THE SANTA FE CONFERENCES

The annual meetings of superintendents of national parks with other administrative officials of the National Park Service were held in Santa Fe last October 2 to 7, inclusive. These officials then took an active part in the Third National Park Conference of the American Planning and Civic Association, held in Santa Fe from October 8 to 10, inclusive. The combined groups, on October 11, started a 1,200-mile automobile tour of some of the outstanding scenic and archeologic areas in New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona, The trip terminated in Grand Canyon National Park on October 17.

Meetings of the Park Service officials were held in the Laboratory of Anthropology. Associate Director A. E. Demaray brought greetings from Director Arno B. Cammerer, and reviewed some of the major activities of the year.

Questions relating to federal appropriations were discussed by Representative James G. Scrugham of Nevada, Chairman of the House Appropriations Sub-committee on Department of the Interior expenditures.

Colonel Richard Lieber of Indianapolis, Vice-President of the Amer ican Planning and Civic Association, told of recent studies relating to the charging of fees for use of various recreational facilities in state parks and other recreational areas.

y Superintendent Edmund B. Rogers of Yellowstone National Park, was elected Chairman of the Conference, and Coordinating Superintendent Herbert Kahler of Castle Pinckney National Monument, South Carolina, was elected Secretary. Chairman Rogers appointed Superintendent Elbert Cox of Morristown National Historical Park, New Jersey, as Vice Chaiman; Superintendent Lawrence Merriam of Yosemite National Park, as Second Vice Chairman; and Acting Superintendent R. Taylor Hoskins of Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky, as Sergeant-at-Arms. All officers will serve for one year.

The Conference was formed into committees to study various Service problems. Reports of these committees formed the basis of a general report, with recommendations, to Director Cammerer.

The American Planning and Civic Association's initial day in Santa Fe, on Sunday, October 8, was devoted to social gatherings. There was a musical program in St. Francis Auditorium, followed by a reception in the State Art Museum at which the hosts were Dr. and Mrs. Edgar L. Hewett and Mrs. George H. Van Stone. Dr. Hewett is the Director of the Museum of New Mexico and the President of the School of American Research. At the Fiesticita in La Fonda that night, under auspices of the New Mexico chapter of the association, there was a Spanish dinner, and a program of Spanish songs and dances.

Horace M. Albright of New York. City, President of the American Planning and Civic Association, presided at the opening business session, on Monday morning, October 9, in the City Hall Auditorium. Welcome speeches were given by Governor John E. Miles of New Mexico, Mayor Alfredo Ortiz of Santa Fe, and Regional Director Hillory A. Tolson of Region III of the National Park Service. There were responses by Assistant Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman, Assistant Director Tomes J. McEntee of the Civilian Conservation Corps, and Superintendent O. A. Tomlinson of Mt. Rainier National Park.

Colonel T. B. Catron of Santa Fe, Chairman of the New Mexico chapter, spoke on "Santa Fe, Where Three Civilizations Meet." He outlined the city's early history, and told of the Indian, the Spanish-American, and the Anglo-American cultures in the "Ancient City" of today.

S. Herbert Hare of Kansas City, Mo., a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, presided at the Monday luncheon, in La Fonda, where afternoon and evening sessions were held. Irvin J. McCrary, City Planner of Denver, spoke at the luncheon, on "National Parks in the National Plan."

Miss H. Marie Dermitt of Pittsburg, Pa., a member of the association's Board of Directors, presided at the afternoon session, when the speakers were President Albright, who discussed "The National Park System and Its Future"; Richard M. Leonard of San Francisco, representing the Sierra Club, who talked on "The Use of Wilderness Areas"; T. C. Vint, Chief of Planning, National Park Service, whose subject was "National Park Roads and Parkways"; and George L. Collins of the Land Planning Division, National Park Service. Mr. Collins read a paper on "Identifying Areas of National Park Calibre".

At the close of the afternoon meetings, visits were made to some of the gardenband homes in Santa Fe.

There was a buffet supper in the New Mexican Room of La Fonda that night, after which an evening session was held. Marvin C. Nichols of Fort Worth, Chairman of the Texas chapter of the American Planning and Civic Association, presided. The speakers and their subjects were:

James J. McEntee, Assistant Director of the Civilian Conservation Corps, "The CCC in National Parks and Monuments"; Frank C. W. Pooler of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Regional Forester of the U. S. Forest Service, "Recreation in Wilderness Areas"; and Conrad L. Wirth, Supervisor of Recreation and Land Planning, National Park Service, "National Recreation Area Study". Associate Regional Director Herbert Maier of Region III of the National Park Service, read a paper prepared by Earle S. Draper of Knoxville, Tennessee, Director of Regional Planning Studies for the Tennessee Valley Authority. The subject was "Planning for Water Recreation on a National Scale."

