This month, we're excited to bring you updates from Arches National Park, a lab day with the Bears Ears Digital Cultural Heritage Initiative, and highlights from Natural Resources Day with the Bureau of Land Management Monticello Field Office. Plus, don't miss an interview with Executive Director Sam Wainer and the Anderson Design Group, along with a fun then and now from the U.S. Forest Service.

We hope you have a wonderful November. We are so thankful for you and your support!

News Release: Arches National Park Seeks Public Input on its Visitor Access and Experience Plan

Arches National Park is seeking public comment on its Visitor Access and Experience Plan, which identifies long-term strategies needed to provide day use visitor access in a way that protects park resources, promotes safety, and creates opportunities for high-quality visitor experiences. The public is invited to comment on the plan through November 23, 2024.

Visitation to Arches National Park has grown 73 percent over the past decade, more than doubling since 2007. This rapid growth has caused parking congestion, long wait times at the entrance station, and crowding at key attraction sites. Between March and October, the park has had to temporarily restrict access until congestion lessens, with the main entrance closed for as long as 3 to 5 hours. This plan identifies strategies that will address traffic congestion and associated safety hazards during peak season, enhance the quality and predictability of visitor access, address facility overuse, and protect park resources.

To more evenly distribute visitation throughout each day of the busy season, the park piloted timed entry reservation systems during 2022, 2023, and 2024. Based on public feedback and information gathered, the park adjusted processes after the first pilot year. This plan’s preferred approach, called an alternative, would establish a timed entry reservation system similar to the 2023 and 2024 pilots while maintaining flexibility to refine details over time based on feedback, conditions on the ground, or changes in how people visit the park and surrounding communities.

Park staff are eager to continue engaging with the public, local community and businesses, stakeholders, and Tribal Nations about the plan, issues it addresses, and its approaches to maximizing access while providing for public safety and high-quality visitor experiences.

Read the full news release here.

Timed Entry Concludes for 2024

Beginning November 1, 2024, Arches National Park will conclude the temporary, timed entry pilot that has operated since April 1, 2024. Timed entry tickets will no longer be necessary to enter the park after October 31. Traditional park or interagency entrance passes will still be required, obtainable online or at the entrance booth. After the close of the program, visitors may experience increased traffic and temporary entrance delays.

Visitors should always plan ahead for their park visits, especially in a season of variable weather. Bring plenty of water and snacks, wear sturdy shoes, and don’t forget sun protection and warm layers. Visitors are encouraged to check the park website for current updates and road conditions prior to driving to the park.

Lab Day with Bears Ears Digital Cultural Heritage Initiative

Sam Wainer, CNHA Executive Director, and Noel Blanc, CNHA Outreach, participated in a lab day for Discovery Pool project, Bears Ears Digital Cultural Heritage Initiative by Dr Eric Heller. The lab day was hosted by Dr. Heller, and attendees included 4 Pueblo of Zuni representatives, students from University of Southern California, and other project personnel.

The project is for the development of multifaceted digital cultural heritage and conservation projects centered on two cultural landscapes in the Manti-La Sal National Forest and Bears Ears National Monument. It involves creating detailed 3D photogrammetric captures of historic sites and developing audiovisual content. To create these virtual environments, the team has been visiting sites, capturing images with handheld cameras and drones, and recording interviews with Navajo and Zuni cultural experts regarding the ancient and modern significance of these landscapes to their communities. 

The lab day began with a hands-on demonstration at the Edge of the Cedars Museum. Dr. Heller guided the group in building 3D models by using an iPhone app. They practiced by scanning a variety of artifacts, including a Mesa Verde black-on-white mug, and a Mancos black-on-white pitcher (pictured). 

Noah Pleshet, a member of the project team, discussed his process in uploading and transcribing the interviews with the Zuni representatives. Dr. Heller then demonstrated his workflow in creating the photogrammetry model, showcasing a 3D model constructed from over 2,000 photos taken in Bears Ears National Monument the previous day. Once the model was rendered, the group took turns using the Oculus headset and explored a virtual reality experience of the exact location they had visited the day before (pictured). 

The 3D and audiovisual content will be put into a virtual reality experience that will be accessible to tribal historic preservation offices, regional cultural institutions, visitor centers, and the public. 

