October 2006

Monarch Tagging in Cades Cove continues through October
(North Carolina, Tennessee) -- Early autumn brings goldenrods and ironweed, cool mornings heavy with dew, and Monarch butterflies. Monarchs begin their millennia-old migrations to the Transvolcanic Mountains of Mexico in the fall. They are the only butterflies that truly migrate, with the same individuals sometimes fluttering over 3,000 miles, overwintering in Mexico, and then flying north again to lay eggs on milkweed, the host plant of the Monarch. Since 1995, Wanda DeWaard, a naturalist who has spent several seasons studying and raising Monarchs, and Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont, have joined efforts to lead volunteer and school groups in Cades Cove to tag Monarchs on Oct. 10, 11 and 24. In 2001, a Monarch tagged from Cades Cove was recaptured in Mexico, successfully overwintering in the Oyamel Trees in the Transvolcanic Mountains at an elevation of nearly 2 miles high! The project is called Monarch Watch (www.MonarchWatch.com) and is a continent-wide effort headed by the University of Kansas to determine Monarch migration patterns, survivorship, and population trends. There is growing concern over the fate of the butterfly. In its wintering grounds, the population is threatened with logging of its habitat, while in the United States, populations are threatened by habitat destruction and loss of its host plant, Milkweed, due to spraying with herbicide, mowing, etc. NPS contact: Elaine Sevy, 202-208-6843. Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont contact: Jason Love, 865-448-6709.

Sequoia, Kings Canyon Become Sister Parks with Cambodia’s Samlaut
(California, Cambodia) -- Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2006 at 11:00 a.m., an event will be held in front of the Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park to officially sign a Sister Park agreement creating a connection between Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks and Samlaut Multiple Use Area/ Samlaut Protected Area in Cambodia. This five-year agreement will enable these parks to share information and expertise in resource protection and visitor education. Samlaut, which is located in the recovering war torn Khmer Rouge Region, protects an important watershed in mountain streams, and rare wildlife including endangered Asian elephants, Asiatic black bears, pileated gibbons, and pangolins. Sequoia National Park protects an important watershed in rich mountain steams; ancient giant sequoia trees and their habitat; rare and endangered wildlife; the high sierra country featuring Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states, and plant life unique to the area. The agreement will be posted after it is signed at www.nps.gov/seki. NPS contacts: Alexandra Picavet, 559-565-3131; Elaine Sevy 202-208-6843.

The National Register Celebrates Family History Month
More than 80 million Americans are believed to be actively searching for more information about their ancestors. This explosion of interest in family history is due, in part, to the advent of the Internet. An ever-growing number of institutions, libraries, and individuals in our nation and others are collecting, preserving, and sharing genealogies, personal documents, and memorabilia that detail the life and times of families around the world. Join the National Register of Historic Places as we commemorate the ongoing efforts to research the diverse stories of family heritage and discover the impact families have made in American history. Web Site: http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/feature/family/. Contact: Beth L. Savage, 202-354-2220 .

Shenandoah to Celebrate 30th Anniversary of Wilderness Designation
(Virginia) -- Shenandoah National Park will honor America’s wilderness heritage during the 6th annual Wilderness Weekend, Oct. 21 - 22, 2006. This year commemorates the 30th anniversary of Shenandoah’s wilderness designation by Congress in Oct. 1976. Forty percent of the park, almost 80,000 acres, is wilderness and represents one of the largest wilderness areas in the eastern United States. Areas preserved as wilderness provide sanctuaries for human recreation, habitat for wildlife, sites for research, and reservoirs for clean, free-flowing water. Special activities will include demonstrations of traditional tools for maintaining trails in wilderness, ranger programs exploring the history and values of Shenandoah’s wilderness. Potomac Appalachian Trail Club volunteers also will be providing programs for visitors at overlooks throughout the park about the meaning and significance of wilderness. NPS contacts: Laura Buchheit, 540-999-3489; Elaine Sevy, 202-208-6843.

Fall Harvest Celebration & Book Signing
(New Jersey) -- Morristown National Historical Park will host the Northern New Jersey unit of the Herb Society of America’s annual Fall Harvest Celebration on Sunday, October 1 from noon to 4 p.m. The Herb Society maintains the park’s 18 th century style Wick Garden at Jockey Hollow. Society members will lead garden tours and describe herb and plant use in colonial America. Fresh produce can be "picked to order" from the garden to purchase. The Herb Society volunteers also will sell apples, flavored vinegars, dried herbs, baked goods, condiments, wreaths, and homemade herbal crafts. Author Eileen Cameron will sign copies of her award-winning children’s book, "G is for Garden State" from 1 to 3 p.m. For more information, contact Anne Degraaf at 973-539-2016 or Kathy Kupper at 202-208-6843.

Mesa Verde Alumni Reunion Weekend
(Colorado) -- Mesa Verde National Park proudly announces its Centennial Alumni Reunion Weekend from October 13-15, 2006. Join the park in celebrating more than 100 years of memories at Mesa Verde with old colleagues and friends. The reunion will include three days of music, dancing, tours, lectures, food, and fun. National Park Service employees, Mesa Verde Museum Association staff, ARAmark Mesa Verde Company members, park partners, volunteers, locals, friends and family members, and anyone else who recognizes their own close ties to Mesa Verde National Park are welcome. A complete schedule of events and online registration information is available on the park’s Centennial website at www.mesaverde2006.org . These events include: special cliff dwelling tours; a silent auction; fantastic food; live music by Roscoe and the Red Neck Mothers; presentations by former Superintendents and employees; and much, much more. For more information, contact Tessy Shirakawa at 970-529-4628 or Kathy Kupper at 202-208-6843.

