Fort Clatsop Administrative History

Resource Management In The Future

Under Superintendent Cynthia Orlando, management emphasis was placed on the development of a resource management program area at the memorial. The first step came with funding and hiring a resource management specialist. The goal of the resource program is to identify the current needs of park resources and to establish a formal program and goals to meet those needs. The creation of a formal resource management program will allow the memorial to meet resource management responsibilities and request resource management funding for those projects.

In 1994, the memorial completed a new Resources Management Plan document outlining future projects at the memorial. The plan is intended to be "a long-range planning document which identifies the park's natural and cultural resources, outlines the various known resource information deficiencies, issues and concerns, and provides direction and strategies on how to address them. Fiscal and human resource needs are also identified." [21] The plan currently contains 81 project statements, incorporating all areas of resource management needs.

Also in 1994, the memorial and the water resources division of the NPS completed the "Fort Clatsop National Memorial: Water Resources Scoping Report." This report examines the memorial's wetland and estuary habitats, identifying significant water resources and issues at the memorial. Five project statements were developed "to enhance water resources management activities within Fort Clatsop National Memorial". [22] The project statements are for the completion of a topographic/subdrainage map, a complete wetlands inventory, a wetlands restoration feasibility study, implementation of a water quality monitoring system, and a biotic inventory for water resources. The scoping report and the inclusion of its project statements in the new Resources Management Plan reflects a recent recognition and emphasis on the identification and assessment of the memorial's significant and valuable water and wetland resources.

The primary emphasis of resource management program at the memorial is the integration of natural and cultural resource management and resource protection according to federal legislation and NPS guidelines. Through active planning and needs assessment, the memorial hopes to identify resource management needs and programming which will not only sustain the memorial's resources, but also protect them against current and future incompatible adjacent land use.