To learn more about the project, check out their Science Moab podcast episode! You can also view more photos from the day here.

Science Moab Podcasts

Have you heard about Science Moab's podcasts? Hosts Peggy Hodgkins and Kristina Young delve into the Colorado Plateau's coolest science and parse the diverse ways people understand and love this place. Science Moab recently had Discovery Pool grant recipients as guests on their podcast!

Rock Glaciers and Water Sustainability - Scott Hotaling

Changing Food Webs - Moria Robinson

Collaboration for Preservation - Eric Heller, Ben Bellorado, and Noah Pleshet

Understanding Threats to Old Growth Ponderosa Pines - Larissa Yocom

In October, the Bureau of Land Management, San Juan County School District and US Forest Service teamed up to host their 3rd annual Natural Resources Day Competition for students in San Juan County Schools. Schools across the district sent teams of students to learn from different subject matter experts in the fields of range management, recreation, wildlife, and archeology.

Students were fully engaged and completed activities at each station. They ended the day with an exam. The teams with the highest ranked score will be awarded a scholarship during an assembly at their school this winter. Students left with increased knowledge about careers in natural resources and some cool outdoor adventure gear from Canyonlands Natural History Association.

Thank you to San Juan County School District for supporting student participation, to Canyonlands Natural History Association for sponsoring the event—including the t-shirts, scholarships for winning teams, and prizes—and to everyone who participated!

Then and Now

On June 20, 1957, Manti-La Sal National Forest Assistant Forest Supervisor S.L. Cuskelly made pre-treatment photographs of the headwaters of Recapture Creek in the Abajo Mountains in anticipation of a terracing or contour trenching project that was planned for the area. As Cuskelly’s written statements show, he intended that his photographs would provide a starting point from which future picture makers could document changes to the watershed. 

To that end, he wrote a detailed set of instructions regarding equipment, time of day, and photo points. Here is one example: “Taken from south side of Recapture Creek looking northwest onto southeast facing slope to be treated. Taken at 11 a.m. with 4x5 Crown Graphic (K-2 filter). Camera point is 150 ft. above and east of Abajo Peak road. Marked by a 4-foot alpine fir stake set in rock cairn which is surrounded by a sparse stand of Ribes and Thursber’s [sic] Fescue.”

In looking through Supervisor Cuskelly’s records, there is no evidence that he, or any other employee, returned to the photo points later to collect post-project images. To remedy that oversight, current forest employees went to Abajo Peak in September to locate the photo points described by Cuskelly. Unfortunately, we could find neither the cairns nor the stakes, though we must have been close. In the 67 years since Cuskelly marked his photo points, new vegetation has filled the site, heavy winters have induced surface creep, and herds of elk have crossed the slope, any of which might have disturbed his cairns. Or they may remain intact, but were invisible to us as we scrabbled up and down the slope.

At any rate, Cuskelly’s purpose has not been thwarted: We were able to repeat several of his original photos. They show that the terracing project was implemented, that the erosion rills are less visible today, that the aspen clones are expanding and migrating, and that scattered subalpine fir trees are becoming established on the slope.

For the most up-to-date information on the forest, and fun posts like this, check out the U.S. Forest Service Manti-La Sal National Forest Facebook page!

Sam Wainer, CNHA Executive Director, engaged in an interview with Anderson Design Group.

"The national parks and monuments were created to preserve America's natural beauty and cultural history, with each park representing a significant chapter in the great American story. Because we believe strongly in preserving the parks for future generations to enjoy, we're always looking for opportunities to support the conservancies, foundations, natural history associations, and friend groups that protect the parks.

To raise awareness for the important educational work, conservation, fundraising, youth involvement, and preservation activities taking place in the national parks and monuments of Southeast Utah, we took some time this week to sit down with Sam Wainer, Executive Director of Canyonlands Natural History Association (CNHA)."

Read the interview here.

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Canyonlands Natural History Association (CNHA) is a non-profit organization, which exists solely to assist the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management in their education and visitor efforts. Proceeds from sales support these agencies’ educational, interpretive, and scientific programs on the Colorado Plateau.

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