Designation Celebration for the Irvine Ranch
(California) -- The Irvine Company and the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust will host a celebration On Tuesday, October 10 at 10 a.m. to announce that more than 37,000 acres on the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve have been recognized as a National Natural Landmark (NNL). The Irvine Ranch Land Reserve went through a rigorous scientific evaluation process and met strict criteria to be selected as a National Natural Landmark (NNL) by the Secretary of the Interior. The event will emphasize/celebrate the unique environmental/scientific values that propelled the land to this prestigious designation, and spotlight key landowners and managers represented on the designated land – County of Orange, City of Irvine, The Irvine Company, The Nature Conservancy, and California State Parks. The event also will serve as a catalyst to a new era in partnership-building throughout the entire Reserve to be conducted under the leadership of the Trust. The event, held at Crystal Cove State park, will feature dignitaries including NPS Director Fran Mainella and Congressman John Campbell. For more information, contact David Barna at 202-208-6843.

New Cave Discovered in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
(California) -- In August, four researchers affiliated with the Cave Research Foundation discovered a significant new cave within Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The cave, now named Ursa Minor, features large passages and rooms, many of which are more than 50 feet wide. It also features beautiful cave formations, including long and graceful cave curtains, fragile soda straws up to 6 feet in length, and large areas of multicolored flowstones. Crystals in the flowstone produce brilliant sparkles across the cave’s floors and walls. Ursa Minor has a cave lake that may be as much as 100 feet across, and vertical drops that must be traversed using ropes. Ancient animal skeletons were found in the cave including one that resembles a bear, influencing the naming of the cave. Cave-adapted invertebrates that may be new or rare species have also been seen. The cave is closed to recreational visits pending evaluation and scientific study. Park cave management staff are conducting a series of trips with subject matter experts to create an accurate and detailed map of the cave, inventory its features, conduct a biological inventory, photo document cave features and formations and gate the cave entrance to protect it. Visit www.nps.gov/seki for more information or http://www.goodearthgraphics.com/virtcave/virtcave.html. Photos are available on request. NPS contacts: Alexandra Picavet, 559-656-3131; Elaine Sevy, 202-208-6843.

Lakeshore Offers Historic Beach Patrols
(Michigan) -- Fall was traditionally “shipwreck season” on the Great Lakes. One hundred years ago, surfmen of the U.S. Life-Saving Service (LSS) set out each night to hike the shoreline in search of ships in distress. The public is invited to relive history and join Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore rangers and volunteers to recreate a traditional "lantern-lit" evening beach patrol on Lake Michigan. The lakeshore preserves three Life-Saving Service stations, more than any other national or state park in the country. Before radio communications were used at sea, ships could not call for help. Spotting a vessel in distress from the shore was the only way LSS crews knew that their assistance was needed. The beach patrol was one essential part of a surfman’s duties. On pleasant evenings, a wife or girlfriend might accompany her surfman on part of the patrol. However, with the chill of fall, the surfmen were often the only people on a beach. When the patrols returned to the station, they woke the next two men who donned their foul weather gear and set off in opposite directions along the beach for their watch. To participate in this special event, meet at the Sleeping Bear Point Coast Guard Station/Maritime Museum in Glen Haven at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 14 or 21, 2006.NPS contacts: Lisa Myers, 231-326-5134, ext. 300; Elaine Sevy, 202-208-6843.

Encampment and Market Fair
(Pennsylvania) -- Fort Necessity National Battlefield, in partnership with the National Road Heritage Corridor, will host a market fair for historic crafts on October 7 and 8. The fair will showcase the newly completed restoration of the inside of the Mount Washington Tavern and will also include an encampment of eighteenth century French soldiers. The Market Fair provides people an opportunity to learn about eighteenth and nineteenth century life by talking with artisan and crafts people. From gunsmiths to surveyors, bonnet makers to shoemakers, crafts of all types will be on display. Furniture makers, carvers, silversmiths, blacksmiths, surveyors, mapmakers, coopers, soap makers, and clothiers will all be on hand. Beads and wampum, bowls, spoons, and leather items are among the historic items and reproductions available. French and Indian War re-enactors from the Contrecoeur’s Company of French Marines will encamp near Fort Necessity over the weekend. The camp will be open to visitors from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Special programs on military history will be presented at noon, 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. both days. Each program will end with a demonstration and firing of the flintlock muskets like those used at battle at Fort Necessity. For more information, contact 724-329-5512 or Gerry Gaumer at 202-208-6843.

Gambrill House Dedication
(Maryland) -- On Friday, October 13, 2006 at 11 a.m., the National Park Service (NPS) Historic Preservation Training Center (HPTC) will celebrate the completion of the rehabilitation of the historic Gambrill House located within Monocacy National Battlefield. Please join the NPS Directorate, Maryland elected representatives, and HPTC partners and friends for the celebration and dedication of Gambrill House as the headquarters building for the HPTC Service-wide training facility. The building has been carefully rehabilitated over the course of the last thirteen years. Work to save the deteriorating building began with the stabilization of a building left vacant for almost two decades. For more information, contact 301-663-8206 or Kathy Kupper at 202-208-6843.

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Last Update: September 29, 2006
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