| HISTORY Historic resource theme studies This basic resource management study would provide the framework for park management and resource specialists, interpreters and facility managers to understand the importance of the parks historic resources. The purpose of the historic resource study is to identify all historic resources within the park and place them within a professional historic context. The chapters to be completed include: 1. Explorers and Scientists: This chapter would document the initial discoveries and government survey teams that explored, mapped and helped to publicize what would become Rocky Mountain National Park. 2. Homesteading: 2 chapters (one for the east side and one for the west side of the park) will document the numerous homesteads filed within Rocky Mountain National Park. Locations, size, and biographical information would be established. 3. Ranching: The history would document the ranches that once existed within the park. The history would place them within a regional context and trace the evolution of ranching from cattle to dudes. 4. Lodging: This history would document the 11 rustic lodges that once existed within the Park. The history would assess the lodges’ architectural significance as well placing them within a historical framework of tourism in Estes Park and Rocky. To be included is William Allen White, Dave Striling Studio, Pinewood Store, etc. 5. Tourism—the development of vacation homes and tourism in Rocky. This chapter would document the location and historical importance of vacation homes, such as the William Allen White Cabin, in the park. 6. Mountaineering: The history of mountaineering
within Rocky Mountain National Park, including climbers and their
routes. 8. Water: This chapter would trace the appropriate of water rights within the park and document all known irrigation projects. 9. Rustic Architecture: This chapter would trace the history of NPS structures designed and built within the Park. 10. Images of Rocky Mountain National Park: This chapter will trace how artists, photographers and writers have portrayed the park since Albert Bierstadt and William Henry Jackson first recorded images of the park. Holzwarth Trout Lodge historic district A cultural landscape inventory for the Holzwarth Trout Lodge Historic District would identify and evaluate the significant landscape features historically associated with the historic dude ranch. The study would identify plants and trees that were introduced into the area, as well as historic structures, including pathways, irrigation ditches, hay meadows, lighting, and other features not evaluated in the earlier National Register Nomination that focused exclusively on historic buildings. The projects would entail researching the history (as it fits in the greater historic context of designed park landscapes), documenting the character defining features, and assessing the historic integrity of the landscape. The end result would be a report and a recommendation to declare the landscape eligible or ineligible for the National Register of Historic Places. If eligible, the information in the report would be entered into the regional CLAIMS (cultural landscape inventory) system. Comments: This is a project that could easily be accomplished by an undergraduate landscape architecture student as a semester-long, senior project or as a graduate-level history or landscape architecture independent study. History of natural resource research in Rocky Mountain National Park Prepare a historical study of natural resource research in the park. This would be a basic source and summary of all natural history research. The author would identify basic themes with the assistance of park staff. Some work has already been accomplished toward creating a bibliography of publications and reports generated by researchers, especially in recent years. Some topics such as beavers, fish, and elk have been researched extensively, while others such as insects and plants have not. Results should include a list of researchers who have worked in the park and when, a list of the research projects accomplished, a description of the areas of the park researched (if possible), bibliography of the work published or reported, copies of all reports not currently held by the park archives, and a summary of the findings of the work. The results of this study could generate a number of scientific review publications in the peer-reviewed literature. The park would request the findings in hard copy, electronic format, and as a database. Longs Peak natural and historical context and resource study Description: Longs Peak is arguably the most important place in our park for both its wondrous geologic features and its cultural history. Still, most resource studies have been limited to one type of resource: trails, geology, glaciers, buildings, archeology. This project proposes to assemble all the information on the mountain into one concise and complete report. It will address the cultural contexts of Native American uses and meanings, the importance of mountaineering, the role of Enos Mills, and scientific research. Most importantly, it will place Longs Peak in its historical context in national, Colorado, and park history. Products would include a well-written and
illustrated report on the cultural and natural history of Longs
Peak. The document should cite both primary and secondary sources.
The document should include a thorough resource inventory of all
cultural resources on the mountain including archeological sites,
trails, roads, buildings, ruins, the telephone line, the elevation
markers, and water pipeline. This document will serve as an historic
context, by which we can write a thorough and complete National
Register nomination (most likely as a district) that incorporates
all prehistoric and historic resources on the mountain. |
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Plants
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