Dr. Hermon C. Bumpus of Duxbury, Massachusetts, Chairman of the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments, presided at Tuesday morning's session. The speakers and their subjects were: Superintendent Frank Pinkley of the Southwestern National Monuments, "Southwestern National Monuments"; Jesse L. Nusbaum, Senior Archaeologist of the National Park Service, "Our Archaeological Heritage"; Dr. Herbert E. Bolton, Chairman, Department of History, University of California, "History in the National Parks and Monuments"; Miss Pearl Chase, Chairman of the Plans and Planning Branch of the Community Arts Association in Santa Barbara, California, "Preservation of Natural Beauties and Recreational Values in National Parks."

Colonel Richard Lieber of Indianapolis, Vice President of the association, presided at the luncheon, when Associate Director A. E. Demaray of the National Park Service, spoke on "The National Park Service - An Interpretation."

In the afternoon a visit was made to Region III Headquarters of the National Park Service, after which there was an inspection of exhibits in the Laboratory of Anthropology. The exhibits were explained by the Director, Dr. H. Scudder Mekeel.

President Albright presided at the dinner that night, in La Fonda, when Assistant Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman was the principal speaker. He stressed the need for added conservation of our natural resources, because of the present war in Europe. Other speakers were Jay Downer of New York City, a member of the association's Board of Directors; and Associate Director A. E. Demaray of the National Park Service.

Over sixty of those who attended the Conference started on the motorcade that left Santa Fe on Wednesday morning, October 11. A stop was made at the San Ildefonso Indian Pueblo, en route to the Bandelier National Monument for lunch. From Bandelier the group traversed the Valle Grande of Jemez Crater, via Cuba, across parts of the Jicarilla and Navajo Indian Reservations, with a detour to the Chaco Canyon National Monument. The night was spent in Farmington, New Mexico, from where a visit was made the next morning to the nearby Aztec Ruins National Monument. Lunch was had in Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado. The remainder of that day and all of Friday was spent in Mesa Verde, where Navajo Indians reenacted parts of their sacred ceremonies, in full costume. The party left there on Saturday morning, October 14, for Utah to be guests of the Moab Lions Club at a barbecue luncheon served at Dead Horse Point in the proposed Escalante National Monument. The visitors were entertained at a buffet supper that night in Moab.

Leaving Moab on Sunday morning, the party proceeded via Monument Valley, to Gouldings Trading Post, Utah, for a barbecue lunch, and then entered Arizona to inspect the Canyon de Chelly National Monument. Dinner was in the Ganado Mission to the Navajos, in Ganado, Arizona, and the night was spent there. After traveling much of two days in the Navajo Indian Reservation, the Hopi Indian Reservation was crossed on Monday afternoon and several of its important villages were visited. The Grand Canyon National Park was reached that evening, via Desert View and the South Rim Road. Trips on the South Rim of the canyon were taken on Tuesday, October 17, after which the motorcade disbanded.

Some of the travelers returned to Santa Fe and stopped en route in the Petrified Forest National Monument and other areas. One group made a side trip into the Kaibito Springs area of Northeastern Arizona to trace a portion of the route taken by Father Silvestre Velez de Escalante in 1776, and to search for an inscription reported to have been written by him on a ledge of rock. Escalante's route from the Colorado River "Crossing of the Fathers" to Kaibito Springs was confirmed. The inscription was not found. The members of this party were Dr. Herbert E. Bolton, Chairman of the Department of History, University of California, who is a member of the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments; Regional Director Hillory A. Tolson, Regional Historian Aubrey Neasham, and Associate Regional Forester Ward Yeager, of Region III; Dr. George P. Mammond, Dean of the Graduate School, University of New Mexico; Jesse L. Nusbaum, Senior Archaeologist, and George P. Collins of the Land Planning Division, National Park Service. Dr. Bolton has made tentative plans for another search next spring when it is possible that his party can be accompanied by Mr. H. L. Baldwin of Salt Lake City, who claims to have seen the inscription in 1884 when he was mapping the Echo Cliffs Quadrangle for the United States Geological Survey.

The Conference was the first of the annual joint meetings with National Park Service officials to be held outside of Washington, D.C., and it was declared to have been one of the most successful that has been held. The program and the details of organization were handled by Miss Harlean James, Executive Secretary of the American Planning and Civic Association.

National Park Service Areas in Region III.
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