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Santa Fe National Historic Trail Spring 2023 Newsletter

Read the latest project updates and completions from the National Trails Office of the National Park Service (NPS).

To print this newsletter, or save it as a pdf: CTRL + P or Right Click with your Mouse, and select "Print."

A person stands on a later next to a dirt cliff with a bucket.

Photo/J.Jarrett

National Trails Welcomes New Staff


The National Trails Office (NTIR) welcomes Jordan Jarrett as the new Cultural Resources Specialist working out of the Santa Fe office. She has worked in archeology for both the National Park Service and the National Forest Service since receiving her Masters from Washington State University in 2013. She began her career working in Cultural Resources at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, completing various compliance and consultation projects (and doing so by boat, plane, and Jeeping on slickrock!). While there, she recorded her first historic trail segment, working with Rosemary Sucec and Lamont Crabtree to document the Slick Rocks segment of the Hole-in-the-Rock Trail near Hite, Utah. She spent two years with the NPS conducting preservation of Ancestral Pueblo structures in Flagstaff Area Monuments (the above photo is at Wupatki National Monument) and at Tonto National Monument.
In 2016, Jordan moved to New Mexico to work at Bandelier National Monument, where she served as an archeologist, monitoring and recording sites on the Pajarito Plateau. Jordan and her spouse live in Los Alamos, enjoying the many parks and resources the area has to offer! After a brief stint with the U.S. Forest Service, Jordan says she has been "fortunate enough to have the opportunity to return to the National Park Service to further our mission of protecting and preserving our amazing resources. In my current role as external compliance reviewer, I look forward to learning about our trails, protecting our resources, and learning from my coworkers and our partners along the way!"

Staff Updates

NTIR is pleased to announce a few changes within the office. NTIR Lead Historian Angélica Sánchez-Clark has accepted a new position at NTIR as the Partnerships and Outreach Coordinator. NTIR cultural resources staff Jill Jensen, who had been in the acting role in the planning position, has become the permanent planner. Congratulations to these staff members on their new positions!

Updates on External Projects

Large brown sign, "John Martin Reservoir.)

NPS Image


Site Visit along the Santa Fe Trail in Colorado


NTIR staff traveled to Colorado in November 2022 to conduct Santa Fe National Historic Trail (NHT) site visits and to meet with Santa Fe Trail Association (SFTA) members, United States Forest Service (USFS) staff, and John Martin Reservoir State Park staff. Site analyses were conducted for several Comanche Grasslands Santa Fe Trail specific sites and a list of recommendations was made for additional signage and interpretive products for the sites, in order to improve the visitor experience. The meeting with John Martin Reservoir State Park Staff resulted in a future site design project that NTIR will develop in-house, as well as a plan to revamp the park’s road signage and Santa Fe NHT specific interpretive media.

Aerial image of an area with indications of where signs will be placed.
Comanche Grasslands National Forest sign plan.

NPS Image

Sign Plan Updates

  • New pedestrian signs were ordered for several Comanche Grasslands National Forest sites as a part of a Connect Trails to Parks project with the Forest. These signs will help visitors to better navigate the sites and provide hiking/trail retracement opportunities.

  • Replacement site id signs were ordered for Barton County Historical Society Museum in March.

  • Replacement directional signs for Fort Union National Monument were ordered in August 2022.

Park ranger stands at a table with literature.

NPS Photo

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RootsTech 2023 Conference


NTIR staff and retired NTIR staff member Lee Kreutzer attended the RootsTech 2023 conference in Salt Lake City March 2 - 4, and provided NHT information (brochures, auto tour route guides, NPS App, junior ranger info). NTIR also displayed the interactive National Historic Trails Viewer mapping application to look at specific areas along the trails the public was interested in. People were very interested in the trails and how they related to their ancestors.

A wayside exhibit panel.

NPS Image

New Wayside Exhibit


The Tiptonville wayside has been fabricated and has been delivered for installation.

New Site Video

NTIR has created a short video for the Black Jack Ruts site. This video is part of an effort to inform visitors about the opportunities and sites along the Santa Fe NHT.

NTIR is working on making a series of these short videos (~1 ½ mins) for trail sites, to load onto our Places Asset pages and to the NPS National Trails YouTube channel. The videos are meant to "advertise" trail sites to visitors, briefly telling them what there is to see and do, and try to entice them to visit.

Take a look below, or if you are reading a printed version, check out:

Black Jack Ruts: go.nps.gov/blackjackruts

  • Black Jack Ruts – Place to visit on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail

    Black Jack Ruts – Place to visit on the Santa Fe National Historic Trail

    Walk through five distinct swales created by thousands of heavily loaded freight wagons as they traveled the Santa Fe Trail. A quarter mile, gravel trail loops through and along the swales that are up to 15 feet wide, and 4 and a half feet deep. Exhibits tell the site’s history and significance as you explore. Most of this tallgrass prairie remains unplowed, offering visitors a chance to see the landscape as trail travelers would have over a hundred years ago.

    Duration:
    1 minute, 3 seconds

Highlights

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    Virtual Trail Stories & Experiences

    Have you been following the trails on social media? You may have noticed an increase in articles, virtual visits, and virtual kids' activities. People can't travel to experience the trails in person, so NTIR has been working to bring the trails to your house. You can check out recent and past articles, become a junior ranger, take virtual visits to learn more about trail sites, and more - click the links below!

    Connect with the Trail

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    Last updated: April 12, 2023