and encompass the areas of archeology, ethnography, historic structures, and cultural landscapes.

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Monitoring Component: Prehistoric and Historic Archeological Resources

Contacts/Potential Partners: Park Archeologist, Chief of Natural Resources, Chief of Cultural Resources Branch.

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