BEAR PAW BATTLEFIELD Bear Paw Battlefield, a national historic landmark, is about 16 miles south of Chinook, Montana, along Cleveland Road (County Highway 240). This battlefield is the site of the attack upon, siege, and eventual surrender of the nontreaty Nez Perce at the end of their 1877 flight. The White Bird Band succeeded in escaping to Canada, but after Chief Joseph's surrender, the rest of the Nez Perce were exiled first to Kansas and later to Oklahoma. The locations of events that occurred during the 1877 attack, siege, and surrender form the primary historical resources of the site, as well as a landscape that remains relatively undeveloped. A self-guiding trail guide is available that has text keyed to numbered stops along the trail. An NPS ranger and a seasonal interpreter are assigned to the site. Ranger guided walks are available in summer. The Blaine County Museum in Chinook, Montana, has devoted one of its exhibit rooms to the Bear Paw Battle. A sophisticated 20-minute audiovisual presentation on the war of 1877 is also available in the museum's auditorium.

MANAGEMENT ISSUES Many of the interpretive waysides need repair or text revision. There is a "mixed bag" of facilities and signs, and the trails are not up to standards. "Social trails" cause degradation of resources. The site's resources have not been adequately inventoried. There is exotic and changing vegetation. There is potential for oil and gas development in the area. Management Zoning. The following management zones will be established for Bear Paw Battlefield: The historic zone will be the actual battlefield site where General Miles's troops charged on the first day of the battle and the siege positions of the next five days (headquarters, field hospital, rifle pits, Napoleon and Hotchkiss gun sites, and troop locations). It also will incorporate the Nez Perce Village site, the warriors' defensive positions, and the retreat route of some of the Nez Perce during the opening engagement. The development zone will be occupied by a parking lot, an interpretive trail, the wayside exhibits, picnic tables and shelter, the wind-sheltered benches, the pit toilet and a visitor facility.

ACTION PLAN Visitor facilities and operational support will be provided at the battle field. (Detailed planning will be provided with full public involvement.) Ranger presence onsite will be increased. Resource impacts from "social trails" will be reduced and strategies developed to protect the viewshed and resources outside current boundaries. The Park Service will conduct resource surveys. A vegetation and resource management plan will be developed. Existing cooperative agreements will be continued, and consultation with Fort Belknap tribes also continued. The Park Service and the Blaine County Museum will cooperate in having the museum serve as interim visitor center. The site will be used as a portal to expand on Nez Perce culture, the park, and the Nez Perce (Nee-Me Poo) National Historic Trail. The aftermath of the events at Bear Paw will be added to the interpretive program. The NPS role in partnership with the museum will be increased through technical assistance.