2021 Pacific West Region Cultural Resource Awards

The National Park Service recognized three employees in the Pacific West Region for their dedication to preserving park cultural resources and history for this and future generations of visitors. The annual, regional recognition applauds creativity and outstanding contributions in cultural resource management, particularly projects that serve as models across the agency.

2021 regional award winners:

• Award for Superintendent - Craig Kenkel, Superintendent, Point Reyes National Seashore
• Award for Facility Maintenance Specialist - Keith Park, Horticulturalist & Arborist at John Muir National Historic Site, Eugene O’Neil National Historic Site, Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, and Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial.
• Award for Cultural Resource Specialist - Anna Tamura, Planning Porfolio Manager, Pacific West Regional Office

Learn about each winner and their projects below.

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  2021 Regional Director’s Awards for Cultural Resource Stewardship - Craig Kenkel

  The NPS Pacific West Regional Awards for Cultural Resource Stewardship recognizes employees for their expertise and outstanding contributions in cultural resource management. For 2021, Craig Kenkel was recognized for developing a government-to-government partnership with the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria of Marin County, California. Through a formal agreement, the park and Tribe will cooperatively manage ancestral territories and the Tule elk population in Point Reyes National Seashore.

  Duration:

  4 minutes, 33 seconds

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  2021 Regional Director’s Awards for Cultural Resource Stewardship - Keith Park

  The NPS Pacific West Regional Awards for Cultural Resource Stewardship recognizes employees for their expertise and outstanding contributions in cultural resource management. For 2021, Keith Park is recognized for his cultural landscape outreach projects, including a collaboration with Yosemite National Park and a local Native American forestry crew on maintaining the historic Curry Village apple orchard. Park taught skills to the forestry crew while gaining insight into traditional ecological knowledge.

  Duration:

  3 minutes, 10 seconds

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  2021 Regional Director’s Awards for Cultural Resource Stewardship - Anna Tamura

  The NPS Pacific West Regional Awards for Cultural Resource Stewardship recognizes employees for their expertise and outstanding contributions in cultural resource management. For 2021, Anna Tamura received the award for Cultural Resource Specialist for bringing public awareness to the stories of World War II Japanese American incarceration sites and building NPS credibility in Japanese American, Asian American, and local communities.

  Duration:

  3 minutes, 56 seconds