NATIONAL PARK SERVICE • U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Foundation Document Devils Tower National Monument Wyoming September 2014 Foundation Document 0 0.1 0.5 Kilometer Hiking trail 0.3mi Distance Ranger station 0.5km indicator 0 0.1 0.5 Mile Unpaved road Wheelchair accessible North Parking area or Restrooms turnout Dead end road Tra Jo il yn Ridge er 0.6mi 1km Dead end Belle road 4km .5mi 2. ( 1 lo Fourche o p ) River DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT 0 il . ra 1.3mi 5 T 2.1k m m i s d 0 e .8 B k m d e R il a 1 r .3 T m i r 2 e k w m To DEVILS il a r TOWER T 5112ft 1558m s d e B Visitor Center d e 3850ft Entrance station R 1174m Devils Tower i 0.5k Post Office m m .3 0 To Hulett and Belle Fourche, S. Dak. 110 R e m d .1k i 1 .7m m 110 B 0 k e d 0 s ail . r 1 T i m S .6 o 0 u 24 t h PRAIRIE DOG TOWN il Administration Building a r T S 0 id . w 6 e ie m V i T r 1 a y . i e 0 l ll k a m V Amphitheater Picnic area Belle Fourche Campground d A a o River R h B t u o S Fourche Dead end road 24 Belle To 90 , Moorcroft, and Sundance Devils Tower National Monument Contents Mission of the National Park Service 1 Introduction 2 Part 1: Core Components 3 Brief Description of the Monument . 3 Park Purpose . 4. Park Significance . 5 . Fundamental Resources and Values . 6 Other Important Resources and Values . 7. Interpretive Themes . 8. Part 2: Dynamic Components 9 Special Mandates and Administrative Commitments . 9. Special Mandates . 9 . Administrative Commitments . 9. Assessment of Planning and Data Needs . 9 . Analysis of Fundamental Resources and Values . 10 Analysis of Other Important Resources and Values . 14. Identification of Key Issues and Associated Planning and Data Needs . 22 . Planning and Data Needs . 23. Part 3: Contributors 26 Monument . 26 Intermountain Region . 26. Denver Service Center . 26. Partners . .26 . Appendixes 27 Appendix A: Tribes with Potential Cultural Affiliation with Devils Tower National Monument . .27 . Appendix B: Presidential Proclamation for Devils Tower National Monument . .28 . Appendix C: Inventory of Administrative Commitments . 29 Current Administrative Commitments . 29. Needed Administrative Commitments . 30 . Foundation Document Devils Tower National Monument Mission of the National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) preserves unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. The National Park Service cooperates with partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource conservation and outdoor recreation throughout this country and the world. The NPS core values are a framework in which the National Park Service accomplishes its mission. They express the manner in which, both individually and collectively, the National Park Service pursues its mission. The NPS core values are: · Shared stewardship: We share a commitment to resource stewardship with the global preservation community. · Excellence: We strive continually to learn and improve so that we may achieve the highest ideals of public service. · Integrity: We deal honestly and fairly with the public and one another. · Tradition: We are proud of it; we learn from it; we are not bound by it. · Respect: We embrace each other’s differences so that we may enrich the well-being of everyone. The National Park Service is a bureau within the Department of the Interior. While numerous national park system units were created prior to 1916, it was not until August 25, 1916, that President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act formally establishing the National Park Service. The national park system continues to grow and comprises 401 park units covering more than 84 million acres in every state, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. These units include, but are not limited to, national parks, monuments, battlefields, military parks, historical parks, historic sites, lakeshores, seashores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The variety and diversity of park units throughout the nation require a strong commitment to resource stewardship and management to ensure both the protection and enjoyment of these resources for future generations. The arrowhead was authorized as the official National Park Service emblem by the Secretary of the Interior on July 20, 1951. The sequoia tree and bison represent vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represent scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represents historical and archeological values. 1 Foundation Document Introduction Every unit of the national park system will have a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental and other resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning. Along with the core components, the assessment provides a focus for park planning activities and establishes a baseline from which planning documents are developed. A primary benefit of developing a foundation document is the opportunity to integrate and coordinate all kinds and levels of planning from a single, shared understanding of what is most important about the park. The process of developing a foundation document begins with gathering and integrating information about the park. Next, this information is refined and focused to determine what the most important attributes of the park are. The process of preparing a foundation document aids park managers, staff, and the public in identifying and clearly stating in one document the essential information that is necessary for park management to consider when determining future planning efforts, outlining key planning issues, and protecting resources and values that are integral to park purpose and identity. While not included in this document, a park atlas is also part of a foundation project. The atlas is a series of maps compiled from available geographic information system (GIS) data on natural and cultural resources, visitor use patterns, facilities, and other topics. It serves as a GIS-based support tool for planning and park operations. The atlas is published as a (hard copy) paper product and as geospatial data for use in a web mapping environment. The park atlas for Devils Tower National Monument can be accessed online at: http://insideparkatlas.nps.gov/. 2 Devils Tower National Monument Part 1: Core Components The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park, park purpose, significance statements, fundamental and other important resources and values and interpretive themes. These components are core because they typically do not change over time. Core components are expected to be used in future planning and management efforts. Brief Description of the Monument Located on the northwest edge of the Black Hills in northeastern Wyoming, Devils Tower is one of the most conspicuous geologic features of the Black Hills region—a rocky sentinel rising 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River and the surrounding grasslands and ponderosa pine forests. American Indians, fur trappers, explorers, and settlers alike were awed by the majesty of Devils Tower. Also known in numerous tribal traditions as Bear Lodge,1 Devils Tower is a sacred site for Northern Plains Indian tribes (see appendix A for a list of tribes with cultural affiliation with the monument). They have held sacred ceremonies near this remarkable geologic formation for thousands of years. From the earliest native peoples to local ranchers and settlers, Devils Tower has been a gathering place, a place of community, and a place of refuge. Many share their stories about Devils Tower from generation to generation. In 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed Devils Tower the nation’s first national monument under the Antiquities Act. Today, the 1,347-acre monument attracts well over 400,000 visitors annually. American Indian people come to the site drawn by sacred and spiritual traditions. Rock climbers visit from around the world to scale the tower itself—hundreds of parallel cracks make the tower one of the finest traditional crack climbing areas in North America. Families, bikers, and artists alike come to be inspired by the tower’s other-worldly qualities, impossible proportions, and serene setting. 1. There are many Indian names for Devils Tower, including Bear Lodge, Bear Lodge Butte, Grizzly Bear’s Lodge, Bear’s House, Bear’s Tipi, Bear Peak, Bear’s Lair, Grey Horn Butte, and Tree Rock. sweat lodge 3 Foundation Document Park Purpose The purpose statement identifies the specific reason(s) for establishment of a particular park unit. The purpose statement for Devils Tower National Monument was drafted through a careful analysis of its enabling presidential proclamation. The monument was established by presidential proclamation on September 24, 1906 (see appendix B for the presidential proclamation and other applicable legislative acts). The purpose statement lays the foundation for understanding what is most important about the monument. The purpose of DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMEnt, also known to many as Bear Lodge, is to protect and preserve a world class geologic and sacred landmark that has shaped thousands of years of American Indian culture and the history of the northern Great Plains. 4 Devils Tower National Monument Park Significance Significance statements express why a park unit’s resources and values are important enough to merit designation as a unit of the national park system.